SCHEELS To Sponsor Scholastic Clay Target Program

Written by SSSF Staff on . Posted in SCTP Blog, SSSF News and Information, Uncategorized.

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is pleased to announce that SCHEELS has committed to a 3 year sponsorship at the “Red Diamond” level in support of the Scholastic Clay Target Program! SCHEELS is an employee-owned, privately held business that owes its consistent success to its empowered associates, leaders and partners who think and make decisions for their individual stores and the entire company. Today, SCHEELS is a 26-store operation with stores in 11 states including North Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, and Kansas. Providing SCHEELS' customers with first-class customer service and the world's largest selection of sports, sportswear and footwear are the priorities throughout the organization. "SCHEELS is honored to be a proud supporter of the SCTP as they continue to grow and develop the sport of competitive shooting at the scholastic level.” Said Marcus Thornton, VP of Marketing. “We are excited to help play a role in the mission of the SCTP and to aid in the further development of our youth through the excitement around shooting sports." “This 3 year commitment will mark the first ever sponsorship at this level from a large sporting goods retailer for the SCTP and we are most grateful to them” commented Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director. “SCHEELS has reset the bar in support of the youth shooting sports and youth development and we look forward to working with them for years to come!” The SCTP is excited to be working with SCHEELS and especially their individual local retail locations. The opportunity to start new teams in some areas as well as grow teams in areas where we have a team/store overlap will prove to be a win-win scenario for some time! If you or your company are interested in getting involved with the SCTP in support of youth development and youth shooting sports and teams, please contact SCTP National Director Tom Wondrash at twondrash@sssfonline.com or download the 2018 SCTP Media Guide for all sponsorship options.

SSSF set to exhibit at NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, PA

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The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation will be exhibiting at the NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show, February 3-11, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA. Representatives from the SSSF’s Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) will be on hand in Booth #201 to meet with attendees and industry professionals during the show. To schedule a meeting with Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director, during the show, e-mail TWondrash@sssfonline.com. To schedule a meeting with Rick Leach, SASP National Director, during the show, e-mail RLeach@sssfonline.com. ABOUT GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOOR SHOW The Great American Outdoor Show is a nine-day event celebrating hunting, fishing and outdoor traditions that are treasured by millions of Americans and their families. The show features over 1,100 exhibitors ranging from shooting manufacturers to outfitters to fishing boats and RV’s, and archery to art covering 650,000 square feet of exhibit hall space! Not to mention a jam packed schedule including country concerts, fundraising dinners, speaking events, archery competitions, celebrity appearances, seminars, demonstrations and much more! For more information go to: www.greatamericanoutdoorshow.org

Purchase ATA/NSCA/NSSA Memberships Through SCTP and Receive Team Endowment Funds!

Written by SSSF Staff on . Posted in SCTP Blog, SSSF News and Information, Uncategorized.

Is your team planning on shooting your 2018 Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) state shoot or perhaps a regional or our national event this year? If so, we have a program to help SCTP teams with National Governing Body (NGB) fees for the 2017/2018 shooting season as well as growing your team’s MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment account! Background Since 2007 the Scholastic Clay Target Program has maintained partnerships with several of our NGB’s including the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), National Skeet Shooting Association (NSSA) and National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA). These partnerships require that we host “registered events” at our state (where possible) and national championships and therefore our athletes competing in these events must have current memberships with the respective NGB. These partnerships provide many benefits to SCTP athletes including:
  1. Provide a pathway and additional opportunities for youth and families to continue participating in competition clay target shooting outside of the regular SCTP season.
  2. Provide much needed SCTP Scholarship funding to our graduating athletes. In 2017 the SSSF awarded $99,600 in college scholarships, supported in part by donations from our NGB partners.
  3. Enable SCTP athletes to apply for scholarship funds available only to national governing body members through the respective NGB scholarship programs.
  4. National governing bodies provide an official historical record of an athlete's scores which are frequently requested when applying to colleges with shooting programs.
Facilitating continued involvement in the shooting sports is part of the mission of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation /SCTP and we believe these partnerships with NGBs help us accomplish our mission. 2018 Incentive Program For every dollar that your team spends on NGB memberships sent in through the SHOT system, we will send that exact amount of money to your team’s MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment account! This will include your team’s coaches and adult volunteer memberships that are also paid through our system!! For example: “Team A” has 100 athletes who all shoot Trap. They remit payment (through SHOT or via check to SCTP Headquarters) for 100 athletes’ ATA membership dues of $12 per athlete = $1,200. The SCTP/SSSF will then send that exact amount of money into “Team A’s” Midway USA Foundation account. It’s that simple! This only includes NGB membership dues paid through the SCTP. Dues paid directly to the ATA, NSCA or NSSA are not eligible. This will include ALL NGB membership dues paid starting Sept. 1st, 2017 until May 31st OR until the first $150,000 in NGB membership dues have been received, whichever occurs first. Teams MUST have an active account with the MidwayUSA Foundation prior to May 31st in order to receive Team Endowment funding. So coaches, when registering your team remember to pay athlete NGB membership dues at that time to take advantage of this opportunity to grow your teams’ MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment accounts! Taking care of these fees at the time of athlete registration is as simple as checking a box in the SHOT system! Please feel free to contact our SCTP staff if you have any questions.

