The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) is proud to announce the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a new founding partner. Understanding that youth are the future of the shooting sports, founding partners help SASP to organize matches, demos and shows to help promote youth involvement in the shooting sports. “Our two organizations work really well together to introduce young shooters to a sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime -- one that offers a level playing field and can be enjoyed by all family members,” Tammy Mowry, SASP national director, said.  “We are also able to have our National Coach Development Staff (NCDS) trainers conduct Level 1 Pistol Coach classes for our SASP coaches and adults who want to pursue this credential.” Joe DeBergalis, a member of the NRA Board of Directors  who also serves on the board of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) Board of Directors, said, “The NRA is honored to partner with the SASP as a founding member. As the leader in firearms education, the NRA is dedicated to the development of youth shooting programs to help build a better future for America’s rich shooting sports heritage. The SASP has done a phenomenal job instilling in young people values and character traits that will benefit them throughout their  lifetimes. The NRA is proud  to support such a remarkable organization.” “For generations, the NRA has been the foremost guardian of America’s shooting sports and hunting traditions.  We are proud to help SASP train and mentor future generations of young shooters,” said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association.

On October 28^th the SASP Ohio State Halloween shoot was held at the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio, during the SCTP College Nationals. It was great weather and we even had trick or treat candy for athletes and pumpkins for start cones.  There were 33 entries -- 17 pistol and 16 rifle.  Seventy percent of the athletes attending were female. The Ohio Steel Stingers dominated the medals and Miami University of Ohio competed in their first SASP event and took a first place.

Columbia, MO – The MidwayUSA Foundation has matched $193,330 in donations made to support youth shooting sports for the month of October.   This donation will benefit 106 youth shooting teams that hold MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Accounts. MidwayUSA Foundation’s Matching Program is made possible through a generous donation from Larry and Brenda Potterfield. Donors have the ability to choose the shooting team that will benefit from 100% of their donation, then the MidwayUSA Foundation is able to provide a matching contribution, dollar for dollar.  This allows donors to support a specific team, double their donation impact, and the shooting team grows their Team Endowment Account quickly. Each shooting team has a unique page within the Foundation website, with a ‘donate now’ button that allows donors to give directly to a specific team’s Endowment Account, safely and securely. Then, that gift will be matched the following month.[midwayusafoundation.org/donate-to-a-team] The MidwayUSA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity working to sustain the shooting sports industry by providing long-term funding to youth shooting teams.  Every donation made is 100% tax deductible and supports the mission to help communities and organizations raise funds to support their youth shooting team.  For more information about how the MidwayUSA Foundation is changing the future of youth shooting sports, please visit midwayusafoundation.org or call 1-877-375-4570.

New for the 2017 shooting season, the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) is offering a National Virtual Match series for all member trap and skeet teams across the country. SCTP coaches will be able to log into the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation’s SHOT data-system and register their athletes for any and all of the “cyber” tournaments. Teams may shoot these virtual competitions each week at their own local gun clubs where practices are normally conducted. Coaches then enter scores into the SHOT data system where results are compiled and compared against other teams at the local, state, regional and national levels!! SCTP will conduct three separate National Virtual Matches in 2017:

• January 2 – February 12
• February 27 – April 9
• April 24 – June 4

Each of the three tournaments in the National Virtual Match series will run for 6 weeks and every youth on the team gets to participate. The top 5 trap scores or top 5 skeet scores from the team will be used for that week’s total score. Everyone plays and everyone has a chance to be “top shot” for the week!! Teams may participate in any or all of the virtual tournaments! There is no additional cost for SCTP teams to participate in the National Virtual Match series, however all teams, coaches and athletes must be currently registered for the competition season. Additional details will be forth coming to all SCTP coaches and will also be posted on the SSSF website!  

