All year the MidwayUSA Foundation will match donations, 2:1! The match for donations generated using the MidwayUSA Foundation's FREE fundraising items is structured slightly different. All funds will be matched, but the size of the match is determined by the contribution made to a MidwayUSA Foundation Endowment. After you've received your free item(s) and conducted your fundraiser, please complete the check donation form that corresponds with the item(s) to donate funds to your endowment. If this donation meets or exceeds the recommended donation for that item, you'll receive a 2:1 match! Contribute less than the recommended donation and still receive a 1:1 match! The recommended donation amounts are listed with each item on our fundraising page. The MidwayUSA Foundation wants to reward teams for growing their endowment, but the foundation also knows teams have expenses, today. Choose what works best for your team or program. Many items are available to use for fundraising and more are coming. Check out the fundraising page to see what your shooting program can use. For more on the Fundraising Matching Program, download this flyer or email fundraise@midwayusafoundation.org.
Register for the chance to win a Tristar Setter over/under shotgun when you visit the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) booth at the Fishing & Hunting Expo on Jan. 7-8, 2017, at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. Those who visit the booth will also learn more about the SCTP, where to find an area team, how to start a team, about competition opportunities, fundraising and MidwayUSA Foundation team endowment opportunities through the SCTP. Visit www.rockinghamexpo.com/ for more info on the expo.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is excited to release its 2016 year in review digital newsletter, Inside SSSF! Inside you'll find stories and exciting images highlighting SCTP, SASP and SSSF events, programs and happenings in 2016. You'll read about the Vision 20/20 Campaign, get a recap on the 2016 Nationals and SCTP International Championships, learn about the 2016 scholarship and gun winners, find out 2016 program stats and much, much more! "We want to thank everyone who participated in and generously contributed to our programs this year," SSSF President and Executive Director Ben Berka, said. "We wish you all a happy and prosperous 2017!!" Read the 2016 edition of Inside SSSF online now.
When it comes to who has the largest number of shooters here at the 2016 Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championships, the Volunteer State is once again dominant. This year Tennessee accounts for 23% of all those competing in the shotgun sports.
Participation by women - in this case perhaps girls - here in at the SCTP and SASP National Championships is, well, high. Girls account for nearly 1 in every 5 shooters with 19.3% of the total. By sport the numbers are more interesting. In the shotgun sports of SCTP the girls make up 17.7% of the shooters. But when it comes to the pistol and rifle sports of SASP, girls are now 30.7% of the total shooters. One of those girls helping to drive up participation is 11-year-old Taylor Diener of the Union Grove Shooting Club in Wisconsin. Taylor started shooting trap two years ago and just this past March made the leap into rimfire rifle competition in preparation for this year’s SASP Nationals. On the range she’s hard to miss, unless of course she’s surrounded by a cluster of adults who all tower over her. Cute and confident she seems totally unfazed by either the flood of attention given to young new shooters like her or the pressure of competing at the national level. Even when her rifle magazine has a feeding issue, a world ending disaster in the minds of many competitive shooters racing the timer, Taylor calmly keeps working the action and pulling the trigger. A lot of the young shooters, and several of the young girls shooting, demonstrate this same poise under pressure. And after, rather than voice any frustration or disappointment, Taylor focuses on the future, as in next year when she plans to add doubles trap, maybe sporting clays and even rimfire pistol to her shooting schedule. No wonder participation by girls - and of course women - continues to grow in the shooting sports.
Add the name Jacob McInturff to the history books of the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio. The 18-year-old shooter from Johnson City, Tennessee, had not broken 100 straight in skeet in a few years but that didn’t seem to phase him as he took to the brand new skeet fields and ran not just 100, but 200 straight, ensuring his place in the history books as the first shooter to do so here at the facility. Earlier in the competition Raymond Nagro of Gurnee, Illinois left his own mark as he claimed the honor of being the first shooter to run 100 straight. McInturff is here with the Unaka Shooters and back home is a regular on the skeet fields at the Unaka Rod & Gun Club where is he frequently outguns his elders. They sometimes resort to a little good humored gamesmanship to get in McInturff’s head, hoping to throw him off his game. Sometimes it works, and sometimes, the young shooter admits, he gives as good as he gets. When it comes to head-to-head competition club members might not be pulling for McInturff to win, but when it comes to representing the club in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), there is no mistaking their support. “They’ve been very good to the team,” says Mark McInturff who is both Jacob’s father and the team’s coach. When the senior McInturff talks about the Unaka Rod & Gun Club it's clear how much he and the team appreciate the support they get. It's support he hopes to repay with future leaders. McInturff sees SCTP not simply as a youth shooting program but also as a training ground to develop and prepare young men and women to someday take over the management of their home shooting clubs, and eventually return to the SCTP Nationals with new shooters and new teams. This long term view probably explains why the current Unaka Rod & Gun Club president jokingly refers to Jacob as the 'future club president.' For now though, he’s just the guy sitting atop the leader board with the only perfect 200 score in skeet...and he's OK with it staying that way through the rest of the championship.
