On whistle commands, six Midland Valley High School students took their positions. Their taut bows reverberated as arrows flew at a target 10 meters away.

The six are among 15 first-year competitors on a team that's ranked No. 3 in South Carolina. This weekend, they will compete in Columbia against Mid-Carolina and McBee high schools for the state title.

Agriculture teacher Jeremy Brooks learned of the sport while working on Future Farmers of America events with the state Department of Natural Resources last year.

The state archery program began five years ago with 10 schools. Last year, 105 schools offered the program statewide. Only eight hours of training are needed for certification.

A $5,000 grant provided all the materials the students needed, including bows and targets.

"They're out here every day until 5 p.m. practicing," Mr. Brooks said of his archers. "They actually took pretty well to it."

The goal is to hit the target in the yellow section to gain eight to 10 points. Fifty points are possible in a round, and 300 total points can be awarded in a match.

Team captain Aaron Atkinson, 17, averages 48 per round.

When an arrow hits outside the yellow target, Aaron can look down the line of teammates and determine exactly what caused the error. A stray finger placement or bad posture could easily be the culprit.

Archery, which is an Olympic event, has given many of the students a chance to participate in a school sport for the first time.

Aaron and his friends say it also gets them off the couch and keeps them from playing video games all afternoon.

The team will head into this week's competition not knowing its scores, which are posted only at the end of the season. Mr. Brooks said he has used last year's averages from other teams as a barometer of what his team needs to do.

"Mid-Carolina is a three-time champ," he said. "I was honestly hoping we'd finish in the top 20 out of 28 teams this year."