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There’s no surprise that archery is becoming a popular sport among young Crittenden Countians.
The only question most have, is what took it so long to take root here?
More than 30 years ago an adult archery club was born in Marion, which also incubated young bow shooters. However, that organization has all but disappeared.
Over the past year, a new group of dedicated archery enthusiasts has developed team here and this weekend it is hosting its first regional S3DA competition at the former National Guard Armory.
Inside Out Archers of Kentucky is the club’s name and it has some budding stars in the target-shooting network, including Tucker Boudro, who has won state and national championships. Boudro was first introduced to archery several years ago at a faith-based, outreach program called Centershot Ministries hosted by Marion Baptist Church. Since then, his passion for archery has taken on new flight.
Local competitors have shot in a handful of regional events already this season, including those at Williamsburg, Ky., Anderson County and Madisonville. There are six regional S3DA events Kentucky and Marion drew 250 shooters and about twice that many observers at the shoot Feb. 4-5 inside the former armory.
“Inside Out” was the name chosen for the local organization. It’s a phrase used in competitive shooting to describe a shot into the center circle of a target that does not touch the line. It is an especially celebrated feat since the arrow and the target's inner circle are about the same size.
Tucker’s father, John Boudro, is the head coach and one of the organizers of the local club. He also serves as a regional director for S3DA in Kentucky. He says this weekend's tournament was a huge production and a big success considering the difficult weather conditions that preempted the tournament.
"Just getting here was a big issue for some of these shooters and their parents," he said.
S3DA is a national organization. The acronym stands for Scholastic 3-D Archery, and it promotes indoor and outdoor target shooting and 3D shooting. Targets molded to look like wild game are known as 3D targets because they are three dimensional.
Local organizers expected the Marion club to continue growing and it hopes to host more regional events in the future.
