Hillsborough-Based Archery Club Offers Classes, Team Competition, Pro Shop

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A Hillsborough-based archery business is growing its reach with beginner classes, competitive teams, tournaments and new social events.

Northeast Shooters Association Owner Erik Bramble has had a passion for archery since he was a child.

As a kid, Bramble said he would do archery with his grandfather. Then he got away from it for a number of years until his oldest daughter shared an interest in it during the pandemic.

"I asked her what activities she wanted to get into, and she said archery, and we kind of started back that way, and it's just slowly grown and turned into what it is now," said Bramble.

He eventually went to work at Iron Peak where he started the archery program there before branching off and opening his own business with partners KC Chiu and Marissa Scalzo.

"It's a very tight group of people. It is one of the fastest-growing Olympic sports in the country, and it's fun being part of something that's obviously getting a lot of excitement and a lot of exposure right now," said Bramble.

Northeast Shooters runs its indoor programs in Hillsborough and shifts outdoor classes and activities to Lubas Park in Montgomery during the outdoor season.

"It is a very culturally diverse sport, so it bleeds well into very culturally diverse communities like Montgomery and Hillsborough, so it's fun and it's like a big family network. There's a lot of camaraderie amongst all the shooters."

Bramble said the business has been in its own location for nearly two years.

Northeast Shooters offers what Bramble described as a foundations course for beginners, with no equipment required.

"We own all the equipment, so we call it our foundations course. They come in and just get a brief archery foundation," he said.

He said the program places "a heavy emphasis on safety" and is designed to introduce new shooters before they commit to a longer program.

From there, Bramble said, students can move into a developmental team that follows USA Archery’s JOAD program, which he identified as Junior Olympic Archery Division, and then into an advanced competition team.

The program generally serves students from about age 5 through adults, depending on the individual and whether they are ready for group instruction.

The club also fields its own team for competition.

Bramble said athletes from the developmental and advanced classes compete under the club name, and some have earned national rankings. He also said some students won national events this year.

In addition to classes, Northeast Shooters hosts tournaments.

"We are the biggest tournament organizer now in the state; we're even bigger than the state organization," Bramble said.

He said the club holds monthly indoor tournaments mostly in Hillsborough and outdoor events in Montgomery.

The business is also preparing a social calendar with one-day sessions for people who want to try archery before signing up for the eight-week foundations course.

Bramble said those events are expected to include game-based sessions and introductory experiences.

The business also offers birthday parties, team-building events, open range times and a full retail bow shop.

For more information on Northeast Shooters, visit nsaarchery.com or instagram.com/nsaarchery or facebook.com/northeastshootersassociation.

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