ATA Donates $50,000 to Yankton’s New Archery Center

The ATA donated $50,000 to the new Regional Center for Archery Excellence complex in Yankton, South Dakota, during the Center’s dedication and grand opening June 13.

ATA President/CEO Jay McAninch, left, presents $50,000 to NFAA President Bruce Cull, right.

The 22,000-square-foot facility is the new home of the National Field Archery Association (NFAA) headquarters, the Easton Sports Development Foundation (ESDF) Center for Excellence in Archery, and an archery museum.

The ATA’s donation was made on behalf of ATA and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. The state agency is working with the ATA to help grow and promote archery and bowhunting through school- and community-based programs.

Jay McAninch, ATA CEO and president, made the donation while attending the Center’s dedication ceremony with his wife, Janet. “Everyone in the ATA is in awe of what the NFAA and ESDF accomplished in Yankton,” McAninch said. “This is a first-class facility that will attract daily year-round usage not only from local schools and the community, but from across the country. It’s a powerful statement of the vision, strength and commitment of NFAA and the ESDF.”

The facility was built on 39 acres donated by the city of Yankton and Yankton County, and includes five outdoor archery ranges. The center’s permanent ranges can accommodate Olympic archery games, field archery and 3-D simulated hunting. A 25-meter indoor range is open to the public all year.

The NFAA recently relocated its headquarters to Yankton from Redland, Calif. “We’re just getting our feet on the ground, but it’s proving to be a great move,” said NFAA President Bruce Cull, who also operates Dakota Archery in Yankton. “What a dream it’s been for me and a lot of people who attended. The effort was indescribable.”

The dedication ceremony featured Jim Easton, CEO of the Easton Sports Development Foundation, as the keynote speaker. He said the Center is the first of many his organization will build. “We’re focusing as much as we can on young people,” Easton said. “We hope someday they will be members of America’s Olympic or World Championship teams.”