Archery is alive and well in Trout Creek, Montana.

In fact, a group of 21 middle schoolers from in and around the small, scenic community along the lower reaches of the Clark Fork River, have a chance to put Trout Creek in rarefied air later this month when they journey to the Western U.S. National championship in Utah.

Fresh off a dominating performance at the Montana state championship tourney last month in Helena, the group has been hard at work preparing for the trip and the chance to compete on the national level.

In the process of winning the state team championship for middle schoolers, including several who are home-schooled, the Trout Creek Archery Club (TCAC) produced four individual state champions. Tournament competitors shoot three rounds of five arrows each at targets set at 10 meters and 15 meters away. Hitting the middle, yellow circle is worth ten points, with decreasing points as the concentric target circles get further from the “bullseye”.

In the Helena competition, seventh grader Sophie Hardman had 14 “tens” during her rounds, finishing with a total score of 281 out of 300 possible points. That score was the best for the TCAC group and earned Hardman a state championship award that included a new archery bow.

Hardman, who is from rural Thompson Falls and has been involved in archery for the past few years, said she likes the people involved and the mental aspect of archery the most.

“It (archery) is a lot of fun,” she said during a recent indoor practice at Trout Creek School’s gym. “I like the mindset it takes to be a good archer, you have to be able to concentrate”.

TCAC President Ruth Boyer said the overall performance by the Trout Creek group at state was impressive but not totally surprising.

“They won four out of six championship bows (awarded to individual champs)”, said Boyer, who got involved with the Club in part due to the participation of her son, who competes at the fourth grade level. “This is a good sport for kids who want to try a different sport. Not everyone want to play basketball or run track”.

In winning the team championship, TCAC archers compiled a total of 2898 points out of a possible 3000.

The coaching staff has drawn on the more than 20 years experience of Jerry Doyle, who coaches and takes care of equipment as part of his volunteer work with the TCAC.

“This is a great sport for kids to learn and be part of,” he said. “We’ve had kids with ADD who have come here and found that the concentration required to learn archery is a good focus for them”.

Doyle said he and the other coaches, and players, emphasize safety and take the matter very seriously.

“There has never been an injury associated with the sport according to the NASP (National Archery in Schools Program)”, he said. “These kids learn safety early on”.

Fifth-grader Shaylyn Stein, who was also a state champion winner in Helena, said archery has been a good sport for her to be part of.

“It is really fun to be part of,” she said of the Trout Creek group. “I like being part of a small town activity like we have here in Trout Creek”.

Stein scored 231 points in her championship class, hitting three tens as part of her total.

“It’s something you have to practice a lot,” she said.

Stein’s thoughts were matched by teammate Jack Everett, a seventh-grader who scored 277 out of 300 points, including 14 in the yellow circle for 10 points each.

“I’ve been doing this for about two years,” Everett said. “I like the competition and learning about the bows and safety. This is just a really fun thing to do”.

Archers in the middle school levels use bows that require anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds of force to pull. Most start out with the ten-pounders and work their way up as their skill improves.

Many of the competitors work with a large elastic band which they pull on to improve their strength in their arms and shoulders.

Boyer said sending the 21 archers who qualified for the national tourney in Sandy, Utah at the end of this month comes with an estimated cost of $15,000.

“The Trip to Nationals will cost about $15,000 for 21 archers and their coaches, lodging, bus, food and entry fees,” she said. “Anyone who would like to help and/or sponsor an archer can contact us (TCAC) on Facebook, or by email at: troutcreekarchery.org.”

There will also be a fundraiser spaghetti dinner at the Naughty Pine Saloon in Trout Creek this Friday, April 14,with dinner and a social hour beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a raffle at 7p.m.

“This has been really exciting to see how the community has come together to help out,” Boyer said.