Nineteen coaches earned their NRA coaching credentials during the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Level 1 Coaches Class hosted by the Daniel Boone Conservation League in Wisconsin on February 6-7, 2016. The Shooting Coach Program is a cooperative effort of the NRA, USA Shooting, and the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The NRA Level 1 Pistol Coaches Class now includes action shooting as one of the disciplines. The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) is the model for action shooting. The additional coaches were needed to address the huge growth several of the Wisconsin teams have experienced since last year. One team actually has grown from 15 last year to 50 this year and that growth was seen even before the new rifle program was announced. Congratulations new coaches and good luck on a successful season with your athletes. The next pistol coaches’ class on the schedule is in Plymouth, Michigan, April 2 & 3, 2016. Are you looking to host a coaches’ class in your area? Contact SASP Director of Development Rick Leach at rleach@sssfonline.com.
Coaches who are registering at sssfonline.org are reminded that their paperwork is not done until all steps have been completed. This includes submitting the required background check every two years and completing the one-time Double-Goal Coaching Course for new coaches. Until these steps have been completed, a coach is not considered registered and is not covered under SSSF‘s liability insurance. For a complete “how to” list for team registration, go to:https://sssfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Registering-a-new-team-instructions.pdf
If the holiday season is bringing out your generous side, then please consider one of two ways to support the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) this season. #GivingTuesday The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) has joined many other nonprofit organizations in the fundraising campaign #GivingTuesday. #GivingTuesday is held each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to jump start the holiday season and as a way to encourage people to give back to their communities and to the organizations and causes they believe in. “This is the first year the SSSF has participated in #GivingTuesday,” Ben Berka, SSSF president and executive director, said. “We encourage those of you who want to show support for our youth shooting sports programs to donate to the SCTP and the SPP on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. Your donations help fund our programs, which enhance the growth and personal development of student athletes throughout the nation.” Those interested in donating to the SSSF may go to https://sssfonline.org/donate/ to view giving options and make a secure, online donation. The SSSF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. Contributions are tax-deductible. AmazonSmile With the holiday shopping season upon us, many of you will no doubt be shopping on Amazon.com, the website where you can buy everything from books and music, to electronics, to automobile tires. Without spending another cent, you can support the SCTP and SPP with your Amazon purchases. When you log onto Amazon through a special link, smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase price to the SSSF -- at no extra cost to you. Use this special link to shop and support the SSSF!
As well all well know, with growth and development often comes change...and the SSSF is not exempt from that process. So along with the new year of competition, there are several new items to review in both the official SPP and the SCTP handbooks. Tammy Mowry, program director of the SPP, mentions that there are some "big" changes to make note of in the updated 2015-2016 SPP document. Some of the highlights include updates in the section on "Grouping Athletes -Divisions" (look for the details about categories) as well as in "Team Definitions" (don't miss the updated range commands). To read more and get caught up on all the new items, be sure to check out the update SPP handbook, here. Tom Wondrash, national director of the SCTP, shares that there are too many changes to post each and every one. And he encourages everyone to dig in and and read the updated 2015-2016 handbook, paying special attention to the red text, which shows where recent changes have been made. To read more and get caught up on all the new SCTP items, be sure to check out the updated SCTP Handbook here.
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.
