Alyce Maiden reached for the phone to call her friend Maris. Some time earlier, she had promised to take Maris to see one of the local archery tournaments and this seemed like a grand opportunity. The weather man promised clear weather, and the local club was looking forward to a record crowd the next day at Jason's meadows.

"Hello, Maris," Alyce began when the voice of her friend greeted her, " I was wondering if you would like to go with us to the shoot tomorrow at Jason's meadows. Harrison and I are entering the meet and we thought you and Tony might like to go along. That's fine! We will pick you up at your house at about eight or eight-thirty. Oh, just wear a regular sports dress and low-heeled shoes. All right, good-bye."

Russ Hoogerhyde, Five Times National Archery Champion,

Shows High-School Students How to Draw the Bow.

Harrison called for Alyce the next morning before eight. They wanted to check over their arrows and bows before leaving. They were just in time in picking up their two friends, and the quartet rolled along together towards the edge of town where the meet was to be held.

"Say, Harrison," Tony leaned forward from the back seat to ask, "tell us something about this archery business. All I know is that you shoot at a target with a bow. Who is putting on this meet? How many will be there? What are you going to do? How . .

"Whoa," Harrison stopped him, "one at a time, please. One reason you are going to the meet is to find out some of these things. Suppose I answer your first question, and then you can spring them a little more slowly. This tournament is being sponsored by the local archery club. We expect quite a crowd there, not all shooting, of course. But when the weather is good, there is a sizable audience."

* Prepared in collaboration with Louise R. Partridge

"Is this the only tournament held around here?" continued Tony, who seemed more interested now.

"I should say not! Why, our club alone has several shoots a year. There is the Invitational Meet, when we invite archers from all over the county. Then there is the Club Championship each year, to say nothing of the Novelty Shoots."

"Novelty Shoots? What are they?" Tony inquired.

"Oh, that's something that you'll have to see to understand. They're hard to explain, but they're great sport. I'll let you know when the next one is being held, if you like. Then there is the State Tournament each year, and sometimes the Midwestern Meet is held in this state. The National Archery Association holds a tournament each year, and that's when the big shots show their stuff. So far not one has been held near here. The rules for the smaller tournaments are set up by the National Association."

"Say," said Tony, "I had no idea archery was such a popular sport. I know that you and Alyce practice a lot, but from what you say there are evidently many others, too, who follow in the footsteps of Robin Hood."

Regular Flight Shooting and Archery Golf.

"Well," Harrison was now speaking with an air of authority, "I was just reading last night that it is estimated there are over three hundred thousand archers in the country. Many high schools now teach archery as a regular course. . . ."

Harrison stopped short to steer the car into the meadows to park on one side of the field. A crowd was already gathering. Across the field Tony saw a row of targets set up in a line. There were markers to show the various distances from the target, such as a hundred yards, eighty yards, sixty yards, and so forth. Archers with long bows and quivers filled with colorful arrows were practicing and talking together in groups.

Alyce and Harrison showed their guests the best place to stand for a view of the meet and went to report to the officials in order to find out to what targets they had been assigned. Harrison left a booklet with Tony, venturing the remark that it might help him and Maris to understand what was taking place on the field. Upon examination, the booklet turned out to be a copy of the Constitution and Bylaws of the National Archery Association. Inside were listed the regulations for tournaments.

Before long, things began to happen. Several men began by asking the spectators to move off the range. The archers were assembling along the shooting lines in small groups. Maris and Tony found that their friends had indeed suggested the best place for them to see the meet. From where they stood, they had a clear view of what was going on.

Layout of the Field for an Archery Tournament.

One official, who they later learned was called the Field Captain, seemed to be in charge of the whole thing. He announced the events and asked the audience to be reasonably quiet during the shooting. One of the bystanders explained aloud to his chum that if the tournament had been for women only, or the women had shot separately, the official would be called the Lady Paramount.