'Hunger Games' Fever Makes Archery Cool for Kids: Do You Enjoy Archery?

by SodaHead Film Posted 2012/04/23 01:08:18

Related Topics: Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Archery, Movie, Young Adult Book, Pixar, Brave, birthday, Party, Wedding, weddings, USA, Merida, Olympics, Hunting, Tourism, New Jersey, CEO, Real World

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410 votes
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	Yes!	276 votes	67%
	No!	46 votes	11%
	I don't know. I've never tried it.	88 votes	21%

“The Hunger Games” may have finally been beaten at the box office, but the incredibly popular movie and young adult novel continues to inspire interesting trends in the real world: merchandise, themed weddings, vacations to the film site—just to name a few. Now, scores of young fans are begging to follow in the footsteps of protagonist Katniss Everdeen and pick up the sport of archery.

Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is an extremely skilled archer who uses her bow and arrow to hunt for food at home in District 12 as well as to survive in the Hunger Games arena.

“Katniss is so inspiring,” said 12-year-old Gabby Lee, who asked for archery lessons after reading the trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Lee now belongs to a youth archery league near her home in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. And she isn’t the only “Hunger Games” fan who has decided to pick up the sport.

According to Denise Parker, CEO of USA Archery, interest in youth archery programs has increased significantly in recent months. Additionally, archery ranges across the country are enjoying greater traffic, outdoor equipment stores are selling more bows, archery birthday parties are all the rage, and archery summer camps are quickly filling up.

Many hope that the excitement “The Hunger Games” has brought to archery will give the sport a higher profile during the Olympic Games this summer. Others in the archery industry are looking to Pixar’s “Brave,” whose heroine, Merida, is also a talented archer, to reinforce interest in the sport. (“Brave” will hit theaters in June.) What about you SodaHeads? Do you enjoy archery?

+11

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Son of Furious 2012/04/23 01:29:06

Yes!

+11
And long before The Hunger Games, Robin Hood was my hero growing up. I'm glad to hear archery is increasing in popularity.
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More polls by SodaHead Film

♥SocialOutcastshavemorefun♥ 2012/04/23 02:21:42

No!

I tried it once. I failed.

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phil white to ♥Social... 2012/04/23 12:49:45

There's always a rifle, or if not that a shoot gun you can't mis with.
We had a couple of gun totin girl musicals in the 50's.
"Annie Get Your Gunt "
and "Calamity Jane"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?...

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jackolantyrn356 2012/04/23 02:16:32

Yes!

+1
Well, I did enjot it. My father taught me to shoot and then to be an accurate Deer hunter. O was 10 at the time. Going after the deer is not an easy thing id you never hide out and ambush the critter.

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««Gingey, the Master Debate... 2012/04/23 02:11:49

No!

+1
I meant to click "yes" but the page jumped.

I went to archery camp when I was 12.

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learning2walkagain 2012/04/23 02:09:09

I don't know. I've never tried it.

Im more of a Ice blast fireball type of guy

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Kibbles 2012/04/23 02:00:32

Yes!

+1
Mind you I prefer the sword but there is a somewhat enjoyable feeling firing a bow.

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tobe 2012/04/23 01:55:07

Yes!

+2
havent done it since I was a kid but hunger games did spark that bug back up again

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Juliet 2012/04/23 01:48:08

Yes!

+2
lol i loved it at school before it was made cool by the hunger games :P

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Kat 2012/04/23 01:45:18

Yes!

Used to do it more, really need to get back into it.

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fairiefang -annoying fashio... 2012/04/23 01:44:51

Yes!

+4
ROBIN HOOD makes me like archery....not some teen movie.

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Son of ... to fairief... 2012/04/23 15:00:53

+1
I felt The Hunger Games was overrated also. Man, I miss that show.

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fairief... to Son of ... 2012/04/23 15:10:43

+1
A lot of teen books turned movies seem to get overly hyped. I'll never understand it. Maybe it's b/c teens go absolutley nuts over the things they love.

I have the box set with all 3 seasons of Robin Hood. Never get bored of that show :)

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running... to fairief... 2012/04/24 14:40:27
fairief... to running... 2012/04/24 19:05:17

+1
True.
Teens with money = Danger zone!

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santa6642 2012/04/23 01:41:47

Yes!

+2
I was a champion archer for three years in the early 70'sAnd as a scout leader taught many young men how to shoot a bow.

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BoomLover to santa6642 2012/04/23 05:27:08

I, too, have been "into" Archery for many years, I have acquired about 12 bows, (not counting the many I have given away to others wishing to learn the Art) LongBows, Recurves, Take Downs ...make my own Fiberglas arrows with cut out and pounded copper tips, subscribe to Archery Magazines, you get the picture. I was given a beautiful Yew Bow, made by Kore T. Duryee, a Northwest Boyer, back in the 50's...it's still a great functioning bow!

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jacob crim 2012/04/23 01:35:38

Yes!

+3
My girlfriend and I actually went and did archery a few weeks ago. We had a Groupon that covered us both, it was a lot of fun. There were a lot of young girls there too, to which my girlfriend said "I bet they are only here because of Hunger Games" ha.

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Bulbasaurus Rex. 2012/04/23 01:33:00

Yes!