And the winner is……Martin Methodist College! The SCTP College Nationals were held this past weekend at the “Spooky” Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio, Oct. 28-30, 2016. The facility, decked out with ghouls, goblins and witches, was once again the host for this 2^nd annual college event! Two hundred and seventy one athletes representing teams from 16 states made up over 853 registrations at this year’s College Nationals! Throwing more than 148,600 clay targets in trap, skeet, sporting clays, bunker trap and 5-stand kept the Cardinal Center staff quite busy for a few days. This year’s tournament saw an increase of 11 teams and almost 100 athletes over last year’s “inaugural” Championship event. Division 1 teams comprised of this year’s (HOA) champions, Martin Methodist College of Tennessee also included runner up Lindenwood University of Missouri and 3^rd place Bethel College from Tennessee. Division II teams included this year’s champion’s Ft. Hays State University of Kansas followed by the Clemson University Shotgun team of South Carolina and taking 3^rd was Midland University Shooting team of Nebraska. Division III schools were represented by this year’s National Champions Hillsdale College of Michigan, runner-ups Roane State Community College Raiders of Tennessee and 3^rd place University of Alabama Clay Shooting Team. The SCTP/SSSF has made available over $140,000 to teams in their MidwayUSA Foundation accounts for their placements at this year’s National event! Individuals turning in stellar performances included Ladies HOA winner, Bailey Crenshaw of the Clemson team, and Men’s HOA winner, Austin Svoboda representing Ft. Hays State. These athletes won SKB IS-300 shotguns compliments of the SCTP and SKB Shotguns. Other notables were perfect performances shot in the trap event (200 straight) by Caleb Lindsey – Martin Methodist College, Austin Svoboda – Ft. Hays State and Justin Osborn – Martin Methodist College. Lindsey would go on to win the Individual National title with another 50 straight to beat out Svoboda and Osborn. The tournaments “Last Competitor Standing” competition held Saturday evening saw Madeline Kittrell of the Roane State Community College Raiders taking the top ladies honor and Ryan Gough from Ft. Hays State outlasting the guys. Madeline would go on to take on the top Men’s champion showing them that the ladies ruled this year. Madeline won a beautiful Shamrock leather shooting bag for her hard work while both competitors won $1,000 Scholarships compliments of the SCTP and the NRA! “The SCTP staff, along with the Cardinal Center, did a fantastic job! Site improvements, shoot quality and the hard of work of these folks was definitely noticed and appreciated by all that attended,” said Chad Wittenburg, head coach of the Martin Methodist College Clay Target Team of Tennessee. “This tournament has become one of the pinnacle shoots for college shooting teams, drawing some of the best (and newest) teams from across the country. I am simply amazed by our athletes. Their dedication and commitment is very clear in our first ever Division I National Title!” Tom Wondrash, SCTP national director, said, “Great facility, great teams/coaches/athletes/parents and GREAT weather! The SCTP Team worked very hard and thoroughly enjoyed working with these great teams. We are extremely excited and looking forward to next year’s tournament! We received the final score sheet at about 1 p.m. on Sunday, started handing out awards at 1:10 and were finished (waving good-bye) to the teams and athletes by 2:00pm! It just doesn’t get any better than that for these teams!” For a full list of results and finishes in all disciplines, please visit www.sssfonline.org and click on “results”. The SCTP would like to thank the Cardinal Shooting Center for its hard work, Terri Dewitt from the MidwayUSA Foundation and all the parents and teams for attending and supporting our great program. Parties interested in starting clay target shooting teams with the SCTP, college or high school, can contact any one of the SCTP staff for assistance. Their information is listed at the bottom of the website.  

Are you an outstanding high school sophomore or junior actively engaged in academics, leadership and community service? Time to apply for the 2017 Youth Education Summit taking place July 24-July 30, 2017. Applications must be postmarked by Friday, January 13, 2017. Every summer the NRA selects 45-50 impressive high school students from across the country to participate in a week-long competitive fellowship in Washington DC. The week wraps up with a celebratory dinner where $15,000 is awarded out to those exceptional students who embody leadership as both individuals and as a collective. Students with an interest in becoming NRA Ambassadors can submit applications the following year for an additional $25,000 Grand Scholarship. The mission of the Y.E.S program is to give you the opportunity to explore your passion for our American government, Bill of Rights and the US Constitution, encourage you to become a responsible citizen who participates in the democratic process and empower you to return to your community with a proactive voice for the Second Amendment. Entry into the Y.E.S program requires submission of a completed application form, high school transcript, a three-page essay on the Second Amendment, a one page personal statement, and three letters of recommendation. Since its inception in 1996, more than 800 students have graduated from Y.E.S. and over $500,000 in college scholarships have been awarded. Please click here for the application.