New archery club looks to hit target in Marion County
Sports reporter
Some clubs have figuratively hit the bullseye with their success. A new one in Marion County is hoping to do so literally.
Marion County Archery Club (MCAC) will focus on promoting the sport of archery, target archery, 3-D archery, and bow hunting.
Lucas King, industrial arts teacher at Marion High School, grew up bow hunting in Lebo, and after moving back to Marion a year ago wanted to start a program in the county. He contacted Andy Hansen and the two, along with Casey Case and Mark Johnson, set up the program.
The club, which will meet once a month from March until September, is for anyone from beginners to skilled archers, but King said the main objective is to introduce the sport to youth.
"We want to make this a learning tool for kids," he said.
King remembers when he was a kid in Marion and the building which used to house Suffield's on the corner of Main and Third streets, was an indoor archery range. He also remembered the club in Lebo that has been established for more than 30 years and meets once a week.
Other towns such as Lindsborg and Council Grove have programs as well, and while King's objective is to start small, at some point he would like to be as big as the surrounding area clubs. Those clubs use donated acres or city owned lake property for their practices.
For now, MCAC will meet at one-half mile south of 190th street on Remington Road, Marion, one-and-a-half miles south of town.
"There are a lot of possibilities, it just depends on how serious you want to be," King said.
Those possibilities include competing in the Junior Olympic Archery Development program (JOAD), which has produced the last gold and silver United States Olympic medalists.
Getting started
The club is a not-for-profit organization and will use its fees to help pay for flat and 3-D targets, and any other maintained of equipment that is needed.
King is excited for the club to begin, and for Marion County youth to be exposed to something new.
"It's a great way to bring people with similar interests together," he said.
The club plans to begin practice this week. For more information call King at 620-381-3564, or go to marioncoarchery.com.
