Tag: SASP

Come Meet and Learn From Max Michel – Presented by Sig Sauer

Come meet and learn from Max Michel – Sig Sauer! All action shooting enthusiasts attending the 2017 National Championships at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, OH are invited to attend a unique learning opportunity presented by Sig Sauer. Clinic times are Thursday, July 13 at 11:00AM and 3:00PM and Friday, July 14 at 10:00AM at the action shooting range. Max is the IPSC World Champions with six International team gold medals, a world-renowned firearms trainer and runs the Max Michel Training Academy. Max holds the current Guinness Book of World Records title for speed shooting. A former member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, Max spent ten years in the U.S. Army. Max is the only person in history to win all of the USPSA Area championships in the same season. Watch the video of Max's Guinness Book of World Records.

Come Meet and Learn from Matt Hopkins – Presented by CZ-USA

All action shooting enthusiasts attending the 2017 National Championships in Marengo, OH are invited to attend a unique learning opportunity presented by CZ-USA. Matt Hopkins, CZ-USA pro shooter, will be at the Cardinal Center action shooting range on Thursday, July 13 at 9:30AM and and Friday, July 14 at 1:00PM and 3:00pm. Everyone is invited to attend. Matt is a USPSA Grand Master, CZ-USA shooting team member, shooting a SP-01 Shadow. He is a Limited and Open ProAm Champion, won 7th at the 2014 USPSA Nationals, is a 6-time Missouri state Champion and has earned over 25 production division state titles.

Win a CZ-75 at SASP Nationals – Beat the Pro Side Match

Come join us for the Beat the Pro Side Match at the 2017 Scholastic Action Shooting Program national championships. Watch the video of @czusafirearms pro, Matt Hopkins set the time to beat! Updated times to beat will be posted here periodically throughout the week. Stop by the action shooting range between noon July 8th and 4:00PM July 14th and for a nominal fee try to beat CZ USA Pro Matt Hopkins. Athletes will shoot a CZ-75 and Federal Premium Syntech ammunition. The Athlete that has the fastest time and beats the pro will win a CZ handgun donated to SASP by CZ USA. Watch the YouTube video featuring CZ-USA pro shooters Matt Hopkins and Dave Miller discussing the side match and having some fun on the range!

SASP Announces Partnership With the Young Marines

The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) is excited to announce our partnership with the Young Marines to become the competitive shooting component for the Young Marines organization. “Our partnership with the SASP provides an opportunity for our Young Marines to receive quality instruction on firearms safety and marksmanship,” said Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. “Combined with opportunities for competition within the SASP program and the intramural competition within our program, the partnership opens new doors for our Young Marines.” SASP offers youth from grade school through college, the opportunity to safely participate in team-based action shooting sports which is a sport like no other in that it offers a level playing field across genders and age. “We are excited to partner with the Young Marines,” said Rick Leach, interim national director of the SASP. “Both of our programs are targeted toward youth development, so it is a perfect fit. Glock is strong supporter of both our programs and introduced our programs to each other, knowing our programs they also thought us partnering made sense.” The Young Marines strengthens the lives of America’s youth by teaching the importance of self-confidence, academic achievement, honoring veterans, good citizenship, community service, and living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The SASP is designed to instill in young people a set of personal values and character traits for fair play, compassionate understanding, individual responsibility, sportsmanship, self-discipline and personal commitment.
It is hoped that these qualities will stay wit h youth participants in these programs throughout their lifetimes, helping each young athlete reach his or her full potential.
Youth participate in SASP using .22 rifles, .22 handguns or centerfire handguns, and targets are steel circle or rectangular plates.About the Young Marines The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c (3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline, so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Since the Young Marines' humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to 275 units with 9,200 youth and 2,760 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Okinawa with affiliates in other countries. For more information, visit the official website at: http://www.YoungMarines.com.

