Starting today through March 1, the Owensboro Convention Center will be hosting the 2026 S3DA Eastern Indoor Nationals. Scholastic 3-D Archery, known as S3DA, was founded in December 2012 by a group of leaders in the archery industry who realized there was a large gap between basic introductory archery programs and the next-step training initiatives that youth are looking for.
S3DA is a national youth archery organization designed to foster, educate, and guide youth in three major disciplines – Indoor Target, 3D Archery, and Outdoor Target. The mission of the program also includes teaching ethical bowhunting and wildlife conservation, giving youth a well-rounded foundation in both sport and stewardship.
S3DA’s partnership with Owensboro began when the organization’s Kentucky State affiliate first hosted their state championship in the Owensboro Convention Center. That tournament demonstrated just how great of a venue the Convention Center could be for an Indoor tournament, and S3DA has been here since. Since 2022 the group’s competitions have consistently hosted over 900 archers in Owensboro. This year will have the highest total since 2022 with over 970 archers registered for the weekend.
S3DA began with just three states represented at its first national event, and the inaugural 3D National Championship in 2013 – held in London, Kentucky – welcomed 188 participants. Fast forward to the 2026 S3DA Eastern Indoor National Championship in Owensboro, Kentucky, where nearly 1,000 archers are expected to compete.
Today, the program is active in 30+ states and continues to expand. S3DA operates as an after-school program that can be hosted by archery shops, churches, fire stations, wildlife agencies, and ASA/NFAA/JOAD clubs, offering communities a flexible way to introduce youth to the sport.
The program provides a natural progression from grade school through high school, and many S3DA archers go on to earn collegiate archery scholarships at universities across the country. Through partnerships with organizations like USA Archery and their Collegiate Archery Program, youth can continue their education while competing at the collegiate level.
“I am confident we can continue to grow the event here in Daviess County,” S3DA Executive Director Cody Kirby said. “There is still room for growth at the Owensboro Convention Center, and they have been a great partner for the duration of our relationship.”
The weekend begins today as archers from across the Eastern United States will compete in a modified NFAA 5-spot round. Archers are required to shoot two 30-arrow qualification rounds for a possible score of 300. At the conclusion of the weekend, any ties for score will be broken with total “X-Count”, the highest possible total is 60 Xs.
From there, any archers tied for podium positions for both score and x-count will move into a “shoot down” round to determine final podium positions. In addition to the nearly 1,000 archers, S3DA also has several archery manufacturers attending as vendors and several Colleges and Universities attending to recruit talent to their rosters. This will be highlighted by our first-ever S3DA National Collegiate Signing Day tomorrow.
