Ruby students qualify for school archery championship

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - A school in a small interior Alaska village will send two archers to a national tournament in Kentucky.

The village of Ruby doesn’t have enough students for a basketball team, but it is sending two girls to from the Merreline A. Kangas School to the championships of the National Archery in the Schools Program, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (https://bit.ly/1HJeRGJ reported.

Fundraisers and donations raised $5,000 to send fifth-grader Trinity Sarten and middle school student Cheyanne Esmailka to the tournament May 7-9 in Louisville. Trinity also attended last year.

“We get overwhelmed sometimes because we can’t believe it’s really happening,” said Anne Titus, the principal and a teacher for a decade at the school with grades kindergarten through 12, but just 32 students. “Who believed that a little village like ours would be able to do that?”

Ruby is a community of 150 on the Yukon River. Without a lot of bodies for team sports, the school previously tried individual sports such as gymnastics and rifle. None took off like archery, Titus said.

Scotty Starr, who teaches math, science and special education, started the program three years ago. The National Archery in the School Program offered bows at a discount. Students share five compound bows and practice in the school gymnasium.

Archery has been a great way to incentivize good behavior, Starr said.

“If they’re on the no-gym list, they can’t practice,” he said. “These kids really look forward to it, and they’ve got something to lose now. It really works out if you’re a teacher.”

Students on “Friday Fun Days” can choose archery, art or snowshoeing. In January, archery gets competitive, with a varsity and a junior varsity team that practices four days per week.

Archery offers advantages over other sports. Competition is in virtual tournaments with no travel required.

Students take 15 shots at 10 and 15 yards. Instructors post the results online.

Eight Ruby students competed in the Alaska tournament. The top 10 male and female finishers in three age categories qualify for nationals.

Trinity placed first among elementary school girls in Alaska with a score of 272 out of 300. Cheyanne placed third among middle school girls with a score of 267.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, https://www.newsminer.com