An archery range should be a welcoming place where both beginner and experienced archers can feel comfortable and know they’re going to get the guidance and resources they need. Hosting an archery camp will welcome new archers into your shop and offer an opportunity to try archery that might not have otherwise been available.
It’s a low-pressure but high-energy way to let kids try archery without the commitment. Those who love it will end up coming back to your shop to buy their own equipment, use your range and perhaps even compete.
Check out the ATA’s updated retail range guide, now called, “Monetizing the Archery Range.” (This text link will prompt members to login, then the download will happen automatically.) The goal of the guide is to provide retailers with a thorough roadmap of how they can use their range as a reliable source of income to boost their business. If you have the space and the materials, why not make the most out of your shop and provide as many opportunities as possible to practice, compete and have fun, including an archery camp?
The guide provides clear step-by-step instructions for how to host your event, from a sample class progression pathway with templates for introductory classes and advanced instruction to detailed beginner programs appropriate for group settings. Use the progression template to slowly increase the difficulty and introduce new techniques throughout the course if you’re hosting a multi-day or multi-week camp.
If you’ve never created an event like this before, don’t worry. You can simply follow the steps from the book; no prior event experience is needed, only your archery experience. Even if you don’t currently have a range, the guide walks you through how to make use of the space you have.
Additional Resources
Another great companion resource is our Archery Event Planning Workbook. (This text link will prompt members to login, then the download will happen automatically.) This resource offers guidance on how to execute a detailed and well-organized event.
Now, all that’s left for you to do is make sure you have enough youth-sized bows and advertise, advertise, advertise.
Put up signs around your shop for existing customers to see. You’ll get a lot of parent-archers who will be excited to get their kids in on the fun. Create plenty of Facebook and Instagram posts about the event. Come up with a theme like superheroes, medieval times or glow-in-the-dark archery. What kid wouldn’t want to pretend to be Hawkeye, Wonder Woman, Robin Hood, Katniss or a space archer for a week?
You can make themed graphics for the event using user-friendly platforms such as Canva and decorate the range accordingly. Post reels of your shop employees talking about the event. Keep the message out there.
After-Event Followup
Once the archers have taken your camp and determine they love the sport, take them around the shop to get them all the gear they need and point them toward Scholastic 3-D Archery, the National Field Archery Association, and USA Archery to learn more about how to get started in the competitive circuit. Hosting these events is a great opportunity to promote your own shop. Once you’ve hosted your successful archery camp, visit the ATA Resource Library for the full list of our other member-resources.
Need to become a member? Visit the Join Today page at archerytrade.org/join-today to start your membership and unlock the full suite of member benefits, such as adding your store to our Store Locator, viewed by thousands of users each year. Then, join us for ATA Show Week, Jan. 7-10, 2027, and enjoy the industry’s largest trade show, followed by the Archery & Bowhunting Supershow, national archery tournaments and more! Your membership gets you free access to the Show floor to place orders for those archery camp necessities in person, at discounted rates, and put faces to the names of hundreds of the industry’s biggest manufacturers, distributors, and archery organization leaders.
Your membership also unlocks access to any archery tournaments that will be held alongside the Show. Watch with pride as the kids that attended your archery camp compete on the big stage. Registration for ATA Show Week opens soon. Learn more at atashow.com.
Photos courtesty of ATA
