Interest in archery has been growing in The Bahamas recently, as more and more people experience the excitement, challenge and joy of the sport, and The Bahamas Archery Federation has stepped up the game with the launch of the Bahamas Junior Olympic Archery Development Program.

The program has been developed by The Federation alongside Ben Jamieson, founder and lead instructor of local archery club Bahamas Archery, and provides a self-paced, achievement-based pathway for youth from 10 to 19 years old to learn the sport and prepare for national, regional and international competition.

David Rahming, president of the Federation, said "We're excited to have have developed this program, which can be run by any archery club with membership in the Federation, to further our goal of nurturing and building a national Youth Archery Team.

With Trinidad, Bermuda, Barbados and Latin America already having strong competitive archery teams, it is time for The Bahamas to take its place alongside them in local and international tournaments".

The program, based on US Archery's successful junior archery development program, focuses on all aspects of archery, from technical form through to developing mental strategies critical to competition, and rewards participants along the way with achievement medals as they progress through the levels.

Students set their own pace for those achievements, and with guidance from qualified coaches running the program, attempt the next level when they feel they are ready, progressing through shooting at increasing distances for increasing scores.

"Archery is such a great sport, ideal for those who may not be attracted to the more athletic Olympic sports such as swimming and track. 

By implementing the BJOAD program, the Federation has provided a way not only to engage youth in the sport, but also work towards developing a world class national team." said Ben Jamieson, "It’s a very exciting time for archery in The Bahamas, and our club will be immediately implementing the program for one of the schools we work with in Western New Providence. We plan on being ready to open it to the public shortly through our existing classes and club meets.

I truly hope other clubs throughout The Bahamas follow suit, and look forward to regular inter-club competition throughout the islands." he continued.

Details of the program can be found on the Bahamas Archery Federation's newly launched website at [http://www.bahamasarcheryfederation.org, along with listings of local archery clubs & instructors and information on the Federation itself.

The Bahamas Archery Federation was founded in 2013, and is the official governing body for Archery in The Bahamas, sanctioned by World Archery. The Federation can be reached at info@bahamasarcheryfederation.org .

Bahamas Archery is an archery club in Western New Providence providing public archery classes and membership for existing archers. The club can be contacted at info@bahamasarchery.com .