The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) recently donated $451,258.50 to Team Endowment Accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation, providing assistance for youth shooting sports expenses. Teams earned funds by raising money through the SSSF’s Reload For 2021 campaign and the SSSF Member Matching Program. Teams purchasing ATA and or NSSA/NSCA memberships through the SCTP also had deposits made to their accounts.
So far, this year's donations have benefited 339 teams participating in the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), participating throughout 37 different states. The growth of youth shooting sports is apparent, as the number of benefiting teams has increased nearly four-fold since 2018. To date, the SSSF has donated over $6.9 million to SCTP and SASP team endowment accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation.
SSSF MidwayUSA Foundation Endowment Account Donation Summary
Please contact the SSSF for more information on how your shooting team can earn team endowment funding for their account at the MidwayUSA Foundation.
The Team Endowment Program at the MidwayUSA Foundation gives a community the ability to financially support a competitive youth shooting sports program or financially assist in the start-up of a new youth shooting sports program. The team can then request a grant of up to 5% of their endowment account balance once each year, in either December or June, to pay for team expenses. 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.
Did you know that nearly $2,000 has been donated to the SSSF through AmazonSmile? When online shopping on Amazon, please consider using selecting the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation as your charity of choice!
Our supporters have selected the SSSF as their Amazon Smile Charity and continued online shopping as they normally do, with most purchases qualifying for a portion to be donated. Thank you to our community and even some of our sponsors, like America's Gunsmith Shop for selecting the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation as their AmazonSmile charity!
The National office in conjunction with Florida Indian River Groves have put together the ultimate fundraising opportunity for you and your teams! Who doesn’t want fresh fruit especially when they can help your team raise much needed funds for this upcoming season?!
This opportunity is a no contact, no face to face, no door knocking way to help and support your team by just emailing friends, family and neighbors! 10% of all sales will come back directly to your team in the form of a check after the December 1st deadline for Christmas delivery.
The SCTP and SASP will furnish a list of prizes and places very shortly, so take the time now to register your team at the link below and we will handle the rest! Once your team is registered, it will take approximately 48-72 hours and you will be on your way to forwarding the link and website for supporters to place orders and help your team with funding!
Coaches, once you have registered your team, you will be able to set up your athletes and track their progress and total sales volume related to each athlete (salesperson)…..you can put up individual prizes and contests for your athletes as well!
We would like to thank Florida Indian River Groves for their support and help in providing this awesome
Opportunity to our teams, athletes and families!
Best of luck,
Your SCTP and SASP National Directors
TO RESERVE A SPOT IN OUR FUNDRAISING PROGRAM, TEAMS WILL REGISTER AT THIS FORM:
To view a sample website, which shows available varieties, selling prices, etc., coaches may use this link:
(Note: This is NOT to be distributed by your membership or used for ordering. Each team will receive their very own, fully customized website, with a different link for online ordering.)
In 2016 the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation launched a campaign entitled, “VISION 20/20” 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.
WITH THAT GOAL EASILY BEING MET AND SURPASSED, WE ARE RELAUNCHING THIS FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY AS RELOAD FOR 2021!
GETTING YOUR TEAM INVOLVED IS SIMPLE AND INVOLVES THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
Raise funds however your team deems most effective. This could include sending in funds from current or previous local fundraising efforts, soliciting donations with an email invitation via your team network of coaches and parents, asking local donors and/or advertising on social media.
Submit donations to SSSF either securely online or via the print-and-mail form prior to January 1, 2021. Be sure to include your SSSF team ID on ALL donations so the donations can be allocated correctly. SSSF will provide you with periodic updates about donations received for your team.
Bonus Funding Opportunity All teams participating in the Reload For 2021 campaign will have the opportunity to win BONUS team endowment funds! There are two competitions taking place:
Teams with the most dollars raised.
Teams with the most unique donors making donations via the SSSF website or print and mail form. Minimum donation is $20 to be counted as a unique donor.