+2
I've been doing archery for about 3 years now and I love it :3
I'm getting pretty good too :D

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runningintriangles 2012/04/23 01:30:38
BoomLover to running... 2012/04/23 05:29:02

probably a "Katniss" is something crawling around in your brain, 'cause you really do want to know, but are afraid to admit you havn't seen the Movie, Hunger Games yet...

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running... to BoomLover 2012/04/24 14:39:14

Not afraid to admit, I have no desire to see a film based on a series of children's books that ripped off Battle Royale.

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Son of Furious 2012/04/23 01:29:06

Yes!

+11
And long before The Hunger Games, Robin Hood was my hero growing up. I'm glad to hear archery is increasing in popularity.

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fairief... to Son of ... 2012/04/23 01:53:29

+4
The BBC version of Robin Hood got me interested. I really need to find a good place for it where I live.

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Son of ... to fairief... 2012/04/23 14:59:36

+1
That was my favorite show while it was on. I watched every episode from the pilot to the finale during its run. I need to get the first two seasons on dvd. I have a few pictures of some of my shots that I made in my backyard if you want to check them out. I shoot arrows in my backyard, I even got my brother interested a while ago. He's caught on fairly quickly. He's about to my level only after a couple of weeks. I've been shooting for seven years and was horrible up till year three. Archery consumed my life for a little while. (laughs)

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fairief... to Son of ... 2012/04/23 15:15:06

+1
I didn't watch it while it was on. I actually wanted to see it b/c a book series that I love has Robin, Guy, and Will in it. When I looked up different versions of Robin Hood the BBC version was the only one that interested me. I'm so glad I chose to watch it b/c it is amazing! I've watched some of the other versions since...they are so lame compared to BBC. One of my fave things is that they make Marian so strong instead of a damsel in distress who stands in the corner screaming (like she does in a certain Amercian version...)

I def need to get an archery set sometime. My parents have a big yard but I don't know if my dad would be ok with me shooting in it. For some reason people don't seem to trust me with any kind of weapon. lol

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Son of ... to fairief... 2012/04/23 21:22:58

+1
(laughs) As long as you take the right percautions, you should be okay. I'm a bit more confined in my new backyard but that doesn't stop me. But I'm also extremely careful and I haven't had an accident yet. Yeah Lucy Griffith is by far my favorite Marian, same with Jonas Armstrong as Robin Hood. What is the title of this book series you mentioned? It sounds like something I'd be interested in.

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fairief... to Son of ... 2012/04/23 22:12:21

I think I will definitely see about doing some archery in my parents yard...when my dad's not home. I know my mom won't care.
BBC pretty much had the best RH cast overall and the most fun storylines, as well.

The book series is a Paranormal Romance (though not overly mushy)...basically Robin, Guy, and Will are all vampires. They first show up in the 4th book in the series...and it's definitely a completely different version.
The first book in the Darkyn series-

Series is about vampires who were former templars and have been unable to transform humans into vampires for a long time until the first book when one of them finally does turn someone. Great series that is definitely not for Twilight type "vampire" fans.

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Son of ... to fairief... 2012/04/24 02:13:15

+1
I am definitely not a Twilight fan, though I have to admit that some of the humor is actually quite funny. My aunt forced me to watch the movies against my will. I don't understand why its so popular, its suppossed to be a romance right? The two main characters have absaloutely nothing in common and the pacing of their relationship in the first movie didn't make any sense. Anyway, that is definitely a twist to the Robin Hood story. My aunt would probably enjoy it. I'm not that much into vampires, the only vampire movie that I've seen and enjoyed has been The Lost Boys..

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fairief... to Son of ... 2012/04/24 02:19:23

+1
Haha yeah, didn't think you were....your spelling and grammar skills would probably be non-existent if you were. I just feel the need these days to let people know that the vampire books I read are not even remotely comparable to that trash (I've had too many people assume I like Twilight just because I like real vampire novels).
You should definitely recommend it to your aunt :)
I wish I could lend books to people through the computer. lol
I saw The Lost Boys, but I tend to be more into book vampires rather than movie ones.

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BoomLover to fairief... 2012/04/30 00:06:13

+1
In the old movie "The Adventures of Robin Hood", an Archer and Boyer by the name of Howard Hill shot an arrow into the bulls-eye and then split that arrow with another one, and the shot has been called a "Robin Hood" ever since. Howard Hill came from your part of the country....he was so good, he could shoot dimes out of the air with arrows....

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BoomLover to Son of ... 2012/04/30 00:01:51

+1
In the old movie, "The Adventures of Robin Hood", an Archer and Boyer by the name of Howard Hill was the one who shot the arrow into the bulls-eye and then split it with another arrow...the shot forever more being called a "Robin Hood"...

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Son of ... to BoomLover 2012/04/30 00:48:22

Yeah, but he shot it standing very close to the target. I pulled a "Robin Hood" for the first time myself a few weeks ago. Don't get me wrong Howard Hill was probably the greatest archer that ever lived. I have the dvd version of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and in the bonus features they have an old video of Howard Hill performing some of his trick shots. If you'd like to see my split arrow, I have some pictures of it in my profile.

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Sterling 2012/04/23 01:29:04

No!

+1
It's ok. Don't really care one way or another about it. I definitely liked it as a kid though.

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TuringsChild 2012/04/23 01:27:46

Yes!

+5
My dad got me a bow when I was 8 years old. I've enjoyed the sport ever since.

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