They’re on the hunt for the next Katniss Everdeen.
The city Education Department has green-lighted a program to allow students to shoot bows and arrows — like the heroine of the blockbuster book and movie “The Hunger Games’’ — in a bid to spread Olympic-style archery in the public schools.
The DOE’s partner is the California-based Easton Development Sports Foundation, which is offering the program and equipment for free to any New York City schools that want it. The foundation has already introduced archery to more than 100 schools in Los Angeles and Northern Florida since 2007.
Easton says it’s hoping to ride the wave of interest sparked by the blockbuster book and film, in which a bow and arrow are featured as heroine Katniss Everdeen’s weapon of choice.
“[‘The Hunger Games’] definitely has increased an interest in archery,” said Easton director Caren Sawyer, noting that a surge of online hits recently brought down the foundation’s Web site.
“We definitely feel it, and our challenge is to capitalize on that interest and see what we can do to show people that it’s a great sport.”
The program would focus on the city’s middle and high schools, although it would be available to the lower grades as well, organizers said.
While the DOE has agreed to allow Easton to provide the program, it’s up to the individual schools to take Easton up on its offer.
The schools would have to pay for teacher training.
Currently, fewer than a dozen public schools offer archery to students — mostly as part of summer or after-school programs — and largely under the tutelage of former Columbia University archery coach Larry Brown.
Brown said he stepped down from coaching college kids in 2004 to work with younger, inner-city kids — but promoting the sport has been a slow process.
Not surprisingly, in New York City, a lack of space and concerns about safety are the biggest obstacles.
“People hear ‘arrows,’ and sometimes they’re a little touchy about that. But archery is safer than baseball, basketball and football combined. The rules are very, very stringent,” said Brown, 59.
“When I left Columbia, my goal was to bring archery to the public-school system. I wanted to bring it to the black and Hispanic community, because it never gets there.”
The coach is now teaming up with DeWitt Clinton HS math teacher Natasha Green to set up an archery league through Easton that will allow interschool competitions.
Using a simplified version of an archery technique developed by the head of the US Olympic archery team — and the same style of bow, called “recurve” — they are also hoping to help develop athletes who are good enough to eventually compete at the collegiate, national and even international level.
For now, they’re having to do it by training teachers to coach at individual schools rather than working through the Public School Athletic League, which is not participating.
The PSAL usually handles city schools’ sports programs. DOE spokeswoman said PSAL has not been approached about Easton’s program.