Hunger Games fever makes archery cool
(AP)
In schools and backyards, for their birthdays and out with their dads, kids are gaga for archery four weeks into the box office run of "The Hunger Games" and less than 100 days before the London Olympics.
"All of a sudden sales of bows have, like, tripled," said Paul Haines, a salesman at the Ramsey Outdoor store in Paramus, New Jersey.
A manager there made a sign for the hunting department: "Quality bows for serious archers and girls who saw the movie," he said.
Archery ranges around the country have enjoyed a steady uptick among kids of both sexes since the movie began cleaning up at the box office March 23, though heroine Katniss - a deadly shot with an arrow - seems to resonate more with girls.
"Katniss is so inspiring," said Gabby Lee, who asked for archery lessons for her 12th birthday in February after reading the wildly popular book trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
"I'm not very sportsy," she offers, but now she belongs to a youth archery league near her Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, home. "It feels really good because I'm usually the girl who sits and reads."
While some young archers have been doing it for years, motivated by generations of hunters in their families, the parents of others love it for its focus, independence and because they, too, have kids not drawn to more typical team or contact sports.
"We're thrilled with the awareness and the excitement that The Hunger Games has brought to the sport of archery," said Denise Parker, CEO of USA Archery, the US training and selection body for the Olympics, Paralympics, Pan American Games and other world events.
"We're already receiving feedback from our youth clubs that interest in archery programs in their areas is up significantly," she said. - AP
Published April 22, 2012
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