BOWS AND arrows used by the heroes and heroines in several blockbuster films this year seem to be having an effect on the sport of archery across the state.

Opening in March, “The Hunger Games” dominated the box-office. Heroine 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen uses her skills with a bow and arrow to feed her family and survive the gladiator-style Hunger Games.

In May, “The Avengers” broke box-office records. It includes the Marvel comic book character Clint Barton/Hawkeye, a world-class archer and marksman whose above-average reflexes and hand-eye-coordination make him the most proficient archer ever known.

In Disney Pixar's new animated movie “Brave,” the archery skills of Merida, the daughter of a Scottish king, play a pivotal part in the story.

“Right after 'The Hunger Games' I had all my classes — that don't always fill up — all fill up. I started getting more phone calls and emails,” said Lucy Morris, director of the New England School of Archery and Supplies LLC in Bow and a community archery coach level III.

“What I really found happening was a lot of adult women taking the classes. I had more women in my classes in April and May than I had youth in my classes. That's what I found really quite interesting,” Morris said.

When she asked her students why they had signed up, she learned the character Katniss Everdeen had inspired a lot of women.

Many of her female students told her: “I wanted to do archery when I was younger, haven't thought about it in a while, and then I saw 'The Hunger Games.'”

“Their eyes would light up,” Morris said. “What I think it is about, 'The Hunger Games,' is people would like to be a hero in their family, in their community ... being able to help others and do good. That part, I think, has inspired people young and old.”

Focus, focus, focus

Briar Hersom, 30, of Concord was interested in archery when she was younger, but it was a somewhat unusual hobby and she couldn't find a friend to go with, she said

“The Hunger Games” book trilogy reignited her interest in the sport. When a friend also became a fan of the series, the two decided to take an archery class together at New England School of Archery.

“We both signed for our first time and it was so incredibly addicting,” Hersom said.

“It really felt empowering. In one sense it requires strength, but it's not an endurance activity. It's physical. It gets you outside and it forces you to focus and if anything is bothering you at all, everything melts away. All you are thinking about is your aim. You are thinking about your target. You release. It's very accelerating when you hit that target. You can't wait to load up and let it fly again.”

Classes fill up

Morris teaches archery in several different programs, including a Newport Recreation class in the spring for children and a summer archery class in Sunapee for all ages.

Scott Blewitt, Sunapee recreation director and Newport recreation program coordinator, said the May class in Newport was full and the two upcoming summer sessions in Sunapee have already filled up. Blewitt said there are a lot of women in their 30s and 40s signed up for the summer classes.

“'The Hunger Games' and the movie 'Brave' have certainly increased the popularity of archery, especially with the female population,” Blewitt said.

Blewitt said his daughters, 8 and 10, took the spring archery class and “really enjoyed it.” Like many students from the spring class, they are signed up to take summer archery classes in Sunapee, he said.

Though his daughters didn't see “The Hunger Games,” they are certainly aware of it, as they are of the new movie “Brave,” he said.

“They've seen the commercials. They've been influenced by the commercials greatly,” Blewitt said.

Seven days a week

Once people try archery, they usually find they like it, Blewitt said. “I think people are very surprised at how simple archery really is.”

It's not an overly complicated activity, after learning a few basic skills an archer works on honing those skills, he said.

Dana White of Manchester, a level III certified instructor who teaches through his business the Art of Archery, said he is also seeing more children and women interested in archery.

“Right now I'm teaching roughly seven days week,” White said. “Last year I was teaching maybe four days a week, maybe five, depending.”

White recently concluded a Concord class of 70 students. That same class last year had between 25 to 30 people enrolled, he said.

“I know 'Hunger Games' started it. But there's also 'The Avengers,' one of them is an archer, and, of course, this year's Summer Olympics. Every time the Olympics come by I get higher enrollment,” White said. “It's really interesting to see the influx of children and they are all having a blast with it and that's what I like.”

Archery clubs are also seeing an increase in membership, such as the club Manchester Bowhunter in Auburn.

“We have had an increased membership this year and somebody suggested to me it could be because of these movies,” said Al Kula, club member. “We've probably signed three women this year and we don't normally do that. Normally we sign about five new members each year and we have signed 13 so far, so it's more than doubled. It's tripled and we're only half-way through the year.”

Morris said many of the women who started taking classes in the past few months are now signing up for intermediate classes and are investing in equipment. Through her business, Morris also sells archery equipment.

“I have several companies that I buy equipment through and they've all told me they have way higher demand than ever before,” Morris said. “Everyone's working hard to keep up with the demand.”

Life lessons learned

Jesse Walker, a bow mechanic at Pelletier's Sports in Jaffrey, said he has been selling more bows to high school students, especially girls, in the past few months.

“It probably started a couple of months ago after 'The Hunger Games' ... especially among kids in high school that don't come from a bow hunting background or family, interested in target archery,” he said.

Walker himself has been an avid bow hunter for years and would never want to hunt with a firearm again, he said.

He describes the feeling you get when you shoot an arrow as primal; it's something people have been doing for thousands of years, he said.

“When you're accurate with an arrow, it feels good and it's good for you. It just feels awesome and it goes back to thousands of years of doing it,” Walker said.

It's a meditative sport, archers say.

“It's a very relaxing sport. The people come to class and just feel good and relaxed when they leave,” Morris said. “It's very mental. You decide. You shoot an arrow at the target. And if it doesn't go where you want it to go, you can be upset or you can refocus on the next shoot.”

Focusing on the now can change your life, Morris said.

“Instead of living in the past, you're living in the now. Which then people sort of bring that aspect of the class into their lives and it helps people in their work and their jobs and relationships. ... They come to the class expecting it's all about archery and what they learn, it's all about them.”

mpierce@newstote.com