2017 Nationals Text Messaging Service and Email Updates

Sign up for our text messaging service and email updates to keep updated about current events, schedule changes, weather delays and other important news at the 2017 National Championships in Marengo, OH. Text Messaging - Simply text SSSF2017 to 94253 to opt in and you may opt out at any time. The service is free to use and will only be used for tournament information. Standard messaging rates may apply. Email Updates – signup online to join our list to receive the daily event schedule, event photos, and other news from the event direct to your inbox. Also, be sure to share your social media posts and photos and find other posts by using #SCTP2017 and #SASP2017!

Youth Teams Show How It’s Done in Texas

Reprinted with permission from Blue Press. By Robin Taylor, www.taylorfreelance.com Photos by Andre’ Dall’au, Jim Coffey Youth StuffBOOM! The report jars your insides. Everyone knows a 105mm Howitzer is loud, but the wave of overpressure stuns mind and body. As you recover, you see the breech slam closed and the Section Chief’s sabre tip drops slowly. BOOM! The Texas A&M Corps of Cadets brings their field howitzer to ball games, ceremonial events, and once a year, to their own pistol shoot. The 2017 Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) Southwest Regional has almost begun. BOOM! 230 people cheer the last shot. Together with the gun, they're shouting, “play ball!” in a distinctly gun-friendly way. Here in Texas, just outside of College Station, youth teams from all over the West have traveled far to find out who's the fastest. College students, cadets, high school, and middle school students alike shoot .22 pistols, 9mm service pistols, and just recently, .22 rifles in a fast-moving contest of speed and accuracy. “This is the second-largest regional in the country,” says Rick Leach, SASP's new director of development. Rapid growth in Texas fueled by the Texas State Rifle Association Foundation (TSRAF) and the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets' prestige has made the SW Regional one of the most popular regional events in the country. Teams from states as far away as Washington (a four-hour flight!) came to duke it out with not only the A&M Corps of Cadets (defending Collegiate National Champions) but also the South Texas juniors – the defending High School national champions. With 134 shooters on the line, the program's growing strength and influence really showed. “Last year we had 117 athletes in Texas,” says Leach. “So far this year, we're at 150, and it's early.” He's excited not just about the numbers, but about the demographic. At this year's regional, 30% of the shooters were female. “It's the fastest-growing state in the nation right now,” says Leach. Angela Gerlich, Executive Director of the TSRA Foundation brought together public financing, private financing, and successful local coaching to drive Texas SASP forward. Under Mrs. Gerlich's hand, discounted ammunition, steel target sets available for loan, expert coach trainers flown in from out of state, and above all the Texas Youth Action Shootout (TYAS) match series have all come about since August 2016. To give you an idea of the panache shown by the Texas program, the night before the match, Texas A&M welcomed students to the military college's Hall of Honor, showing off the history that propels the culture of A&M. A barbeque in the cadets' dining hall (with the cadets present in full Class A uniform) added more prestige. The TSRAF and match sponsor Magpul made everyone welcome, setting the bar for hospitality very, very high! According to Mrs. Gerlich, the Texas 4H program has more than 10,0000 students involved in the shooting sports. Most of that is shotgun, but handgun and rifle sports are coming on fast. ArtyAs far as SASP goes, “the part I'm most proud of is how we're recruiting using the A&M cadets and coaches to go out and work with our Texas youth that are interested in the SASP program. They are the most experienced group with the program in Texas and have really stepped up to help.  