If You Love Archery... Yankton is the Place By Nathan Johnson The Press & Dakotan Not so long ago, people would likely have laughed at the prospect of Yankton being one of the nation’s archery hot spots. But through the vision of local business and government officials, the community now has international recognition in the archery world. In 2009, the National Field Archery Association (NFAA) opened its headquarters on Yankton’s eastern edge, along with the adjoining Easton Sports Development Foundation (ESDF) Center for Archery Excellence. However, that was only the beginning of its growth. The NFAA Easton Yankton Archery Complex is located at 800 Archery Lane, just off of Highway 50 behind Super 8 and the Best Western Kelly Inn, and was originally 21,600 square feet. The addition will be 29,500 square feet, more than doubling the size of the facility. Besides the indoor range, the expansion will include a warehouse to store equipment and office space. “We started thinking about this when we built the original building,” NFAA President Bruce Cull said during the announcement of the expansion. “It’s one of those things that I’ve had in the back of my mind but have never had the ability to put together. The whole idea behind the addition, really, is to be able to have athlete training year round and big indoor tournaments. Because of our weather here, we can’t be out on the field in the winter.” In addition to archery training, the facility provides zumba, taekwondo, boot camp, aerobics and art classes. The diverse programming allows whole families to come to the complex and find something to do. Outside the archery building is a 560-foot shooting range and various target ranges scattered around in the trees and brush near the site. All of the developments in recent years should help the effort under way to get the facility designated as a Community Olympic Development Program. The United States Olympic Committee has partnered with sport groups across the nation to create programs that provide training in fencing, weightlifting, judo and a variety of other activities. Only one other archery program exists. The facility has already hosted tournaments that have drawn participants from all 50 states and more than a dozen countries, and more events are planned for this year. Yankton officials hope the facility will attract archery-related manufacturers to the community, as well as more tournaments and other tourism-boosting activities. The NFAA has also set aside office space in the building to incubate entrepreneurial efforts. “I’m grateful that this is the home of the NFAA,” he said. “They have an excellent campus here ... and one of the best Olympic field archery fields in the United States.” VISITORS GUIDE • YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA – 13