Perkins County 4-H archery program in full swing

The Perkins County 4-H archery program is back in action with new leader Carissa Cornelius in charge.

Cornelius was active in an archery program during her youth in Big Springs, and she continues that today by bowhunting.

When she heard the local 4-H archery program was looking for a new leader, she was interested, but was lacking required proper certification at the time to run the activity.

Due to COVID, Cornelius was unable to earn her certification in March of 2020 like she originally planned, and instead was finally able to take the required leadership workshop in early autumn at Scottsbluff.

Though she was certified, the program was unable to start up once more, as they have to follow the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s COVID guidelines and restrictions.

It is unsafe to wear masks while doing archery, Cornelius noted, because the risk of the mask getting caught in the bow and arrow makes it too dangerous, so the group had to wait until they got the green light to practice safely. 

While they waited for permission to begin practice, Cornelius said she and the kids who planned to join the program raised money for equipment by sending out letters and selling Candy Club candy.

The equipment purchased with the funds they raised includes all new bows, a bowstand, arrows, arrow stands, and other equipment needed to run the program.

Fortunately, even though it was several months before the group was able to meet for practices, the new equipment came in around the same time as the restrictions on practicing were lifted.

They were finally able to begin working together early this year, and have continued to meet once a week on Monday evenings at the fairgrounds.

The group is currently training indoors in the sale building, but plan to move outdoors once the weather warms up for the summer.

Cornelius estimates between 20 and 25 kids are currently active in the program, and any kids interested can sign up at any time since she will be running the program year-round.

Youth interested in joining the archery group must be between ages eight and 19, and all skill levels are welcome.

“The oldest kid I have is a sophomore, and I have a lot of eight year olds,” Cornelius said. “We definitely have an assortment of talents. All of them have really improved since we started. They have completely impressed me with how well they do!”

Equipment is provided by the group, though individuals can use their own bow at practice if they have one already. However, Cornelius noted kids must use the supplied bows for any competitions in which they participate.

She is hoping to start up a competition between Perkins County and Imperial’s archery clubs, but because Imperial only meets during the summertime she has been unable to pin down any details for that yet.

At fair, Cornelius said the UNL office has an archery trailer they will bring down and anyone interested in trying out archery can make an attempt there.

Those interested in joining the 4-H archery program can sign up on 4honline.com or by calling the local extension office at 308-352-4340.

“Just because someone hasn’t tried it before or doesn’t shoot outside of the club doesn’t mean they can’t come!” Cornelius noted. “We have all levels of experience and the kids who had never tried it before really enjoy it!”