Become a Sponsor in 2018!

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To reach the nation’s largest audience of scholastic shooting sports teams, schools, coaches, and athletes, consider one of our many sponsorship opportunities! Advertising with us gets your brand in front of thousands of shooting sports and outdoor oriented families ready to buy! Packages and options include exposure in our Range Time e-newsletter, through social media, in event programs, through e-blasts and on the ground at our national championships, plus our annual e-magazine, Inside SSSF. See all of our sponsorship options and download our 2018 Media Guides.

NSSA/NSCA College Scholarships

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The National Skeet Shooting Association (NSSA) and National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) recently announced they will each award $2,500 scholarships to four deserving high school seniors in 2018. Scholarships are based on a 4-year degree program and will be paid incrementally by semester. Deadline for application is March 1, 2018. Download complete information on the National Skeet Shooting Association scholarships. Download complete information on the National Sporting Clays Association scholarships.

2018 SCTP/NSSA/NSCA Tour Dates Announced

Written by SSSF Staff on . Posted in Events, SCTP Blog, SSSF News and Information, Uncategorized.

The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and National Skeet Shooting Association / National Sporting Clays Association (NSSA-NSCA) are pleased to announce the 2018 dates for the SCTP/NSSA/NSCA tour events. The tour is designed so SCTP youth will be able to participate in premier skeet and sporting clays events, perhaps outside of their regular SCTP season. The tour provides opportunity for SCTP youth to compete for special awards while also experiencing the environment and excitement of the top skeet and sporting clays tournaments across the country! SCTP athletes participating in NSSA and/or NSCA registered events, (including tour events) will also be eligible for NSSA-SCTP and/or NSCA-SCTP All American Teams! NSCA-SCTP All-American Team The NSCA-SCTP All-American Team recognizes SCTP athletes that compete in NSCA registered sporting clays events. To be eligible for the SCTP All-American Team a shooter must be a member in good standing with NSSA/NSCA and SCTP, must shoot a minimum of 500 NSCA registered targets, and must shoot their respective SCTP state or regional shoot or the SCTP National Championships. The NSCA-SCTP All-American Team will be determined via a points system which are earned by competing and placing against other SCTP athletes. The NSCA-SCTP All-American selection will be divided into four teams which include Open Sub-Junior, Lady Sub-Junior, Open Junior, Lady Junior. Eight members will be selected to each team. Points can be earned from January 1 to December 31 with the team being selected in the Spring of the following shooting year. Please direct questions on the team to Nathan Boyd at nboyd@nssa-nsca.com. NSSA-SCTP All-American Team The NSSA-SCTP All American Team Recognizes SCTP athletes that compete in NSSA registered skeet events. To be eligible for the SCTP All-American Team a shooter must be a member in good standing with NSSA/NSCA and SCTP, must shoot a minimum of 500 12-gauge NSSA registered targets, and must shoot their respective SCTP state or regional shoot or the SCTP National Championships. The NSSA-SCTP All-American Team will be determined via 12-gauge average. All an athlete’s 12-gauge targets shot in the shooting year (January 1 to December 31) will be used to determine the team. The NSSA-SCTP All-American selection will be divided into six teams which include Open Sub-Junior, Lady Sub-Junior, Open Junior, Lady Junior, Open Collegiate, and Lady Collegiate. Eight shooters will be selected to each of the sub-junior and junior teams. Athletes that are selected to an NSSA Sub-junior, Junior, or Collegiate Concurrent All-American Team will not be eligible to make the NSSA-SCTP All-American Team. Please direct questions on the team to Nathan Boyd at nboyd@nssa-nsca.com.
Also remember that all SCTP athletes (and coaches) can purchase their NSSA and NSCA membership through the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation's SHOT team registration and management system. All membership purchases through the SHOT System directly support the SCTP scholarship fund!

