Club Archery is one of the over 100 student organizations that Washington and Lee University offers, and it started because one student wanted an excuse to bring his bow to campus. 

Club Archery President Nicholas Nguyen started this organization from scratch last Fall.

“Over the summer, I got really into archery. And so, with about two months of experience in archery, I decided ‘I’m gonna start an archery club,’” Nguyen said.

Nguyen is focused on growing the club this year so that more members can participate in each outing. 

The club meets on Saturdays at 1 p.m., and a  bus takes the participating members from campus to Quail Ridge Sporting Club and Boarding Kennels located on 336 Murat Road. 

Outings are currently limited to 15 people, while there are 84 members in the club. 

Nguyen usually sends sign up sheets to club members early in the week, and he said the form typically fills within an hour of sending it out.

Member Noah Shelton, ’25, said that he is working on gathering more equipment from some of his friends he used to do archery with. 

Shelton has been shooting archery since he was seven. He doesn’t hold an official leadership position, but he acts as a mentor to many members who have barely held a bow, and he works closely with Nguyen. 

This weekend was the first time capacity for their outing could even hit 15 since Shelton could supply another bow and 150 more arrows. 

Club Archery differs from other recreational clubs like running or basketball because it has a cost attached.  The budget they were given was tight, Nguyen said. The site charges for each bow rental and each person who shows up. 

Club members pay $10 per outing. But there is an additional club due of $30 once a member goes on their second outing. 

Nguyen wanted to make sure that cost was not a problem when international and low-income students expressed concern.

“Because of that, I’ve actually gone to the Office of Inclusion and Engagement and gotten some money for them,” Nguyen said. “So that way. some people can go for free.”

Nguyen is also working on creating partnerships with nearby schools, including Southern Virginia University and Virginia Military Institute. 

SVU students have shown greater interest at this time, so their students are being invited to the club’s upcoming outing this Saturday. 

Nguyen and Shelton hope that forming these partnerships could eventually make the club more competitive as opposed to its current recreational state.