Excellence in Archery

Welcome to West Des Moines Tiger Archery Club

Join our community of passionate archers and discover the art of precision, focus, and sportsmanship.

West Des Moines, Iowa tigerarcheryclub@gmail.com

About the club

West Des Moines Tiger Archery Club

Welcome to the West Des Moines Tiger Archery Club (TAC). Our mission is the advancement of the archery sport by nurturing existing archers, cultivating new archers and advancing the sport through caring coaching and leading by professional example. Our team members consist of West Des Moines student's 4th – 12th grade who display a commitment to exhibiting sportsmanship like conduct on and off the range.

The purpose of the archery club is to give students an opportunity to participate in an alternative sport program. Students will learn fundamentals of shooting archery.

Throughout the season coaches will refer to items in our WDM Tiger Archery Handbook. All archers and parents are required to read and understand the contents in the archery handbook. It is of particular importance that all archers read and understand all rules.

Items in the handbook are subject to change at any time and new information will be added as each season progresses.

You must create a DNR ID and register for the current online seasons '20YY-20YY NASP Participant Wavier' DNR event. All Archers must be signed up for the current season to participate in team practices and tournaments.

Our program

A disciplined, supportive range.

General Rules

Every practice and tournament

Safety first

All NASP Safety rules will be followed at all times.
The 11 Steps To Archery Success will be followed at all times.
All members will be able to use the school equipment.
Team members can use their own equipment after inspection by the coaches, but it must be NASP-approved equipment.
Coaches have the immediate and final authority to remove students from practice and from team. Safety is the top priority.
Students are expected to be focused on learning archery skills throughout the entire practice.
Only team members are allowed to use the equipment.
Only archers and BAI instructors will be allowed past the Waiting Line during practices or tournaments. All guests, parents, and friends must remain behind the Waiting Line.

Team Goals

Skill building and competition

Weekly

Practices will take place weekly for bullseye and 3D.
We will compete against other schools in NASP tournaments.
We will prepare as a team for all tournaments.
Develop a love of archery and improve our skills as archers.

Behavior

On and off the range

Team standard

Please understand the expectations for our archery teams are set for the safety of all involved and the integrity of the program itself. Your child must be able to be in control of themselves and not be a distraction or safety concern. If this is an issue for your child, they will be asked to stop or sit out. If a behavior continues to be disruptive or a safety concern, your child may be asked not to return and your session fee will be forfeited to the team.

All archers, instructors, parents, and spectators are expected to always conduct themselves in an exemplary manner by displaying courtesy, consideration, and good sportsmanship to all team members, instructors, competitors, and event officials.
Archers who, in the opinion of coaches, event officials or the state coordinator, engage in unsafe behavior or violate any safety rule may be disqualified from further participation.

Who can compete

Archery is for every student.

Any 4th - 12th grade student who attends a school with an active archery club may participate. Elementary school eligibility begins in 4th grade and applies only at schools that offer archery to 4th graders. Students of all skill levels and physical abilities can excel. Adaptive archery helps athletes with physical or cognitive impairments compete alongside athletes without disabilities. Unlike some team sports, archery is truly a lifelong pastime.

Participating Schools

Clive Learning Academy (5th & 6th Grade ONLY)

Indian Hills Jr. High

Jordan Creek Elementary (4th - 6th Grade ONLY)

Stilwell Jr. High

Valley and Valley Southwoods High School

West Ridge Elementary (5th & 6th Grade ONLY)

Equipment

NASP-approved gear.

TAC is required to follow the NASP® (National Archery in the Schools Program) equipment requirements. The school teams will provide bows and arrows; you are not required to have your own.

Bows

Genesis bow

The original Genesis bow is the ONLY bow allowed for use by the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP®). No accessories like a bow sight, drop away arrow rest, mechanical release, or bow stabilizer can be used.

If you have a pattern or camouflage bow you must cover the sight window with a solid-color tape or paint to prevent any gain of a sighting advantage. Any tape used for this purpose must be solid-colored, and you cannot wrap tape horizontally around the riser or create multiple vertical lines, as these are prohibited markings. In addition, no writing, stickers, or marks on the belly of the bow (side facing the archer).

Arrows

Easton 1820

NASP® uses the Easton 1820 Arrow. The arrow is made of aluminum. The shaft is 30 inches long and must be unmodified.

Important: before purchasing a bow

An eye dominance test is required before purchasing a bow to determine if you need a right or left handed bow. TIP: Eye dominance is not based on which hand an archer writes with. Here is a video on how to perform a simple eye dominance test. If you need further assistance with this, please ask your coach and they can walk you through it or they can perform the test.

Tournaments

Tournament information.

Tournament Schedule

Your Coaches will communicate what time archers should be at the tournament. Archers are asked to arrive 30 to 60 minutes before they are scheduled to shoot. This is to ensure the tournament keeps moving if things are running ahead of schedule.

Tournament Admission Fees

Most tournament admission fees will run around $5 per spectator. Many tournaments only accept cash for the admission fees. The archer entry fees are covered by the school team for seasonal tournaments the Head Coach schedules.

Divisions

Elementary

Grades 4-5

Middle School

Grades 6-8

High School

Grades 9-12

Scores on NASP

NASP Tournaments scores are uploaded to the NASP site. Once this upload is complete, archers and families can view the scores. Go to the tournaments button and select your tournament. You can search by 'Results By School' or 'Individual Standing'.

Get in Touch

Have questions about the Tiger Archery Club? We'd love to hear from you!

Email Us