On the eve of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I" premiere ,the sport's national governing body announced it has seen youth memberships increase by 121 per cent since November 2013.

This is up from the previous two-year period, in which youth memberships had increased by 104 per cent between 2011 and 2013.

Female participation in archery has also seen very strong growth, with memberships purchased by women up by 105 per cent in the last 12 months alone.

Overall, individual memberships have increased by 84 per cent since November 2013, with over 15,800 members today.

"We're very excited to see the tremendous growth of our sport," said Denise Parker, USA Archery chief executive and Olympic bronze medallist.

"People are connecting with archery more than ever before, and we see that reflected in our membership numbers and event participation.

"Thanks to movies like 'The Hunger Games' and 'The Avengers,' people have tried archery and found it to be a fun sport that they can enjoy throughout their lives.

"In the past 12 months especially, we've seen huge increases in female and youth participation, and we're excited to see that trend continue."

Female participation in archery has seen very strong growth ©Getty Images



The organisation has also seen a boost in event participation, with the United States National Indoor Championships, and Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) National Indoor Championships, experiencing a 20 per cent increase in participation from 2013 to 2014.

Registrations for the outdoor equivalents, comprised of the US National Target Championships and Easton JOAD Nationals, grew by 28 per cent in the past year.

Overall, the archery industry has seen steady growth and people are participating in all facets of the sport.

The first-ever nationwide archery survey, conducted by the Archery Trade Association, showed that 18.9 million Americans participate in archery, and that 5.8 million of all archery participants were women.

In response to the growth of the sport, the Archery Trade Association, together with industry manufacturers and organisations like USA Archery, recently conducted the first-ever Archery Showdown featuring an archery video competition between YouTube stars Dude Perfect and Brittani Louise Taylor.

Together, the videos have had over 12 million views in one week.

For those looking to try archery, the USA Archery website connects people with local archery programming, coaching and the chance to try competitions.

For more information, click here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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