Archery Blog
NFAA Indoor Nationals Crown New Champions in Memphis | Archery Weekly Mar 10–16
Mar
The biggest indoor archery event of the spring season wrapped up in Memphis this week, several states dropped regulation changes that will reshape fall bowhunting plans, and youth archery programs across the country showed exactly why the sport keeps growing. From the shooting line at the NFAA Indoor Nationals to elk country in Montana and Pennsylvania, here’s everything that mattered in archery this week.
Lindenwood Dominates NFAA Indoor Nationals in Memphis
The NFAA Indoor Nationals ran March 6–8 at the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee, drawing collegiate and professional archers from across the country. Lindenwood University walked away with two individual titles and eight total podium finishes, cementing their reputation as one of the top collegiate archery programs in the nation.
Hailey Moore captured the Collegiate Women’s Barebow title, while Lawson Veit took first in Collegiate Men’s Compound — then turned around and placed fifth in Men’s Open Pro, competing against seasoned professionals. That kind of crossover performance from a collegiate archer is rare and worth watching as the competitive season heats up heading into spring.
The Lions’ depth showed across every division. Piper Colantone finished second in Collegiate Women’s Barebow, Ryan Schatz took silver in Collegiate Men’s Pins, Nora Shively claimed second in Collegiate Women’s Recurve, and Peyton Willeford earned runner-up honors in Collegiate Men’s Recurve. Kenzie Yates and Andrew Thompson each added third-place finishes in their respective recurve categories.
Other collegiate programs also made strong showings. The University of Jamestown archery team earned multiple podium finishes at a Vegas State Archery Tournament the previous weekend (February 28–March 1), continuing their own impressive spring run. Coe College sent four archers to Memphis, with Ali Bliss, Lilly Pate, Sarah Hill, and Zane Becker-Byrd all gaining valuable national-level competition experience.
The next major event on the indoor calendar is the Vegas Shoot, March 26–29 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas — one of the premier archery tournaments in the world. After a couple of idle weekends, competitive archers will be tuning their setups and stabilizers and dialing in scores for what promises to be another stacked field.
Montana Rewrites Elk Regulations — Bowhunters Need to Pay Attention
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks finalized several meaningful regulation changes for the 2026 elk seasons this week, and bowhunters who don’t review the new rules before submitting license applications could find themselves in trouble. Drawing deadlines don’t wait, and the quota system just got more complicated.
The biggest changes involve hunting district boundary shifts in southwest and central Montana. The Madison Valley, upper Ruby River corridor, and Musselshell drainage all saw adjustments. The southern portion of what was previously District 302 has been split into a new District 302A with its own separate quota and draw odds. Portions of District 454 along the upper Ruby have been expanded westward.
For bowhunters building preference points, this matters enormously. If you’ve been applying for a specific district for years, a boundary shift could change what herd unit your application covers — and whether your points still apply cleanly.
Quota reductions hit several limited-entry districts where cow-calf ratios have trended below management objectives. District 281 (Blackfoot-Clearwater) dropped from 75 antlerless B licenses to 55. District 446 in the Big Belts was cut from 40 permits to 28. On the flip side, eastern Montana units in the Missouri Breaks saw increases — District 704 jumped from 150 to 200 permits.
Montana also clarified that compound bow let-off cannot exceed 80%, addressing questions about newer high-let-off models on the market. Standard compound bows remain legal for all archery hunters with no minimum draw weight requirement.
If you’re targeting districts near Bozeman, Missoula, or Great Falls, contact your regional FWP office before the application window closes.
Pennsylvania Introduces Once-in-a-Lifetime Elk Bull Tags
On the other side of the country, the Pennsylvania Game Commission dropped some equally dramatic news. Proposed changes expected to be finalized at the April 11 quarterly meeting will introduce a “Once-in-a-Lifetime Bull Tag” — meaning anyone who draws a bull elk tag in 2026 or later can never draw another bull tag in Pennsylvania again.
Applications open May 1, with the drawing held July 26 in Benezette during the Elk Expo. New this year: nonresident applicants are capped at 10% of total tags, and a single consolidated application will let hunters choose up to five preferred seasons across archery (September 12–27), regular firearms (October 3–11 and October 31–November 8), and late season (January 9–17, 2027).
During the 2025–26 seasons, Pennsylvania hunters harvested 108 elk total — 57 bulls and 51 cows — across 140 tags. The archery season saw excellent success rates: 15 of 16 bull tag holders and 6 of 11 antlerless archers connected. The heaviest bull weighed 867 pounds with a 7×6 rack.
With over 1,400 elk in the northcentral herd and a new early October firearms season proposed to reduce crowding, Pennsylvania’s elk program continues to expand. For bowhunters, the archery-only September window remains the premium opportunity — and with the once-in-a-lifetime rule, every draw just became exponentially more meaningful.
