While their counterparts in "Brave" and "The Hunger Games" are splitting apples and nailing bulls-eyes in movie theaters, Georgia's female archers have also done well for themselves in the real world.
Over the past four years four girls at Woodlawn Elementary School in Murray County have taken turns as state and national champions in the National Archery in the Schools Program. And, with Olympic fever now at its peak, Georgia is excited to contribute Lee Ford, of Perry to the U.S. archery team going to the Paralympic Games in London.
With schools in 80 Georgia counties fielding NASP teams and 7,800 kids competing in the most recent national finals in Louisville, how is it that Georgia girls outshot their male opposition?
"Girls are better at everything," explained Morgan Ray, 14, of Chatsworth, who was a sixth grader in 2010 when she scored a first place finish in world NASP competition.
She'll get no argument from Ford. Her father was a shooter who didn't think the sport was "ladylike," so Ford, 41, directed her competitive energies toward speedskating, until Crohn's disease and a degenerative spine sidelined that career.
The Philadelphia native returned to archery four years ago and picked it up fast, studying with Jim White of Roswell. White, vice president of the Kennesaw Archery Club, would say it's Ford's mind, more than her hand or eye, that makes her an Olympian. "It's 90 percent mental, and the other 10 percent is also mental," he said.
In that way the sport is a great leveler, allowing girls to compete against boys and young against old. The plucky female archers in "Brave" and "The Hunger Games" helped underline that fact, bringing many more girls out to archery programs this summer.
"Just from my experience, female numbers at these camps have doubled," said Matt Stewart, shooting sports coordinator with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources southern region. "The heroine [in "The Hunger Games"] shows that girls can do it just like the boys, and they want to try it out."
Haley Bagley of Chatsworth was 11 years old when she picked up a bow for the first time; her first arrow went in the gold center of the target. Three months later she won the state elementary division, and ended up in a clip on the Disney channel promoting offbeat sports.
"Everybody calls me Katniss," said Bagley, now 13. Girls, she said, have a knack for consistently replicating their draw and release. "There's a certain feel you have when you do same exact thing," she said. "You can tell before it ever gets to the target."
Archery in the metro Atlanta
Kennesaw Archery Club. Classes for ages 9 and up. $10. Pitner Park, 2302 Pitner Road, Acworth. www.kennesawarchery.org.
Panola Mountain State Park. The archery range is open daily. Classes for ages 9 and up. $10, plus $5 parking fee. 2600 Ga. 155, Stockbridge. 770-389-7801; www.gastateparks.org/PanolaMountain
.
The Archery Learning Center. Indoor range and equipment sales, plus programs for families. 2164 Fountain Square, Snellville. 678-344-0035, archerylearningcenter.archerylive.com.
The Georgia Wildlife Resources. The department maintains 11 archery ranges around the state. www.georgiawildlife.com/hunting/archery-shooting-ranges.
Georgia Archery.com. A detailed lists of shops, clubs and events.
More on Lee Ford
Raised in Philadelphia, Ford moved to Atlanta in 1995, just in time to get hired for the 1996 Olympics. She helped coordinate the drivers chauffeuring athletes to and fro. "It was a nightmare, and it was so much fun."
She trained as a speed skater but quit after discovering that Crohn's disease had eaten away at her spine, rendering one leg numb. Today she uses a wheelchair named "Nigel" when she's shopping or at the airport, but stays on her own two feet at home.
Ford will compete in the Paralympics in London shooting from a seated position on a stool. Little known fact: Ford studied belly dancing, and had a party with belly-dancers and fire performers to help raise money to buy her first bow.
She practices on an airstrip near her home in Perry, using a golf cart to travel back and forth to collect arrows. She is married to IT specialist John Faherty, and has a daughter, Shelby, 15, who is also an archer.
Her secret to success: "Just don't stop. Whatever you do, just don't stop."
Olympic factoids
Olympic archers use a recurve bow, which is distinguished by its shape: the tips curve away from the archer when strung.
Olympic archers stand 70 meters from the target — almost the length of a football field — and can consistently hit the "gold" or center of the target, a circle 9.6 inches in diameter.
About the Author
