Williamsburg, KY – Many colleges and universities offer collegiate archery programs ranging from clubs to varsity teams, several with scholarship opportunities. For the 2019 season, Scholastic 3-D Archery gave away millions of dollars in scholarships at the local, regional, state and national events. S3DA archers across the country had the opportunity to compete for the top spot in their respective class and division for the title of “National Champion.” College coaches are not only awarding scholarships to many who make the podium, but they are also on the ranges and field actively recruiting. Marissa Fullard is a prime example of how hard work and dedication to the sport of archery can pay off.

Marissa got her first bow when she was 10 years old and has been shooting competitively for 5 years. She has been an active S3DA student member for 3 years and is currently a senior with the Refuge Archery S3DA Club in Maysville, GA. When asked how she got involved in archery, she was quick to say that her cousins were on the Jackson County 4-H archery team when she received her 1st bow and she decided that she wanted to join the team as well, because she saw how excited they were and how much they loved it. Marissa feels the best part of archery for her is getting out and meeting new people. For every tournament she has been to, she has made new friends and met new people. Marissa said that archery has made her a better person, because it has taught her patience to just let your arrow fly and move on. Marissa shoots in the High School Female Fixed Pins class with an Elite Energy 35 bow with an IQ quick adjust sight.

Marissa is an active bow hunter as well. She started bowhunting a few years ago. She has shot one buck with her bow but is quick to state that she was definitely hooked as that was the most thrilling feeling she had ever had. Marissa stated, “My favorite archery moment would be the first Buck Master’s tournament that I had ever been to. I shot for Jackson County 4-H and my team was compiled of K4 Middle School girls. We showed up, got checked in and began to warm-up. During warm-ups, we were on fire and we shot co-ed at this point. We continued to warm-up and the boys beside of us made a comment about how they did not want to get beat up by a bunch of girls. One of the boys left and we stayed and shot the best that we could, and we did indeed beat the boys. That was a special moment, because it showed us that any girl could go and shoot just as good or better than the boys. Being so focused on shooting better than them, made us focus on shooting better for ourselves.”

Marissa’s favorite discipline is 3-D. She loves being able to go out and shoot all kinds of cool animals that she typically wouldn’t see in everyday life. She said that the 3-D discipline prepares you, if you are interested, for bowhunting.

Marissa is very excited to go to college. She has officially signed with Emmanuel College and will continue her archery career while receiving her education. She is excited to meet new people and to make more friends. She stated that she was ecstatic when thinking about the medical field and could not wait to see what part of it that she would like the best. She had been looking at going to Emmanuel for a long time, especially since she really wanted to continue her archery career along with receiving her degree. Marissa said that the deciding factor was how great the kinesiology program was. It was very important for her to go to a school with small classes, because she said that was how she excelled in academics.

Started in December 2012 by the Scholastic Archery Association, S3DA has grown exponentially as a next step program to follow introductory programs offered as part of 4-H or the National Archery in Schools Program. S3DA addresses the need for a program to bridge beginning target archery experience and more advanced activities such as 3-D shooting and bowhunting. The program currently operates across the United States with hundreds of certified coaches serving

thousands of young archers, grades 3–12. For more information on S3DA membership go to: WWW.S3DA.ORG or email: infos3darchery@gmail.com. Check out S3DA on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram