Maecy Shipp draws back her bow, takes aim and lets the arrow pierce the air as it glides toward the target.

Shipp, a Red Level eighth grader, is gearing up for her second season in the reactivated Covington County Youth Archery Association (CCYAA).

“I think it will be really fun,” Shipp said about the season.

The CCYAA, which has been inactive for the last two years, was formed in 2004 by David Pearce.

Teams are divided by school district. Currently, many of the teams are sponsored by teachers from school districts.

Barry Woods sponsors the team at Red Level High School, Daniel Bulger is Andalusia High School’s sponsor and Sheriff deputy Joe Snyder sponsors the team at Pleasant Home.

Right now, sponsors are being sought for teams from Straughn, Florala, Fleeta and Opp school districts.

Shipp participated on Red Level’s archery team as a sixth grader, and went head over heels when she heard the CCYAA is coming back for another season.

“I was real excited,” she said. “They wanted me to help get up T-shirt designs and stuff like that. I’ve been really helping since they told me about it.”

Shipp will be competing in Division III with archers in grades 8-12. There are two other divisions in the CCYAA — Division I for archers in grades K-4, and Division II for archers in grades 5-7. Each division will have team winners and individual winners recognized by first through third place prizes at tournaments.

Shipp said the organization needs more high schoolers to participate.

“We’re trying to get up more people for the team because we don’t have a lot,” she said. “We just have a couple eighth graders. We need more high school shooters to shoot in the 8th-12th division.”

Annual membership cost is $10 per child. The membership entitles each applicant to participate in the activities and events for the year. The fee will be used for purchasing winning medals for trophies.

In addition to the membership fee, archers will be required to pay a $10 entry fee for each tournament. The fees will be used for range fees and winner prizes.

This season, there will be four CCYAA tournaments. Each tournament will take place on a Sunday.

The first tournament is slated for Sun., Feb. 24, at Friendship Range. Tournament start time is 2 p.m.

Shipp said she’s anxious to get out there and compete with other archers from around the area in Division III.

“We’ll have to be moved to a further yardage than Division II,” Shipp said. “We have the farthest yardage of all. It’s going to be really tough because there are a lot good shooters around.”

When asked why she likes archery, Shipp said she gets more out of it than shooting a gun.

“I think it’s just more active than a gun,” she said. “You get to do more. You get more of an adrenaline rush.”

Donations from local businesses are being accepted to be given away during the tournaments. Any business can donate and will receive recognition for supporting CCYAA.

For more info about the CCYAA, contact Melissa Hartz by phone at 334-208-1332, or by email at melissa.hartz@andalusiapolice.com.

Shipp is the daughter of Donna and John Shipp of Red Level. She has a sister, Ansley.