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Local club hits target

Most people use a bow and arrow once or twice while attending summer camp or maybe during a trip to the Renaissance Festival, but archery is a popular sport and Fayette County has one of the more successful clubs in the state, the Georgia Nockbusters.

The Nockbusters are a Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) Club, sanctioned through the National Archery Association. They are the oldest JOAD club in the state and have the highest number of members and tournament archers of any club in the state as well. The club meets every Saturday and has over 40 active members on the roster and 30 gueest archers that come out and shoot. They have three national champions and nine state champions on their roster with members coming from as far away as Alpharetta and Augusta to be a part of the group.

The Nockbusters offer several types of programs for all levels of archers. There is a basic program of instruction and guidance to teach basic skills to both archers ages 8-18 and 19-90. There is also a program for more advanced archers ages 8-18 that will be encouraged to participate in the JOAD ranking program. This program also offers coaching, training and instructions in tournament skills. Nockbusters also provides a place for more experienced archers who no longer compete on a national level to practice and enjoy the sport.

In the recent JOAD 24th annual National Championship Tournament, the following members of the Georgia Nockbusters competed and finished well:

• Maggie O’Connor of Jonesboro placed sixth in the women's cadet recurve division with a score of 1197.

• MichaelÊBarber of Stockbridge placed sixth in the men’s cadet recurve division with a score of 1235.

• Victoria Shore of Alpharetta placed sixth in the women’s cub recurve division with a score of 1191.

• Renea Marie Lukas-Garcia finished ninth in the women’s cub recurve division with a score of 996.

• Ian Lukas-Garcia of Augusta finished 13th in the men’s bowmen recurve division with a score of 996

• Kristen Brentnall of Atlanta finished 14th in the women’s junior recurve division with a score of 1044.Ê

• Lesley Mobley of Fayetteville finished 15th in the women’s cadet recurve division with a score of 1091.

• Will Bono of Fayetteville finished 19th in the men’s bowman recurve division with a score of 697.

• Bradley Langston of Fayetteville finished 20th in the men’s cadet recurve division with a score of 1033.

• Ethan Milukas of Peachtree City finished 20th in the men’s cub recurve division with a score of 1101.

• Mathew Rogers of Fayetteville finished 24th in the men’s cub recurve division with a score of 996.

• Joey Walker of Fayetteville placed 25th in the men’s cub recurve division with a score of 990.Ê

The two-day tournament was shot under Federation Internationale de Tir a l'Arc (FITA) rules and consisted of shooting 36 arrows at four distances, totaling 144 arrows for a possible total score of 1440 points.ÊÊ

O’Connor also won the silver medal in the Junior US Open Championship Tournament, which followed the JOAD Outdoor Nationals. The US Open is a one day tournament shooting under Olympic rules and is a head to head comeptition. It is open to archers from other countries.

Membership in the Georgia Nockbusters is $30 and $10 for each additional family member. Dues are $2 per session for members and $5 for non-members per session. Sessions are held Saturdays, 9:30 a.m., March-August at North Fayette Elementary School and 4 p.m. at the Fayette County Recreation Center, September-March. There are 10 Olympic style targets and all distances to meet the archer’s needs will be offered.

For more information on archery and the Nockbusters JOAD Club of Georgia contact Rick Walker at 770-460-0894 or at email address rickjwalker@bellsouth.net