by Haley Gunther, reporter

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Fairhope Archery hosted a three-day tournament in the middle school gymnasium January 4-6 where 20 schools participated with 225 archers.

“I always get nervous when I know there are people watching me, but it helps me to remember that those people watching me are there as supporters and only want me to try my best which makes me feel better and calms my nerves,” said sophomore Abigail Turner.

Archers shot a practice round at 10 meters then shot three scoring rounds at 10 meters followed by a practice round at 15 meters with three scoring rounds at the 15 meter line. 

“One of my greatest accomplishments in archery was being able to finally get my

mind to focus for once and being able to take a breather,” said sophomore Kristence Wiggins. “A big thing I honestly had to overcome was not being so hard on myself and not being embarrassed about the little things.”

Being on the line can be difficult because other archers are behind and archers sometimes feel as if those archers are focusing on them. 

“Most thoughts going through my head are that I need to calm my nerves or [also] just overthinking about the competition,” Kritence said. 

WIthout enough archers to create a team score, individual Fairhope archers shot on Thursday while other teams shot Friday and Saturday. 

Sophomore Nathan Wigginss placed first out of 125 boys, earning himself a gold medal.

“I think the hardest thing to overcome for me personally is controlling my nerves during tournaments,” Turner said. “It’s especially difficult when you shoot next to people from other schools, but it’s always nice to meet new people!”To see more archery scores, go to  https://nasptournaments.org/.