Williamsburg Kiwanis Club donates to Impact Archery

Archery is a sport that doesn’t require any physical prowess in order to be successful, yet it does teach discipline, focus, work ethic and the drive to succeed. It gives students, who may not participate in other sports or activities, a chance to be part of a team.

Williamsburg Kiwanis Club President Cissy Lunce presents Impact Archery President Kris Strebeck with a $500 donation last month.

This was part of the message that Impact Archery President Kris Strebeck delivered to the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club during its October monthly meeting.

Impact Archery is an archery club for local children. It has existed for three years in the Tri-County area, and has grown significantly from three participants the first year to 25 the second year to 64 last year. Last year’s club consisted of 20 children, who had never shot archery before.

The team consists of students in third through 12^th grade, who come primarily from the Williamsburg-Whitley County area, but there are also some from Corbin and London.

“It’s basically travel ball for archery. These kids love what they do,” Strebeck said. “It is a program that is huge in the community.”

While Laurel County is expected to form an archery team soon, Strebeck said Impact Archery is still expecting to field a team with 50 – 75 kids this year with endless possibilities for growth.

Williamsburg is in a prime position between two national champion archery teams at Union College and the University of the Cumberlands, noted Strebeck, who is also the head archery coach at Cumberlands.

Impact Archery is also affiliated with the Scholastic 3-D Archery Association, which is headquartered in Williamsburg.

The club gets no financial support from any state or national organizations, and is not affiliated with any specific school or district, which means it gets no support from any of them.

Participants pay a $125 sign-up fee that includes a t-shirt and jersey.

Parents provide the equipment for the children. Most families invest $300-$500 to get started.

“It just depends on how much they want to invest,” he said.

Strebeck said that for the remaining expenses, the club relies on sponsorships and donations.

“Everything goes back into the program,” he added.

The season goes from November through July.

From November until March, the students shoot indoor archery, and then 3D archery until June. During June and July they shoot outdoor field target archery.

In 2017, Williamsburg hosted a National S3DA Outdoor Target Championship on the University of the Cumberlands lacrosse field. It brought hundreds of participants, families and spectators from across the United States to town.

Impact Archery hopes to host another outdoor tournament in May.

During the meeting, the Williamsburg Kiwanis Club presented Strebeck with a $500 donation for Impact Archery.