The Gibson Southern archery team has high hopes for its season, even though it went from having a tournament every weekend to having only three tournaments scheduled to take place this year, if conditions allow. The team lost some archers this year, but they don’t plan on letting a year’s setbacks keep them down.

To maintain the health and safety of student archers, at in-person archery events, only one shooter is allowed at a shooting target at a time instead of the usual two shooters per target. Additionally, all archers have to wear masks when in line to shoot. And, perhaps one of the most important changes is the decrease of archery events for students.

“We lost a few of our top performers, but new students are coming in to fill those gaps,” senior Dylan Anderson said. 

The team’s goals for this season include qualifying for State, Nationals, and the Worlds tournaments. To reach these goals, the team increased practice times and worked on both the mental and physical aspects of archery. They’re also working on improving the mindset of some of the younger archers. 

“We hope to make it to the championship without COVID getting in the way again and to keep building up our program with some of the younger kids,” junior Mackenzie Estep said. 

Covid has affected archery just as it has affected everything else. Nationals are being held in Kentucky. However, the state is in lockdown, so Nationals may be held virtually through a Zoom meeting.

“I have high hopes for the season,” junior Jordan Speedy said. “I know we can accomplish anything that we work hard for and try to achieve as long as we take all of the proper precautions and try to stay safe.”