OUTDOORS: Archers descend on Tuscaloosa for Archery Shooters Association Pro-Am

They sometimes call 3D archery “redneck golf” and the similarities are striking. Competitive archery equipment costs about the same as a good set of Golf Clubs. Arrows are comparable to golf balls and both get lost.

But Mike Tyrell says that anybody who comes to an Archery Shooters Association shoot expecting to see a bunch of rowdy yahoos flinging arrows everywhere is in for a surprise.

“We have a collared-shirt rule and codes of conduct,” said Tyrell president of ASA. “Twenty percent of the people participating are women. It’s a family sport. I’ll have three generations out here shooting together.”

ASA is holding one of its seven Pro-Am events in Tuscaloosa this weekend at the new multipurpose pavilion on Northridge Road near the intersection with Old Colony Road. The archery ranges are set up in the woods surrounding the new building. The club has a contract to hold the event here for at least three years.

Tyrell expects to draw 1,300 people to the event. ASA, with 300 club affiliates and 7,000 members is one of two national organizations that hold 3D shoots around the country.

Three-D archery draws on the popularity of bow hunting around the country. In competitions archers shoot at foam targets shaped like different animals. The targets are at varying distances and more experienced archers are shooting at unknown distances.

It developed out of Olympic and field archery which shoot at traditional bullseye targets at known distances. Three-D archery gives people a competitive venue that relates more closely to their hunting experiences.

Three-D archery incorporates all aspects of shooting skills. Archers shoot from different angles, including above and below the target, to mimic hunting conditions and they shoot in all weather.

Larry McAfee, a longtime archer and president of Tuscaloosa County Bowhunters, a Bowhunters of Alabama affiliate, has taken part in competitive archery for years. Holding a big ASA shoot in Tuscaloosa is a milestone, he said.

“This is one of the Cadillacs for archers,” McAfee said. “It focuses attention on archery in Tuscaloosa and Northport. I believe we’ll get more people interested in competition.”

West Alabama has lots of bow hunters, McAfee said. But not all of them take part in competitive archery. Three-D competitions give them an opportunity to enjoy the sport year round, not just during hunting season.

BHA clubs like the Tuscaloosa County affiliate stage local shoots that are similar to the ASA shoot. But it’s on an entirely different scale.

“You get to shoot with people from around the nation,” McAfee said. “When we went down to the ASA shoot in Gainesville (Fla.), there were cars from almost every state. I saw a truck with a tag from Montana.”

For the Tuscaloosa Pro-Am, Tyrell said the organization set up 12 ranges with 20 targets each. The ranges are on a wide path about 100 yards long through the woods and the targets are set up on either side of the path at distances up to 50 yards. Archers are divided into classes ranging from novice to professional.

“I’m setting up over 290 foam targets and 40 bag targets,” Tyrell said.

The difficulty of the targets varies with the class with novices shooting under the easiest conditions and pros the most difficult. Until 2007, all archers in ASA competitions shot at unknown distances. The introduction of known distance targets helped open up the sport to beginners and encouraged more women to participate, he said.

“Known distance allowed a lot of people to take part,” Tyrell said. “We developed a way to bring people through the system without beating them up too bad.”

Novices start shooting closer targets that are placed at a known distance. More experienced amateurs shoot at a mixture of known distances and unknown distances and professionals shoot at all unknown distances.

Part of the appeal of the Pro-Am event is the team competition that was to be held Friday. One pro is teamed with five amateurs. About 600 archers were to shoot in the event with 10 ranges accommodating 10 teams apiece.

Amateurs can learn from the professional archers while they compete. The pros can provide instruction and advice.

Amateurs can earn prize money along with the professionals. The pro payouts are, of course, higher. Professionals pay a $275 entry fee while entry fees for amateurs range from $30-$125. Eighty percent of the entry fees are paid back in prize money to 20 percent of the participants.

“We’ll pay out over $100,000 in prize money at this tournament,” Tyrell said.

Everybody likes prize money, McAfee said. But that’s not why archers come to the events.

“The prize money is a draw,” McAfee said. “But most people show up to shoot with other people from around the country. It’s the competition and seeing friends and making new friends, that’s why we do this.”

Reach Robert DeWitt at robert.dewitt@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0203.