For each competition, teams will be awarded team endowment funding to their MidwayUSA Foundation team endowment account as follows:
$10,000
$8,000
$5,000
$3,000
$2,500
$1,500
DONORS MAY BE SENT TO THE RELOAD FOR 2021 PAGE ON THE SSSF WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THEIR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO YOUR SCTP OR SASP TEAM AND PERKS FOR THEIR SUPPORT: HTTPS://SSSFONLINE.ORG/RF2021/
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is seeking a highly motivated individual to assume the role of Information Technology Support Manager. The successful candidate will have a broad background in IT support and be responsible for all aspects of information technology support for SSSF and its members.
The successful candidate will be responsible for all aspects of information technology (IT) support for the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Action Shooting Program. The successful candidate will play the lead role in supporting the organizations’ information technology needs.
Primary Responsibilities Include:
Management of the helpdesk system to support and provide excellent customer service to SSSF program members
Working with diverse groups including SSSF/SCTP/SASP management, customers, partners, contractors and other stakeholders to provide support and enhancement of SSSF IT systems
Managing all aspects of SSSF internal IT and IT assets
Coordinating IT system training for staff members and customers in a remote environment
Creating and delivering support documentation, end-user tutorials, videos, etc.
Creating and delivering comprehensive testing and implementation plans for new software and/or enhancements
Ordering IT hardware, maintaining IT software subscriptions and related support for SSSF staff
Planning and executing both internal and end-user training Interacting with management, staff, membership, contractors and others to execute job duties
Constantly monitoring and evaluating technology trends and developments
The NSSF's First Shots and +ONE initiatives have aimed to introduce new groups and individuals alike to shooting sports. With August being declared National Shooting Sports Month, these resources have been utilized by the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation's SASP and SCTP members as a means to grow their teams for the upcoming season.
The SASP team, WildGats at the University of Arizona got their start in 2015 thanks to an NSSF grant and have been an enthusiastic partner for NSSF initiatives ever since.
This youth shooting sports team has been focused on sharing their sport via First Shots events for several years and just put on their latest introductory event on August 22nd. Along with event partners Southeast Regional Park Shooting Range and Pima County Parks and Recreation, the WildGats put on a wildly successful event.
"We had a 127 sign up in the first hour before we could announce that it was full," said WildGats Head Coach, Bill Perkins. "Talking to our guests, I was surprised. At our first five events, we have had ~50% new shooters. When I asked for a show of hands at our latest First Shots event, ALL the hands went up in all three groups. We also saw very high participation by women. I would guess over 80% this year."
Event staff greeted participants, with each group signing in and going through a quick temperature check. From there, new shooters were oriented by a First Shots powerpoint, staff introductions, gun safety rules, and future shooting opportunities.
First Shots participants being introduced to gun safety and county range rules
From there, the University of Arizona WildGats athletes taught new shooters the fundamentals of grip, stance, sight alignment, and trigger squeeze with visible laser SIRT trainers. NextLevel Training, Platinum Sponsor of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program, manufactures training tools, especially helpful for new shooters.
Introducing the fundamentals of pistol shooting with training tools gave new shooters the skills and confidence to progress before hitting the range
Once given an introduction, First Shots participants were taken to the live fire range, receiving 1:1 guidance with a Coach, Instructor or RSO.
For the last 4 years, Titanium-Level Sponsor, Browning has provided SCTP National Championship athletes with the opportunity to earn the “Browning Scholarship”. This scholarship is awarded to the high school-aged top athlete in Trap Singles (male or female) shooting a Browning Shotgun.
"The biggest supporters of our program consistently go above and beyond to give back to these young athletes, said SCTP National Director, Tom Wondrash. "Since its inception, the Browning Scholarship has been a popular competition within the National Championship events. Every year we have athletes who shoot Browning shotguns sign up to see who comes out on top, receiving honors from one of our biggest program sponsors. This year was no different and we are very thankful to have Browning's support, creating another exciting aspect of competition for many athletes at Nationals."
Congratulations to Joey Donato of the Warren County Claybusters, shooting a 199/200 in Trap Singles! For his performance, Browning provided Joey with a Cynergy Gran Lightning!
