The Archery Trade Association hosted the inaugural Archery & Bowhunting Supershow Jan. 9-10 in Indianapolis, Indiana, in conjunction with the NFAA Rushmore Rumble and the S3DA Indoor Open. Archery-loving members of the public were invited to test, touch, feel, and build a wish list of the newest archery products before they hit the retail shelves. Thousands of archers attended and were encouraged to visit their local retailers and purchase the products they saw on the Show floor. This new addition to the ATA Show Week was designed to connect archers more deeply with retail shops and allow the everyday archery enthusiast to get in on the fun.
Members of the public were invited to walk the ATA Show floor the two days after the annual ATA Trade Show concluded. This means that for the first time ever, the public was able to see and demo the same products and talk with the same brands as ATA members did just days prior. "Everybody at my bow shop has been dying for this to be open to the public so that we can see everything that they get to see,” Scott Schnipke, Supershow attendee, said. They got to experience this year’s latest products in person and gather a wish list of products they want to buy in the coming year. The exhibitors, along with our Store Locator kiosk, encouraged the attendees to visit their local archery shop to purchase the gear.
When you visit the pro shop, tell them you saw the great gear at the Supershow. If they don’t have the item in stock, ask whether they can order it for you to the store. Your feedback will help them gauge what products they should carry at their shop, and they’ll be glad you’re shopping local.
The manufacturers were doing their part to direct attendees to the shops. For example, HHA Sports is running a promotion offering a rebate to anyone that received a card at the HHA booth at the Supershow and then buys an HHA sight from a retailer. All you have to do is email HHA the receipt from the retailer with the card you received onsite, and you’ll receive a check for 15% off the total purchase! HHA reported that as of Tuesday, Jan. 13, they had already received submissions.
Two national tournaments, the NFAA Rushmore Rumble and the S3DA Indoor Open, were held alongside the Supershow. Archers entered in the tournament received automatic admission into the Supershow to take a look at the latest and greatest while they waited for their line time.
“We appreciate the ATA holding this event in conjunction with the Rushmore Rumble,” Cody Kirby, executive director of Scholastic 3-D Archery, said. “Scholastic 3-D Archery is a youth-driven organization, so to be able to provide an event that’s just for the youth and also utilize the same target faces and format that the Rushmore Rumble is using is a good opportunity. With it being an open-registration event, we hope that anyone that registered that is not an S3DA member would consider signing up, hope they enjoyed themselves and check out our other events.”
Bruce Cull, executive director of the National Field Archery Association, noted that he and the ATA’s CEO and president, Jeff Poole, collaborated to see how they could combine their membership base and create something that benefitted the ATA members, the public, and the tournament organizations all at the same time. “There’s 2,500 people here that all have a connection to the outdoors and archery, so hopefully it works out well for the vendors and the manufacturers,” Cull said.
Some archers, like Wyatt Emmerich, have been practicing archery for years but chose to compete in the tournament for the first time in Indianapolis because it was closer to him there than it usually is in South Dakota, and he liked the bonus of the Supershow.
As this new era dawns for the ATA and tournament organizations, we hope that many more archers will be able to capitalize on these opportunities as the Supershow brings more tournaments to the archers’ backyard.
ATA-member retailers, like Gary Hintz of Bucks and Bulls Archery, took advantage of being able to bring their shop’s archery teams to compete in the tournaments while they attended the ATA Trade Show and Supershow.
We hope to continue to bridge relationships between archers and retail shops in the years to come by connecting them through the Supershow. If you’re a tournament archer or an archery enthusiast, keep your eye out for next year’s Supershow dates.
If you attended the Supershow and want to find your closest retailer to buy the exciting gear you saw, visit our Store Locator.
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