FOLEY — The Delta McKenzie Archery Shooters Association Pro/Am Tour once again used Graham Creek Nature Preserve in Foley as the springboard to kick off the season Feb. 20-22 and produced some impressive numbers.

For the 10th year, the best archers in the game descend upon Baldwin County to compete in the Hoyt/Easton Pro/Am which officially begins the “world’s largest and highest-paying 3D archery circuit,” according to an ASA release.

With the dust settled on the Pro Pressure Point Shoot Off that closed the season-opening event, here is a look at some of the numbers that made the event another success according to stats from the American Shooters Association and the City of Foley.

Total Shooters: 1,933

The three-day tournament brought 1,933 competitors to Lower Alabama, including 600 who participated in the Match Bowstrings Team Shoot to kick the event off on Thursday. After qualifying rounds on Friday and Saturday, the last ones standing advanced to the Pro Pressure Point Shoot Off inside the Foley Event Center Saturday evening.

Territories represented: 6 countries, including 44 U.S. states

The United States of America had 44 different states represented over the weekend. It was joined by five other countries in vying for top spots.

Shoot Off Viewers: 93,000

With all the marbles on the line, the grand finale took place inside the Foley Event Center where an audience of nearly 100,000 watched the best shooters display their repertoires across TV, YouTube and Facebook.

Prize Money Awarded: Nearly $250,000

With a purse of around a quarter-million dollars of payouts and contingencies, the ASA remained at the top of the list for the highest-paying outdoor archery tournament series.

Last Year’s Financial Impact on City of Foley: $1.9 million

According to the City of Foley, last year’s Hoyt/Easton Pro/Am brought in a total of nearly $2 million in financial impact thanks in part to $400,116 in lodging sales, $390,735 in retail sales and $342,701 in food and beverage sales.

If that’s not enough, archers from colder climates can also appreciate the increase in temperature when they visit Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

That’s what helps make the event in Foley the favorite tournament of the year of three-time Paralympian Kevin “KJ” Polish Jr., who hails from Carmichaels, Pennsylvania. Fresh off a fifth-place finish at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, Polish returned to Lower Alabama to open his ASA season.

“I keep going back to Foley because it’s my favorite event of the year. I always look forward to it. It is a good breakup from the weather here in Pennsylvania,” Polish said in a March 1 interview. “The terrain, the facility, and setup were way more handicap accessible (in Foley compared to other tournaments).”

With a ninth-place finish at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games and a 17th-place spot at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games — on top of a gold medal from the 2005 Madrid World Archery Championships — Polish said the most recent trip quickly shot to the top the list.

“Paris was probably one of my favorite venues I ever shot out of on the world stage,” Polish said. “It was great that the world got to watch us live on TV. That makes it even more sweet. People finally got to see how accomplished the archers are in our sport/category.”

The rest of Polish’s resume includes a No. 3 position in the Compound Men Open division of the most recent Sanlida World Rankings. With a 25-9 overall record in that division on the outdoor circuit over five seasons, Polish owns a career average arrow of 9.61.

Still, his focus is trained on more world competitions, including the biennial World Archery Para Championships scheduled for this fall in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. However, before then, Polish made a declaration about the impending 2028 Olympic Games set for Los Angeles, California.

“Coming off the Paralympics, my goals are to achieve the overall qualification world record score and win the World Archery Para Championships,” Polish said. “‘Stop’ is not in my vocabulary. I will win LA.”

While he battled through adversity in the season-opening tournament at Graham Creek Nature Preserve, Polish said he had a good start to the season and got to visit some of his favorite eateries in Baldwin County.

“I shot really well. I had some technical issues with my equipment, but everything else felt great and I look forward to an exciting year,” Polish said. “Lamberts and Wolf Bay are a must.”