The Traughber and Corker families first played archery tag, a combat game that uses foam-tipped arrows and inflatable bunkers, during a family vacation in Branson, Missouri. That experience has since turned into a part-time business endeavor.
Karen Corker, co-owner of Bullseye Archery Tag, said she, her husband and the Traughbers are using the process of starting a small business to teach their children the value of hard work.
“My favorite part of helping run Bullseye is that we get to spend time with our kids as well as some of our good friends, the Traughbers,” Corker said. “We all really have a great time together even though it’s a lot of work.”
According to Tod Traughber, archery tag can be used for club functions, birthday parties or even groups of friends.
“We want it to be something that is very eclectic,” Tod Traughber said. “We want it to be something where a group of 10 guys can get together, call and then play. We want it to be very flexible. I graduated from (Harding) in 1995, and my TNT brothers would be constantly looking for something to do. We want to be that something to do.”
Senior Alex Traughber, activities director for men’s social club Omega Phi (no relation to Tod Traughber), said he heard a presentation about archery tag at the beginning of the semester and was interested in scheduling a function. After getting to try it out for himself, Alex Traughber called and set up a stag function for Feb. 20.
“It’s a new activity, and it’s probably something that not very many Harding students have done before,” Alex Traughber said. “It’s the experience of doing something new — especially in a place that we can get so tired of. So hopefully this will allow us to come together and have some fun and hang out.”
While it is often compared to paintball, Tod Traughber said archery tag appeals to a much larger audience.
“There is a significant pain factor to paintball that is a large deterrent for most people,” Tod Traughber said. “If you get hit by a paintball you feel like a hornet has just torn into you. With this, you know you’ve been hit because there is contact, but it’s like a light punch.”
Alex Traughber said Omega Phi hosted a paintball function a few years ago but have not since then.
“With paintball, a lot of people complain that you don’t have very many shots because you have to keep buying more balls, and that really limits you as far as how long you can play,” Alex Traughber said. “But with archery tag, you aren’t going to lose the arrows, you can just pick them back up and use them again.”
Tod Traughber said Bullseye was created to be flexible and full of options. He said he encourages participants to create new games as they play.
For more information or to schedule a session, call (501) 593-3815 or visit www.bullseyesportingevents.wordpress.com.