All year the MidwayUSA Foundation will match donations, 2:1! The match for donations generated using the MidwayUSA Foundation's FREE fundraising items is structured slightly different. All funds will be matched, but the size of the match is determined by the contribution made to a MidwayUSA Foundation Endowment. After you've received your free item(s) and conducted your fundraiser, please complete the check donation form that corresponds with the item(s) to donate funds to your endowment. If this donation meets or exceeds the recommended donation for that item, you'll receive a 2:1 match! Contribute less than the recommended donation and still receive a 1:1 match! The recommended donation amounts are listed with each item on our fundraising page. The MidwayUSA Foundation wants to reward teams for growing their endowment, but the foundation also knows teams have expenses, today. Choose what works best for your team or program. Many items are available to use for fundraising and more are coming. Check out the fundraising page to see what your shooting program can use. For more on the Fundraising Matching Program, download this flyer or email fundraise@midwayusafoundation.org. 
Register for the chance to win a Tristar Setter over/under shotgun when you visit the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) booth at the
Participation by women - in this case perhaps girls - here in at the SCTP and SASP National Championships is, well, high. Girls account for nearly 1 in every 5 shooters with 19.3% of the total. By sport the numbers are more interesting. In the shotgun sports of SCTP the girls make up 17.7% of the shooters. But when it comes to the pistol and rifle sports of SASP, girls are now 30.7% of the total shooters. 
One of those girls helping to drive up participation is 11-year-old Taylor Diener of the Union Grove Shooting Club in Wisconsin. Taylor started shooting trap two years ago and just this past March made the leap into rimfire rifle competition in preparation for this year’s SASP Nationals. On the range she’s hard to miss, unless of course she’s surrounded by a cluster of adults who all tower over her. Cute and confident she seems totally unfazed by either the flood of attention given to young new shooters like her or the pressure of competing at the national level. Even when her rifle magazine has a feeding issue, a world ending disaster in the minds of many competitive shooters racing the timer, Taylor calmly keeps working the action and pulling the trigger. A lot of the young shooters, and several of the young girls shooting, demonstrate this same poise under pressure. And after, rather than voice any frustration or disappointment, Taylor focuses on the future, as in next year when she plans to add doubles trap, maybe sporting clays and even rimfire pistol to her shooting schedule. No wonder participation by girls - and of course women - continues to grow in the shooting sports.
Add the name Jacob McInturff to the history books of the Cardinal Center in Marengo, Ohio. The 18-year-old shooter from Johnson City, Tennessee, had not broken 100 straight in skeet in a few years but that didn’t seem to phase him as he took to the brand new skeet fields and ran not just 100, but 200 straight, ensuring his place in the history books as the first shooter to do so here at the facility. Earlier in the competition Raymond Nagro of Gurnee, Illinois left his own mark as he claimed the honor of being the first shooter to run 100 straight. McInturff is here with the Unaka Shooters and back home is a regular on the skeet fields at the Unaka Rod & Gun Club where is he frequently outguns his elders. They sometimes resort to a little good humored gamesmanship to get in McInturff’s head, hoping to throw him off his game. Sometimes it works, and sometimes, the young shooter admits, he gives as good as he gets. When it comes to head-to-head competition club members might not be pulling for McInturff to win, but when it comes to representing the club in the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), there is no mistaking their support. “They’ve been very good to the team,” says Mark McInturff who is both Jacob’s father and the team’s coach. When the senior McInturff talks about the Unaka Rod & Gun Club it's clear how much he and the team appreciate the support they get. It's support he hopes to repay with future leaders. McInturff sees SCTP not simply as a youth shooting program but also as a training ground to develop and prepare young men and women to someday take over the management of their home shooting clubs, and eventually return to the SCTP Nationals with new shooters and new teams. This long term view probably explains why the current Unaka Rod & Gun Club president jokingly refers to Jacob as the 'future club president.' For now though, he’s just the guy sitting atop the leader board with the only perfect 200 score in skeet...and he's OK with it staying that way through the rest of the championship.
coaches earned their NRA coaching credentials during the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Level 1 Coaches Class hosted by the Daniel Boone Conservation League in Wisconsin on February 6-7, 2016. The Shooting Coach Program is a cooperative effort of the NRA, USA Shooting, and the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The NRA Level 1 Pistol Coaches Class now includes action shooting as one of the disciplines. The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) is the model for action shooting. The additional c
oaches were needed to address the huge growth several of the Wisconsin teams have experienced since last year. One team actually has grown from 15 last year to 50 this year and that growth was seen even before the new rifle program was announced. Congratulations new coaches and good luck on a successful season with your athletes. The next pistol coaches’ class on the schedule is in Plymouth, Michigan, April 2 & 3, 2016. Are you looking to host a coaches’ class in your area? Contact SASP Director of Development Rick Leach at 
