Just as I was about to walk over to the archery range on Friday morning, this years’ archery instructor, Bailey Crawford, caught my eye in the miniature truck on campus. Since we were headed in the same direction, I flagged him down, and he gave me a ride.

The assistant archery instructor, Tessa Gregory, was already at the tent awaiting our arrival. Soon we could hear the faint cheers of 2G as they headed our way. They made their way into the tent and sat on the wooden benches as they applied sunscreen. Archery may be more standing than moving around, but it is still outside, and the sun is still shining down on you. Everyone took their turn in a circle to give their name, where they were from, a few of their hobbies and something that the others might not know.

Christina, seventeen, informed us that she used to have two pet hermit crabs. Unfortunately, one crab ate the other and then died himself. Faith, thirteen, told us that her family once had a pet owl. Many of the girls mentioned that they enjoyed art and dance.

After the introductions, the instructors went over the rules of the archery range and revealed something interesting. Each of the targets had a match taped to the middle of the target. If anyone could manage to hit the match, or even graze it, they would receive five tickets! No matches were grazed in the writing of this article.

Next, Mr. Crawford identified the parts of the bow and arrow and showed the girls how to properly hold the bow. Every rule spoken and instruction given was met with a chorus of “yes sirs.” He then had them each take a turn with their hand on the pole that supported the tent so that they could show how to turn their elbow to avoid it getting hit by the bowstring.

After everyone had received their gear—a bow, an arm guard and a finger tab—they headed out to the line in front of the hay bale targets. Dani Adler, an assistant instructor for basketball and volleyball, joined us for a little while to see how things were going. It wasn’t long before song leading instructor Mark Jenkins also made an appearance, followed by Reese Zoellner, who came to take photographs for this article.

The girls shot a few rounds and learned how to pull arrows while keeping the tip down. Savannah, fourteen, let the tip point upwards, necessitating that she sing a song to help her remember for next time. “Point those arrows down. Point those arrows down. Tips down, tips down, never let it flip ‘round. Point those arrows down.”

The class ended with a shootout where everyone was allowed to shoot one arrow. Elizabeth, a thirteen-year-old from South Africa who goes by Liza, won the shootout with the arrow closest to the bullseye. This earned her a ticket.

After a cheer for the archery staff and a pose for a group picture, they lined up and headed off to their next class: Womanhood.