For the third year in a row, major championship archery will take place in Hamilton County. A year after Strawtown Koteewi Park near Noblesville hosted the 2024 USA Archery National Field Championships, the event will return June 13-15.

 

Jim Shackelford, President of the Indiana Archery Corporation, championed for a central location for USA Archery competitions and quickly Koteewi in Hamilton County rose to the top. Last year’s field nationals event featured Olympic medalists and nearly 4x the competitors compared to when the event was on the west coast.

 

“Last year went extremely well and that’s why we’re proud to host this year,” Shackelford said. “We’d like Koteewi to be the permanent home. You have Indy right there, a lot to do and it’s easy to get to.”

 

The 2024 field nationals saw 130 archers vie to advance to international competition. This year, in a non-Olympic year, that field is expected to be close to 100. Brady Ellison, a 5-time Olympic medalist and a silver winner at the Olympics in Paris, will headline the field. Four Indiana natives last year made it to international competitions, including Noblesville native Ryan Davis. After a successful host run in 2024, the nation’s best archers have shared that Noblesville and Hamilton County are on target.

 

“Everybody knocked it out of the park,” Shackelford said. “The competitors gave great feedback.”

 

In a post-event survey, 100% of the respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with Koteewi as the host venue for field nationals. In the same survey, 97% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with event personnel.

 

This could be only the beginning for championship archery coming to Hamilton County. Coming online in 2027 at Koteewi is a new state-of-the-art indoor archery range. The new building will feature 70- and 20-meter target ranges and a 3D range. The new facility will have a video simulator to cater to the public and other amenities.

 

“The new facility will provide year-round opportunity for novice and more experienced competitors as well as state-of-the-art training for coaches,” said Tony Girt, owner and operator of the range at Koteewi as well as a long-time championship archery coach.

 

A collaborative effort between the local stakeholders and USA Archery, along with a new facility coming in 2027, has carved a bright future for high-level archery in Hamilton County. Championships aside, Shackelford sees an opportunity to grow the sport among the masses.

 

“Our goal is to grow archery for everyone,” he said.