These cadets are now able to continue their leadership training in a whole new way, and it's working,” says Gerlich. On match day everyone has their game face on. Within a few minutes of the last cannon report, the distinct “ping-ping-ping” of gunfire on steel targets fills the air. SASP courses closely resemble Steel Challenge – but no one uses a holster. Students start at low ready, then shoot five targets as fast as they can. Each shooter gets five runs on four sets of targets, discarding the slowest run. All told, the kids fire 100 rounds – plus any misses. While the targets LOOK easy, the eye is deceived. It's one thing to stand there and pot away at an 18X24” rectangle at 25 yards. When time is no object, the shots are easy, but once you get a timer out, everything changes. “Go Fast” features four 18”X24” targets at just 7 yards, plus a 12” stop plate in the middle. Getting hits on the targets is easy – if you take your time. If you want to win, you've got to move. The fast guns shoot all five targets in under two seconds. The best ones shoot them in 1.5. That's 1/3 second each, including a low-ready start! “Focus” pushes the accuracy side, with small steel circles stashed as far back as 18 yards. Walking around the range, clusters of kids wearing uniforms from their local gun clubs and schools smile and goof around. The adults are all business, discussing rules and herding their charges when needed, but the kids enjoy themselves at every turn. Four-person teams get organized by equipment and age group. High School teams with .22s compete against other High School teams with .22s in “Senior Rimfire,” Middle School teams with 9mms compete in “Intermediate Centerfire.” Teams that don't have enough of any one age group to make a team compete in “Open.” Thanks to the support of the MidwayUSA Foundation donors (Larry Potterfield in particular), successful teams can win cash prizes that go into a special endowment to support the team. Most teams have relatively small endowments, but some successful fundraisers have pushed their endowments north of $250,000 – giving them more than $10,000 a year to help supply their athletes. State and private colleges have jumped in as well, offering scholarships to successful athletes and hiring coaches to lead college-level programs. Yes folks, your kids can actually win a scholarship to shoot steel in college. The numbers are small, but you'll see college recruiting stations at the SASP National Championship. panoramaThe Corps of Cadets and South Texas came into the 2017 match as the favorites, expected to win the centerfire and rimfire contests. The Cadets won centerfire by forfeit, posting a strong 192-second combined time. (Anything faster than 200 seconds is nationally competitive, putting A&M in strong position for the College nationals in March.) In rimfire, the South Texas crew brought their top gun – none other than Ethan Inocando – a name that Blue Press readers have seen before. Inocando did not disappoint, winning the rimfire match with a blistering time of 35.32 seconds. Only a handful of athletes can break the 40-second mark. However, one athlete does not a make a winning 4-person team. Hot on his heels was  “Team Gotta” captain Jake Overstreet, shooting a 36.89 for his team from Custer, Washington. Overstreet and his red-shirted teammates controlled the top of the leaderboard, posting a 179 second combined time. That was good enough to beat second-place South Texas' score of 203. Team Gotta's JV crew stumbled when ladies' Middle School champion Naomi McKay's Buckmark exploded in her hand, but McKay's group won the JV contest anyway, shooting the second-fastest time in the match – a 186. SASP has started changing the dynamic for shooting sports in this country, making practical pistol into a scholarship-level sport. If you'd like to know more about the program, look them up at www.sssfonline.org