USA Shooting Seeks Applications for Athlete Endowment Grants

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USA Shooting and the Bunker Club established the Colonel D.D. Behrens Athlete Endowment Fund to create a reliable and predictable cash flow to fund developing athletes to ensure that United States teams remain strong in the face of increasing competition from other countries. 2018 Athlete Endowment Deadline - January 30, 2018 In 2005 the Athlete Endowment Fund was established by Colonel D.D. Behrens with the intention of awarding grants to shooting sport athletes to help offset the cost of competitions, equipment, ammunition, travel and training in hopes of maintaining USA Shooting’s competitive excellence well into the future.  The goal of the endowment is to build a strong foundation of USA Shooting athletes by assisting with development of their shooting skills needed to become high-level competitors and Olympians. In 2015, eighteen athletes were the first grant recipients from the endowment.  Since then the number of athletes receiving grants have doubled.  As the endowment continues to grow with the help of generous donors, the number of athletes impacted will continue to rise. The goals of the Athlete Endowment are already being realized with several success stories from awardees, including 2016 Olympic champion Ginny Thrasher and Junior Olympic Champion Will Shaner. Recognizing the need for USA Shooting to build its own base of financial support, Col. D.D.Behrens started fundraising within a small inner-circle of hunting buddies which has now blossomed into a very loyal and dedicated group.  The Bunker Club was established at a time when USAS was in a tight financial position.  There was an immediate need to replace bunker trap machines at the International Shotgun Range in Colorado Springs.  The Bunker Club members successfully raised $200,000 to complete the project. After the initial fundraising task was completed, Bunker Club members then decided to make a long-term commitment to USA Shooting athletes.  They set forth to establish an endowment of $3 million in which, to date, have successfully raised $1.7 million.  Their continued support of athletes is amazing, and we are forever grateful. To build on this level of achievement, USA Shooting must create a strong base of financial support to ensure that our athletes can not only compete successfully in the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but also to build an athlete base and opportunity for young shooters to achieve success into the future. The Athlete Endowment will award athletes with grants to help cover training, competition expenses, equipment, ammunition, and travel.  Payments will be made for eligible expenses on a reimbursement by receipt basis during same calendar year as awarded grant. Application criteria are as follows:
  • Applicants must have a current USA Shooting event classification;
  • Demonstrated potential in both skill and commitment are required;
  • Applicant must be a USA Shooting member, click here for membership.
  • Members of the National Team, Development Team or National Junior Team (past or present) are not eligible for Endowment grants.
  • Members of the Junior Olympic Squad (Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun) may apply for grants.
  • Members of the USA Shooting Team who are already receiving financial assistance are not eligible for endowment grants.
Instructions USA Shooting Attn: Patsy Woods 1 Olympic Plaza Colorado Springs, CO 80909 For more information or if you have any questions or comments please contact: resourcedevelopment@usashooting.org or call 719-866-4883.

