World Champion skeet shooter, instructor, and Hall of Famer Paul "LP" Giambrone III recently took time for an interview with Dan Hathaway, SSSF Director of Development, for the next issue of Inside SSSF e-magazine. But we're giving you a preview now! At only 28 years old, Giambrone has already won 15 World Skeet Championships and has been inducted into NSSA's Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame. He continues to compete -- and win -- and operates a shooting school. He offers SCTP shooters and coaches his best tips for more shotgunning success: Thanks to Paul 'LP" Giambrone III for his time and advice. To learn about lessons or having LP to conduct a clinic in your area, visit his website at breakmoretargets.com. Special thanks also to Brent Edwards for editing this video.
Sydney Carson of SCTP's Kosko Dust Devils proved why she's known as Syd Vicious among her friends when she won the Women's Skeet Gold Medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Syhl, Germany recently. Sydney was among four medalists and six individual finalists for the USA Shooting Team. While the world stage podium may be somewhat new to Sydney, Gold Medals are nothing new for her. In 2013, Sydney was the SCTP Women's International Skeet Champion. Sydney ranked fourth during the 75-shot qualifier, but that all changed in the semifinals and finals where she outshot all six finalists. In her Gold Medal finals match-up, she defeated Russia’s Victoria Ostapets by a one-target margin, 13-12. Along with her teammates Dania Vizzi (Odessa, Florida) and Hannah Houston (Columbia, Tennessee), Sydney was also part of the Gold Medal-winning team for Women’s Skeet. Sydney just completed her junior year at John Glenn High School in North Liberty, Indiana. She is a member of the Kosko Dust Devils youth shotgun team affiliated with the Kosko Conservation Club in Warsaw. The club is part of the Scholastic Clay Target Program.Winning U.S. Team Members of the Gold-Medal winning Women's Skeet team and the Bronze-Medal winning Women's Trap team at the 2014 ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. Photo courtesy of USA Shooting and Gary Anderson.
Registration is now open for next month’s SCTP National Team Championships, and if the first day of registration is any indication, it is sure to be a record-shattering event. During the first 24 hours that teams could register for the National Championships, more than 627 student athletes were signed up for SCTP events, representing 40 teams from 15 states. Almost 1000 event registrations were completed during the first day. The event will be held July 14-19 at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, IL. In addition, SCTP will host shooters at our National Championships for international events on July 25-29 in Colorado Springs, CO. As in previous years, SCTP teams will compete in Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays during the weeklong event. For this year’s Nationals, teams can also compete in Doubles Trap, Handicap Trap, and Skeet Doubles events. A new College Open category will allow college students to compete at the National Championships with their former high school teams. Sharing the spotlight with the Scholastic Clay Target Program during Nationals will be the Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP), concurrently holding its second Junior/Senior National Championships. The two programs will award $713,000 in endowment funds to competing teams at our national events, representing $450,000 to SCTP teams at the Sparta tournament; $156,000 at SCTP’s National Championships for international events; and $107,000 to SPP teams at Nationals. Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation will donate the endowment funds to team accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation, Inc. In addition to a week of shooting competition, other activities are planned to benefit our student athletes, including College Recruiting Day to provide recruiting opportunities to colleges with shooting teams, and Youth Conservation Day, when athletes will learn about various conservation organizations and opportunities for involvement. “We’re off to a tremendous start with registrations for our National Championships, and we’re expecting another record year, following a record 2000-plus shooters in 2013,” said Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director. “The SCTP staff and our dedicated sponsors work on this event year-round to ensure it is the nation’s premier youth shooting competition. With its wide range of shooting events and activities, abundant endowment funds the teams can earn, and opportunities for teams to compete against the nation’s best, we’re confident this is an event without equal.” SCTP head coaches can log in to their accounts at www.sssfonline.org to register.
Teams from seven states traveled to the World Shooting and Recreational Complex (WSRC) in Sparta, IL in April for the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) High School and College Regional Tournament, the first major event of the season for most of the shooters. Student athletes from Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Iowa, Indiana, and Kansas competed in three disciplines – skeet, trap, and sporting clays. In spite of a brutal Midwestern winter that delayed the start of clay target shooting for many teams, the regional shoot had 384 competitors, representing an 82% increase in participation over last year. Sporting clays had 91 participants, skeet had 97, and trap had the largest field at 346, for a total of 534 registrations for this growing event. “A total of 53,600 competition targets were fired upon by these athletes, with not one single miscue,” cites Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Program Director. “Several northern teams wanted to attend but still have not had their first practice because of the harsh winter.” Purdue University Trap & Skeet Club (IN) won the Collegiate High Over All (HOA) title. Among high school teams, the Waterloo Lead Heads (IL) took home the Gold, while Pinckneyville High School (IL) took Silver and the Kansas City Crushers (KS) earned the Bronze. Additional team winners include:
Skeet
Collegiate
Purdue Trap and Skeet Club (IN)
Varsity
Waterloo Lead Heads (IL)
Junior Varsity
St. Charles Sportsman’s Club Shot Crew (IL)
Intermediate
Henry Co. No Fly Zone (TN)
Sporting Clays
Collegiate
Purdue Trap and Skeet Club (IN)
Varsity
Kansas City Crushers (KS)
Junior Varsity
Alton Wood River Sportsman’s Club (IL)
Intermediate
Pinckneyville High School Shooting Sports (IL)
Trap
Collegiate
University of Wisconsin Platteville (WI)
Varsity
Gateway Claybusters (MO)
Junior Varsity
St. Charles Sportsman’s Club Shot Crew (IL)
Intermediate
Team Henges (MO)
See full results on our Scores page. Scroll down to 2014 Regional Shoot. The weekend was just a taste of what is to come in Sparta, as many of the 26 teams, including four colleges, set their sights on other local tournaments and then the National Championships being held July 14-19, 2014 at the WSRC.
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.
