When you register as an ATA member, you know you’re going to get access to industry-specific perks that are thoughtfully designed to help your business and support the sport we all love. One of the latest additions to that network of resources is our Friends of NASP® online course. We know you want to bring your love of archery to the masses and a partnership with NASP® can help you do that. That’s where our course comes in.
NASP® has over 1.2 million students across all 50 states, making them the biggest youth archery program in the country. Those 1.2 million student archers will need to buy their own equipment someday. If you make your presence known through direct partnerships, the chances that your shop will be the place they’ll get their equipment increases. Taking our course will make that connection for you.
The Friends of NASP® course is included in your ATA membership at no extra cost. The self-paced course is only an hour long, freeing you up to take it on your own time. Members can sign up directly through our Learning Center. Please note that the Friends of NASP® course is different from the NASP® Basic Archery Instructor course, which is available through NASP® directly.
The course will teach you:
- How to stock, manage, and promote NASP®-approved gear that meets standardized program requirements.
- How offering NASP®-compatible products can expand your customer base, increase sales, and foster long-term relationships with schools and families.
- The design, purpose, and value of standardized NASP® gear—why it matters and how to communicate it effectively to your customers.
- How to offer instructional services, such as classes and lessons.
The course includes real stories from shops just like yours who have benefited from a relationship with NASP®. You’ll be able to hear directly from the source on how to build your classes and lesson programs specifically for NASP® tournaments. You’ll get real examples and real numbers that show you how it impacted the retailers’ business models. The course was consciously designed for retail shop owners who want practical, actionable ways to connect with NASP®.
Once you know what equipment you’ll need and how to sell it, you’ve already done most of the heavy lifting. Even if you don’t have a range to host tournaments, selling the gear in your shop will get you in the game and in front of youth archers.
After completing the course your store will receive a Friends of NASP® icon that will appear in your store’s listing in our Store Locator, access to a digital certification logo to use in your marketing efforts and a window decal. These assets will connect your store to NASP® in person and online, allowing you to reach archers across multiple avenues.
The course will teach you all about the NASP® program while showing you new ways to cultivate those relationships and make the partnership mutually beneficial for both parties. “My archery pro shop is new, so I hope that completing this course gives me more credibility and more students and families reach out so that I can assist even more students and families,” Steve Wolk of Wild Arrow Outdoors said.
This course isn’t just for retailers who are unfamiliar with NASP®, it’s for retailers with existing NASP® relationships, too! “We have been a retail partner to various NASP® schools for years, but I found it refreshing to review NASP® information and details,” Jeff Leonard of J&B Outdoors said. “NASP® is very important to our schools and it’s great for the archery industry!”
The course has inspired Lynda Whitehead of X10 Archery Academy to go above and beyond what they’re already doing and step into the world of school fundraising. “We support scholarships for free memberships — two range passes per week — during the school year, which is included for schools participating in one of our training programs,” Whitehead said. “We will investigate how we can partner on a deeper level.”
Whitehead also noted that retail shops would benefit from an avenue to connect with the parents of NASP® participants. “I see this Friends of NASP® program being integral in that step,” Lynda Whitehead of X10 Archery said. Leonard agrees. “By encouraging and supporting local schools participating in NASP® Programs through service work, and sales of NASP® approved gear and equipment, it can only help to bring more people into the fold of the world of archery,” Leonard said. “We often find that even parents want to purchase a bow for themselves to shoot recreationally alongside their participating kids!”
Whitehead also sees the relationship with NASP® benefitting her business in other ways, beyond hosting tournaments and selling equipment. “On the Academy side, we offer education to the coaches and archers — on- and off-site — exposing them to the bigger world of archery at the same time, which leads to participation in other programs,” Whitehead said. A step into the shop through NASP® can lead to leap into all the other programs your shop offers.
“I want my shop to be a ‘home’ for all local archers, not just a business,” Wolk said. If you share his sentiment, this course is for you. NASP® kids will likely grow up to be serious archers. Be the shop that was by their side from the start. Become a member at archerytrade.org/join-today. Then, visit the Learning Center to take the course, receive your badge and unlock endless potential in the world of NASP® archery. Members also have access to the ATA Trade Show, taking place Jan. 7-8, 2027, in Indianapolis as part of ATA Show Week. To learn more and view a full list of the week's events, visit atashow.com.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP THE INDUSTRY, TO HELP INDIVIDUAL BUSINESSES GET THE MOST OUT OF THE INDUSTRY, AND TO HELP YOU.