Pennsylvania All-State Team Member and Browning Scholarship Winner, Joey Donato with his new Browning Cynergy Gran Lightning
A team of target throwing specialists, electricians, heavy equipment operators, and project managers had their work cut out for them. Thousands of pounds of concrete to be poured, hundreds of tons of dirt to be moved, and over 60 traps with supporting equipment to be installed. They have less than a month to get it done, and the success of a National Championship hangs in the balance.
On June 1st, the green light is given to proceed. It is a decision carefully considered over dozens of hours of board meetings, tense phone calls, email chains to infinity, and many restless nights. By this time last year, logistics of the Scholastic Clay Target Program's (SCTP) National Championship had in large part already been buttoned up and were in motion. 2020 was different for many reasons. The SCTP International Championship had historically been held each fall in Colorado as a separate event, whereas the National Championship is locked in for the second week of July in a 10-year contract for the Cardinal Center.
In January, the SCTP announced the International disciplines of Bunker Trap and International Skeet would be joining the National Championship events at the Cardinal Center in July. With the support of Larry and Brenda Potterfield, SSSF, Promatic, and the Cardinal Shooting Center, a project was drafted to accommodate the International events by constructing four, state of the art International Skeet and Bunker field overlays, complete with Promatic target throwing systems. Placing the International events on the front end of Nationals would give athletes more exposure to the Olympic sports as well as cutting the costs and logistics of another trip for teams and families. But as April came and went, the pandemic in America continued to send ripples through society, putting the project managers for the International Championship in a holding pattern.
Over 16,000 SCTP athletes and coaches were eagerly waiting to hear news about Nationals. The SCTP provided resources for teams to stay sharp during the downtime but nervously watched as other sports organizations throughout the country postponed or canceled seasons. High school senior athletes were dreading that there would be no National title pursuits to close out their final seasons.
In May, the SCTP continued to hold on an official Nationals announcement, continually monitoring information from the state of Ohio, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morrow County (OH) Department of Health, and representatives from the Cardinal Center in their consideration. Additional input came in throughout the month from health professionals and feedback from SCTP coaches, helping shape the decision to go forward with the National Championship event as planned on June 1st.
This set the stage for an incredibly fast-paced timeline to execute the traditional National Championship preparations, much less integrating an entire International Style Championship into the schedule.
"Clear, consistent communication was key on this project," said SCTP National Director, Tom Wondrash. "With the time ticking and athletes, coaches, families, sponsors, looking to see if Nationals was a go, the weight of moving the International events to the front end of Nationals grew heavier as time went on. Throughout all of this, those involved in the project remained optimistic and eager to get to work. On June 1st, everyone hit the ground running, ready to execute their piece of the project."
The Promatic team took point early on in the year, getting plans set with the Cardinal Center staff and contractors. Promatic representatives said, "Every event is important but the SCTP project at the Cardinal Center was special, knowing that all the American and International disciplines were under one roof for the first time ever in SCTP history. As soon as the Cardinal Center got enough earth moved to get the initial structure built, we were on our way with a trailer full of throwers and equipment."
With the plans dialed in, the Promatic team got to work installing Promatic Olympic Trap units into the bunkers, with the SCTP National Championship fast approaching.
Another Promatic technician reflected on the project saying, "Once we were on the ground we were all just plugging away, working with and around each other to get all of our parts of the bunkers done. With a project as important as this, you expect for Murphy's law to come into play. We were all thinking the weather would come in to wreak havoc, but not so much as a drop of water hit the ground. With so many aspects of the project happening at one time, rain would have been disastrous. We were on the ground on the 25th of June and wrapped things up by July 3rd. It could not have gone any smoother!"
Much like the installation project, the 2020 SCTP National Championship went off without a hitch, with athlete entries in Bunker Trap doubling from the previous year. The International Skeet and Bunker Trap finals closed out each event, with the top 3 male and female athletes in each discipline determining slots for the SCTP International Team, coached by former Olympian, Terri DeWitt. Familiar faces returned, along with some new athletes earning their slot on the prestigious youth shooting team. The group will be attending training camps in the fall in order to prepare for 2021's Olympic Trials. As the official youth feeder program of USA Shooting, participating in SCTP’s International Disciplines is the path for kids to reach their Olympic dreams.