SASP Athlete Jenna Jones Receives 2A Heritage Scholarship

A Girl & A Gun (AG & AG) announces that 14-year-old Jenna Jones, an AG & AG Youth Member from Comfort, TX, is the recipient of scholarship from AG & AG to be a 2A Heritage camper. Jenna earned High Junior at 3-Gun University on March 19, at the CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park.

The 2017 2A Heritage Junior Camps will take place this summer in Forest Lake, MN, and Topton, PA. Only 25 campers will be accepted into each event. Classes will take place on the first two days, followed by a match-style shοot on the last day. Juniors will receive instruction on pistol, rifle, shotgun (basic), long-range rifle, shotgun on the move/slugs/buckshot, advanced pistol skills, and transitions and stage planning.

“AG & AG has welcomed thousands of women into the shooting community, so we have seen an increase in family participation as well,” says Julianna Crowder, Founder of AG & AG. “Shooting sports have traditionally been a family activity; however, over the past 20 years, participation tapered so that most children only touched on marksmanship with pellet gυns at summer camps. 2A Heritage gives juniors the shοoting skills at the highest level. We are proud to support their programs to educate the next generation of competitive shooters.”

AG & AG sponsors the 2A Heritage website and will host a pizza dinner for the participants and their parents during the events. More information can be found at www.2AHeritage.org and AG & AG Youth Memberships.

*Reprinted by permission from A Girl and A Gun. Learn more at AGirlandAGun.org.

 

NOTE: Jenna is an SASP athlete with the Texas Hill Country Junior Marksmen. This is new SASP team that competed in their first SASP match at the Southwest Winter Regional in February.

SASP Welcomes Kris Leach to the Administrative Staff

Kris Leach
Kris Leach
The SASP is excited to welcome Kris Leach to the organization's administrative staff. Leach became involved in shooting sports several years ago when her son and youngest daughter began participating in the SASP and SCTP programs. She began helping through parent volunteering. She then decided to become more involved by becoming a Level 1 NRA coach. "I am excited to join SASP as administrative staff," Leach said. As a proud mom, I cheered and encouraged my kids and their teammates at the state, regional and national events. I could see the respect, confidence, growth, and increasing maturity in the members of our team and realized what a great teaching tool shooting sports can be for a child.  I look forward to using my background and experience to support the growth and success of SASP."

2016 National Championships Program Now Available Online

The SSSF National Championships will be here soon, July 9-16, at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio. We expect this year’s tournament to be similar to 2015, with approximately 3,000 competitors, plus almost 10,000 coaches, parents, grandparents, siblings, and other spectators during championship week. This event is, of course, the culmination and the celebration of all the hard work put forth all season long by our athletes, coaches, parents, and state advisors. And the hard work is continuing even now as final preparations are being made, including the final touches on our 2016 event program. Check out the program, HERE, to see the schedule of events... or to see what you might be missing if you don't attend.  (We will have print copies available at the shoot.) CoverPhoto

2016 College Nationals at CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park

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Photo courtesy of Don Heuman

Saturday, March 12, 2016, brought the College Nationals to CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park in Talladega, Ala. More than 93 competitors gathered their gear—and their reserve—and set out on a windy, overcast morning for a great day of shooting steel targets.

Overall, the teams expressed their positive impressions of the beautiful facility. "This was well worth the drive," Dillon Irwin, one of 20 members from the Florida State team, stated. "And it's definitely different from anything I've ever done before." The environmental science major went on to say that his goal for the day was to "not get DQ'd."

Beyond not getting disqualified, other competitors in the match shared goals of having fun, doing well, and putting only one shot on each target. Many of the shooters admitted they were new to shooting steel...and to competing in Alabama.

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Matthew Bright of Bob Jones University out of Greenville, SC, mentioned that this was his team's first year competing with SASP and their first time at the CMP. "It's an amazing facility. We don't have anything like this. So it's great to get our feet wet and get some experience as a team...and, of course, to have some fun shooting."

There seemed to be a lot of fun happening throughout the day. While waiting for his turn to shoot, Michigan's Alex Mullen took a moment to express his appreciation for the range and his anticipation for shooting the steel targets. His times for the stage were great, and Coach Carrie Cargill, who was watching nearby, added, "This is our third year to compete in this event. But we're so used to our indoor ranges. So I have to give a lot of credit to the kids, to absorb everything and to imagine a lot...and to always pull it together.  Of course, our number-one objective is to win. We we want everyone to shoot their best game and to enjoy it."

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College Nationals Match Results

1st place Centerfire: Texas A&M Corps of Cadets – Maroon (177.99)

2nd place Centerfire: West Point – 2 (188.05)

3rd place Centerfire: University of Florida – 1 (195.76)

1st place Rimfire: Texas A&M Corps of Cadets – Maroon (190.24)

2nd place Rimfire: West Point – 1 (195.93)

3rd place Rimfire: Michigan State University – 2 (196.89)

1st place Centerfire Open: University of Vermont - 1 (338.64)

1st place Rimfire Open: University of Vermont – 2 (289.82)

2nd place Rimfire Open: Western Kentucky (392.98)

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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.
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