What's a JOAD? and Fita? (No, it's not a drink and a foreign sandwich) "FITA" is both the name (acronym/initials) of the leading organization on archery standards for the world (Federation Internationale Tir l'Arc) as well as the type of archery round shot in the NAA (National Archery Association) tournaments. Take a look at the FITA website for more details about the organization.

                                                                          YOUTH LESSONS

JOAD is separate from FITA, it is a USA-only category of youth archers, the JUNIOR OLYMPIC ARCHERY DEVELOPMENT (JOAD) program. JOAD was created and designed by the US National Archery Association (NAA) to promote the development of Olympic archers. FITA has both adult and youth divisions, while JOAD is for youth archers only. JOAD allows archers to shoot fewer arrows per tournament at a larger target. JOAD Instructors and Coaches must go through training and testing to be certified by the NAA.

In order for our archers to compare and compete with other nationalities, the NAA adheres to the FITA standard for adult archers and has recently (2001) altered the JOAD program divisions to resemble the FITA divisions. Youth archers are free to shoot in both FITA and JOAD tournaments.

Safety First
The NAA JOAD program has a tried and proven method of teaching children, young gentlemen and ladies, the sport of archery in a way that is SAFE for all. It is the responsibility of not just the JOAD coach, but of you, your young archer, and of every adult present at the archery range, to insure that the safety rules are followed. Keep that in mind when you are watching your child and others shooting, and do help the JOAD coach anytime it is appropriate. And insure that your archer understands the importance of this anytime s/he is shooting or is around someone else that is shooting.

Why should I encourage my JOAD archer to compete in tournaments?
The NAA's JOAD program is designed specifically to provide a great degree of positive reinforcement to youth in a safe manner. A goal of the JOAD coach is to get every kid shooting (safely) within only a few minutes of first picking up a bow, and to provide constant POSITIVE encouragement as the archer progresses through the achievement levels. JOAD coaches are taught to never (or rarely) use negative terminology when helping the archer.

As for tournaments, it is only natural that parents want their child to excel AND have fun, and competing in JOAD tournaments will almost always provide further positive reinforcement as virtually every archer will receive formal recognition by the group, especially in the local and regional events. It is remarkable how positive the tournament can be for an archer - there is usually anticipatory stress, but almost always the archer will be having a good time, by the time the first arrows fly!

A unique thing about archery competition that sets it apart from other sporting competitions is that while there is a degree of "do better than the other guy" element, there is much more emphasis placed on "try to shoot your personal best" along with a social promotion between the archers. During a FITA round the archer does not often see directly the performance of other archers in the same division so they cannot compare their own performance until the round is finished. There is not the usual "I'm being beaten" stress and loss of self-esteem! JOAD archers gain great self-esteem by virtue of competing against themselves and improving on their personal best scores. It is important that parents not place too much pressure on "winning" as opposed to encouragement towards a "personal best" and "a good time". By the way, there is no
yelling at the referees at an archery tournament!

HOOP'S JOAD CLASS SCHEDULE:
Tuesday - 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Thursday - 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Saturday - 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
$15 per class( no equipment needed)

ALL CLASSES ARE PAY AS YOU GO, NO NEED TO PRE-REGISTER FOR ANY CLASS.