Magnet Cove Repeats as Arkansas Archery State Champion
Youth archery is thriving, and nowhere was that more visible this week than at the 18th annual Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Archery in the Schools State Championship at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.
Magnet Cove High School defended their title in dominant fashion, posting a score of 3,385 out of 3,600 — a full 80 points ahead of runner-up Bryant High School and 72 points better than their own championship score from 2025. Cash Hignight, Callan Hignight, and Clayton Bates anchored the squad again, joined this year by Holly Chandler with the third-highest female score.
The individual competition was razor-tight. Cash Hignight and Travis Cook of Lead Hill tied at 293 in the male division, with Hignight claiming first on X-ring count. Among female high schoolers, ninth-grader Jasper Curington from Arkansas Arts Academy posted a 290 to claim the top spot, narrowly edging Charleston’s Maddie Johnson.
Scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,500 went to the top five individual scorers in both male and female divisions. Bryant High School scored 3,305 — their best ever — while Lead Hill, Charleston, and Arkansas Arts Academy rounded out the top five.
“The coaches and students work so hard all year long to get here,” said Aimee Swaim, AIS program coordinator for the AGFC. With thousands of students participating statewide, these programs remain one of the most effective pathways for bringing young people into the archery community.
India Lands First Major International Archery Event in 22 Years
In a historic development for archery in South Asia, India was awarded the second leg of the Asia Cup Archery in 2027, to be held in Delhi. It marks the first major international archery competition hosted in India since the 2005 Asian Archery Championships — a 22-year gap that underscores how far the Archery Association of India has come in rebuilding its organizational capacity.
World Archery Asia President Kazi Rajib Uddin Ahmed Chapol confirmed the decision, with Delhi also being considered for the Commonwealth Archery Championships next year. Additionally, Ahmedabad will host the Asian Para Archery Championships in September 2026, and Kolkata has been awarded the South Asian Archery Championships.
Meanwhile, Indian compound star Rishabh Yadav opened up about his recent form slump and his determination to secure a spot on the Indian team for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The 23-year-old — who helped India win their maiden men’s compound team gold at the 2025 World Championships in Gwangju — chose the Asia Cup Stage 1 in Bangkok (March 23) over the Vegas Shoot to better prepare for Asian Games competition.
With compound archery set to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games as a mixed team event, the stakes for compound archers worldwide have never been higher. Yadav’s focus on Asian Games qualification is a strategic play that could position him for Olympic selection.
Korea Begins Intense Asian Games Archery Selection Trials
South Korea’s legendary archery machine cranked into gear this week as the third round of 2026 national team selection began at the Kim Su-nyeong Archery Field in Cheongju. Running March 16–20, the trials will determine which 80 archers — 20 each in men’s and women’s recurve and compound divisions — earn the right to represent Korea at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Korean archery selection is widely regarded as the toughest domestic qualification process in any sport. The depth of talent means that world medalists and Olympic champions must fight through the same grueling system as emerging talents. Compound newcomers like Kim Kang-min, Lee Eun-ho, Park Ye-rin, and Ryu Ye-in are all pushing established names for roster spots.
With the Asian Games running September 19 through October 4, 2026, these spring trials serve as the critical gateway. Korea’s dominance in international archery is directly linked to this uncompromising selection process — and the rest of the world should be watching closely to see who emerges.
Grand County, Utah Moves Forward on Public Archery Range
In community archery news, the Grand County Commission in Moab, Utah approved a grant match to help fund the county’s first dedicated archery range. Grand County currently has no public archery facility, and the state grant program requires local funding contributions. The county’s portion will combine with $5,000 in private donations already secured.
Public archery ranges play a critical role in growing the sport at the grassroots level. They give bowhunters a place to practice year-round, provide youth programs with accessible facilities (need to build your own backyard archery range in the meantime?), and create community hubs where new archers can learn the basics safely. If you’ve ever struggled to find a place to shoot, you know how meaningful this kind of investment can be.
Looking Ahead
The archery calendar gets stacked over the next two weeks:
- March 16–20: South Korea national team selection trials continue in Cheongju
- March 23: Asia Cup Stage 1 in Bangkok — compound and recurve divisions
- March 26–29: The Vegas Shoot at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas — the biggest indoor archery event of the year, with massive prize purses and world ranking points on the line
- April 1: Montana elk permit application deadline — bowhunters, don’t sleep on this
- April 15: Montana spring turkey season opens — scout your birds now
- May 1: Pennsylvania elk tag applications open
The Vegas Shoot is the marquee event to watch. With professional shootoffs broadcast live and the world’s best compound and recurve archers packed into one venue, it’s the closest thing archery has to a Super Bowl for the indoor season. If you can’t make it in person, follow along through Competition Archery Media for live coverage.
Whether you’re filing your elk applications, prepping your turkey gear, or counting down to Vegas — this is one of the busiest stretches on the archery calendar. Stay sharp out there.
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