COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – There are always plenty of choices for apparel on the USA Archery Store, and now there are two more colorful creations as a result of the 2026 USA Archery T-Shirt Design Contest.
The winning design, as voted on by the public, was drawn up by Sofia Ho of California. It depicts an archer under a blazing sun taking aim at the target. The runner-up design was the work of Claire Kim from Virginia, an image of a vivid archery target, pierced by an arrow. Both are now available on the USA Archery Store.
As the winning design, as well as being on the USA Archery Store, Sofia’s artwork will also be sold at the 2026 WIAWIS USA Archery JOAD Target Nationals and JOAD U.S. Open, which take place in Lincoln, Nebraska from July 22-26.
Sofia began archery three years ago but only took part in her first competition in March of this year. She is a member of Trident Archery in Carson, Calif., working with Head Coach, Byron Burkardt.
“I’ve tried the other sports like soccer, swimming, gymnastics and tennis, but I felt like they were not my sports,” Sofia said.
“After having one introduction archery lesson, I was ready to come back for more. I had much more fun than I’ve ever had in any other sports.”
And it is that fun aspect which helped Sofia create the winning design. She added, “I feel kind of surprised because I didn’t expect to win at all and have my design on the t-shirt sold at the store. But I am also very happy to know that I’ve won!”
Like Sofia, runner-up Claire shoots Olympic recurve. She has competed at state and national level in JOAD (Junior Olympic Archery Development) events, as well as regional tournaments, having followed her older sisters into archery about a year ago.
A member of BK Joad Archery Club in Bristow, Va., Claire explained that her design came from being inspired by the “vibrant dynamic of target archery” and she is also excited that her work will be available on the USA Archery Store.
The contest - open exclusively to current USA Archery members between the ages of 8 and 22 - was designed to encourage young members to express their artistic vision while celebrating the sport of archery.
Participants were invited to draw inspiration from target archery, competition, and the broader archery community in developing their original designs.
USA Archery staff selected the top six designs, which then advanced to a public vote, with the top two designs now available at the USA Archery Store.
Archers still have time to register for the 2026 WIAWIS USA Archery JOAD Target Nationals and JOAD U.S. Open. The early registration deadline is July 2.
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