Eaton has a archery sports center about six miles up the road. They also have places for soccer and base ball, but are mainly known for their archery stuff. Their indoor classes are set up for beginners to shoot at about ten yards, or were when we took our Scouts there.
The biggest issue for my Scouts that night was it was at the height of the "Hunger Games" popularity and there was a disproportionate number of mid teen girls there all striving to be "Katnis"
Bear Archery is about ten miles in the other direction, but I have not been there in a couple of decades now. After Fred Bear died the folks that owned everything took apart the museum and as best I can tell the archery walks have completely fallen apart. I have heard that florida termites destroyed or heavily damaged his totum poles. One can still see the concrete bears guarding the parking lot from the street though.
The Archery field at UF still has it butts, but is now called the band practice field and while I no longer work on campus so do not see it every day I have not seen a PE majors archery class on it in decades.
This past week I happened to be at Gainesville Regional airport and drove back into the industrial park and out of curiosity drove back to where the "Gator Bowmen" had their hunters walk and 60-90-120 range. Almost looked like it had never been there. You could barely pickout where some of the hay bale backstops had been on the walking courses, but even the protective sheds had fallen apart. Only the big stadium style lights that lit the 60-90-120 range were still visible.
Sorry to be depressing, but thirty years ago archery was a really big thing around here. it was every where, but now seem limited to the Eaton facilities.
In good news the female child unit mentioned an interest in archery ( partially what prompted the trip out to the Airport) so I an trying to find some of my old gear and stacking up some bales by the pump house for use during this weeks spring break. I found this weekend that dispite a bunch of stores (everything from local family run hardware store the Dicks and Bass Pro) that have humungous archery departments that no one seems to have anything like the old Bear school bow recurves. Wheels! Everything has to have Wheels these days! My school bow began delaminating before The Girl was born so that is out and here mothers Lil Bear is actually Greyling made, so ancient and lacking a string. grump.
-kBob