SKB Renews SCTP Sponsorship in 2018

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The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) announces its continued support from SKB Shotguns out of Omaha Nebraska. SKB known for its fine side by side, over/under and single barrel competitive shotguns will once again support the SCTP as a Gold Level Sponsor for 2018. SKB offers a wide variety of quality firearms that fit the competitive shooter and hunter alike! “We are pleased to support the SCTP and its national youth program!” remarked Rob Johansen, owner and CEO of SKB Shotguns. “The SCTP gives back to its teams and coaches in many ways, we are extremely happy to be part of this quality program and its teams, athletes and coaches.” “Rob Johansen and SKB have been a strong supporter of SCTP and our national youth program for years” said Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director. “They offer quality firearms at a good price for our youth shooters and are not only sponsors of our program, they are partners with us! We appreciate all of their continued support of youth shooting.” Look for Rob and the SKB team at SCTP Regional, state and National Championship events during the 2018 shooting year. They have a gun for almost every budget and dealers across the country that would love to work with you! Coaches, SKB also has a wonderful team raffle program available to all SCTP Teams! Are you or your company interested in supporting the largest competitive youth shooting program in the world? Download the 2018 SCTP Media Guide to see all sponsorship options or contact Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director at twondrash@sssfonline.com

Over $400,000 to SCTP & SASP Teams Through Vision 20/20

Written by SSSF Staff on . Posted in SCTP Blog, SPP Blog, SSSF News and Information, Uncategorized.

The 2017 Vision 20/20 campaign is in the books and has raised the bar for Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) local team fundraising efforts. Participating teams raised a total of $134,706 from October through December for the 2017 campaign. Through these fundraising efforts, participating teams receive a total of $59,241 in cash grants from the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation and a MidwayUSA Foundation team endowment account benefit of $353,697! Total SCTP and SASP team benefit for the 2017 campaign is $412,938! "Our teams worked hard and were creative on this campaign to generate donations and at the same time promote awareness about the positive benefits of youth shooting sports in their community," said Ben Berka, President and Executive Director of the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. "One team sent in $10,000 generated from a simple tip-jar at their host gun club! Another small-town team solicited only local businesses and received over $7,500 in donations with the average donation being $345! Others did email solicitation campaigns and social media efforts to reach team supporters near and far." Vision 20/20 provides local SCTP and SASP teams with a way to raise funds locally and provides cash needs for today through an SSSF cash grant in January 2018 and funding needs for perpetuity via donations to SCTP and SASP team endowment accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation. For every ten dollars received by the team, the team receives a cash grant of $5 and up to $25 to their team endowment account through generous match funding. The donations and matching funds from SSSF to MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Accounts established to benefit SCTP and SASP member-teams are made possible, in part, by grants to the SSSF from the Tulsa Community Foundation Youth Shooting Fund established and funded by the generosity of Larry and Brenda Potterfield. "The generous match funding and the perpetuity of an endowed account was a real driver for local team success in this campaign," Berka said. "There are not very many community sports teams who can knock on a potential donor's door and offer match funding for their donation AND guarantee that their donation will be used to support the team FOREVER via an endowed account. Our partnership with the MidwayUSA Foundation helps our SCTP and SASP teams do just that!" The Team Endowment Program at the MidwayUSA Foundation gives a community the ability to financially support a competitive youth shooting sports program at the high school and college level. The team can then request a grant of up to 5% of their endowment account balance once each year, in either June or December, to pay for team expenses.  There are no fees associated with a MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment. About Vision 20/20 The SSSF's Vision 20/20 campaign is a multi-year fundraising effort started in 2016 with the goal to grow national youth participation in the Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Action Shooting Program to over 20,000 student athletes annually by the year 2020. In partnership with industry partners, civic organizations, member teams and donors the SSSF will provide the opportunity and funding for more students to join existing shooting teams and create new teams where none exist today. Please watch www.sssfonline.org/vision2020 for more information on the upcoming 2018 campaign.

Still Time to Give in 2017!

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Itemize your 2017 tax donations while you still can and help get more kids involved in organized shooting sports! Your tax-deductible donation before January 1st helps establish new Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Action Shooting Program teams, and grows existing teams. Our programs are developing youth into the next generation of leaders! See the many ways to donate online at www.sssfonline.org/donate.  New SSSF supporting members receive a Browning two-knife set when joining!

© Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to providing shooting-sports education and opportunities to school-age youths around the United States to encourage young athlete personal growth and development.
Tax-ID number 20-8484121.