The 2021 National Championships are slated for July 8-19th, with the International events taking place on the 8th-11th. An additional Bunker Trap field, complete with Promatic equipment will be completed next spring, bringing the total number at the Cardinal Shooting Center to five. This greatly expands the capabilities of hosting International Style Competitions, a rarity in the United States.
The honor of being the "Top Gun Champion" of the SCTP and SASP National Championships is claimed for the second year in a row by Jack Krasulak from the Young Guns of Quail Creek team in Okeechobee, Florida.
Since its inception in 2018, the CZ-USA Top Gun Challenge has recognized the commitment, stamina, and multi-discipline mastery of athletes who compete in both the SCTP and SASP National Championship events. These athletes challenge themselves by preparing for two vastly different shooting sports and must perform at the National Championship level over multiple days and events.
In the 2020 CZ-USA Top Gun Challenge, competitors were scored in trap, skeet, a rifle discipline of choice, and a centerfire pistol (iron, optic, or 1911), with their scores from each event being compiled to calculate the winners. Due to the unusual season, all 2020 SASP Nationals were held virtually from home ranges across the country. While SCTP National Championship events were held in-person at the Cardinal Shooting Center, the Virtual National events were scheduled in conjunction with the events in Ohio to provide flexibility for teams unable to travel.
Of the 15 athletes vying for the title of Top Gun, Jack Krasulak once again came out on top.
In the SASP events, Jack went back and forth for the fastest overall scores in the Centerfire and Rifle disciplines with 2nd place Bailey Lueders of the Arnold Junior Shooters/Brass Bandits. Tied with Bailey in the SCTP Trap events with 189's, it was Jack's strong score of 190 in Skeet that allowed him to pull away from the competition and secure the title of Top Gun for the 2nd year in a row.
Graduating in 2021, Jack will be defending his title of Top Gun one more time at the 2021 SCTP and SASP National Championships next July.
Thank you to CZ USA and our other generous SCTP/SASP program sponsors for their support of our Top Gun competitors!
1st Place Jack Krasulak shooting for the Young Guns of Quail Creek of Florida repeats as CZ USA Top Gun Challenge Champion. Jack wins a CZ USA Drake shotgun, a RUGER 10-22 Rifle, and a Browning Buckmark Camper pistol.
2nd Place Bailey Lueders of Arnold Junior Shooters SCTP /Brass Bandits SASP in MO finished just 12 points behind to be the highest finishing female ever in the CZ USA Top Gun Challenge. For her efforts she wins a CZ Drake shotgun.
3rd Place Wyatt Young of the Muskego Warriors of WI wins a certificate for a GLOCK of his choice for SASP Founding Partner Sponsor GLOCK
4th Place Jordan Zeircher of the Arnold Junior Shooters SCTP/Brass Bandits SASP in MO. Jordan wins a Mossberg Blaze rifle.
5th Place Ethan Michek of S.E.a.L from WI. Ethan wins a case of Winchester Shotgun shells and 1000 rounds of .22LR CCI Mini Mags.
6th Place Alex Parker of Dewey, Hittem and Howe SCTP/ Holyoke SASP in MA. Alex wins a RE Ranger shooting glasses and Walker’s Hearing protection.
During this year’s SASP National Virtual Championships, athletes from 17 states competed from home ranges to help their state become the top state in pistol or rifle and have bragging rights for the next year.
Athletes of their respective SASP State Championships were considered in the following disciplines:
Rimfire Pistol Iron
Rimfire Rifle Iron or Optic
Centerfire Iron
PCC
At the National Virtual Championship, the 2020 All-State Athletes not only competed for the National title with their team, but also represented their state in Rifle and Pistol teams to crown the top states in the nation.
The Missouri All-State Pistol Team, edged out Tennessee by just over one second to become the top state in the nation for SASP pistol disciplines.
Ohio All-State Rifle Team members claimed their title by over four seconds, becoming the top state in the nation for SASP rifle disciplines.
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.
