by Les Greevy, Jr.

USA Shooting, the National Governing Body for Olympic shooting in the
United States, recently conducted its Quadrennial Review. After each
Olympics, the Quadrennial Review analyzes the Olympic shooting team’s
performance, identifies organizational strengths and weaknesses, and
develops strategies designed to increase performance for the next four
years.

This was a frank evaluation and while there is much strength such as
winning traditions, positive working relationships and the longevity
of team athletes; there were also many areas that could use
improvement.

Organizational weaknesses noted by the review group included: poor
communications, small athlete pool, geographic location, lack of
sponsorship, training and competition venues. They also cited areas
to improve: coach/athlete incentives, expanding membership and feeder
programs, and to communicate the path to the Olympics to more
programs.

For the past few months, I have been mulling over a program that would
meet many of the needs identified by the review group. An
International Trap Junior Tour would be based on the NASCAR or PGA
Minor Tour models. It would be a venue for young, aspiring
International trap shooters to gain competition experience, to receive
coaching and be visible to potential sponsors. It would give both the
shooters and the sponsors publicity. The tour would be owned and
operated by the Youth International Shotgun Training Coalition, Inc.,
a not-for-profit 503(c)(3) corporation, and amateur athletic
association. Under the Internal Revenue Code, it would be able to
accept contributions that would qualify for charitable deduction.

The tour would have one national sponsor, perhaps a gun company, and
would be named for that sponsor, i.e., “The Kriegetta Cup.” It would
also have co-sponsors, either from industry or local, and individual
matches, as in NASCAR or PGA, might be known as the “Remchester
Cartridge Kriegetta Cup Match.”

The matches would be held under ISSF-USAS Rules, the shoots would be
registered with USAS and 24 gram loads would be enforced. I envision
five shoots per year. Several clubs that come to mind would include:
my club, North Mountain, in Pennsylvania; Quantico in Virginia;
Ontelaunee in southeastern Pennsylvania; Friendship Club in
Cincinnati, Ohio; and Prince George’s County in Maryland. New bunkers
are also in the planning or building stages in Georgia and Nashville.
All of the locations mentioned are in proximity to major population
centers. This tour would have a definite eastern orientation; all of
the clubs mentioned above are within one days drive, each of the
other, so airline costs would be avoided. Similar tours may develop
in other regions of the country.

The format of the match would be designed for a single bunker club.
Fifty targets of organized training would begin Friday at noon.
Saturday at 10:00 a.m., the actual match would start with 75 targets
and on Sunday 50 more targets and the finals would be shot. Eligible
shooters would be USAS Junior Class shooters, both men and women.
Only 24 shooters per match would be accepted at a single bunker range.
The schedule above, although it sounds like not very many targets by
ATA standards, is the manner in which International Trap matches are
held overseas and at the Junior Olympics National Championships. It
would make for a full days of shooting, without becoming an endurance
contest and still allow for travel time.

Awards would be distributed equally for men and women; there would
also be age group awards. Match awards might include clothing and
merchandise, hopefully donated by industry or local sponsors. The
season award would be based on points accumulated for the four best
matches, so shooters would not be required to attend every match.

The big prize might be a consignment gun for a year, along with a
sponsorship, special trip to the factory for fitting and other perks.
This award program is used by one of the major gun companies in the
United Kingdom and it appears to be very popular. It also garners
significant publicity.

Approximately 75 junior shooter athletes travel to Colorado Springs
each year to shoot in the Junior Olympic National Trap Championships.
I don’t think it would be very hard to find 24 shooters to fill each
slot for the individual tour matches.

There would be fees involved. There would be a tour membership annual
fee that would get the member newsletters, e-mails, results, and
perhaps discounts from industry and that type of thing. There would
also be individual match fees that would be set by the host club, but
would also include a registration fee to the tour, which would include
the USAS registration fee.

Media coverage would include Trap and Field magazine, USA Shooting,
television – on the various outdoor sports shows – and a web site.

USAS’s Quadrennial Report has identified the need for higher level
regional competition for young international shooters that is not
currently being met. If the 2012 Olympics are awarded to New York
City, and that decision is scheduled to be made in July of 2005, I
think you will see a tremendous increase in the Olympic clay target
sports, particularly in the eastern part of the country. In the past,
the east has not been a center of international trap competition, yet
here in the Mid-Atlantic states – if we include Ohio – there are seven
bunkers (five public and two private) within one day’s drive, each of
the other. And, there is tradition: one of only two USA gold
medalists in Men’s Olympic Trap, Don Haldeman (1976), was from
Souderton, Pennsylvania. The other, Mark Arie (1920), was from
Champaign, Illinois.

I have shared this plan with representatives from each of the public
bunkers. The responses were all very positive and they are willing to
host the shoots. I’ve shared it with folks from USA Shooting and have
received positive responses there, too.

I suppose the only question remaining is whether or not the shooters
will come. In that regard, I would be interested in hearing from
young shooters around the country whether or not they would be
interested in participating in this type of a tour. Please feel free
to e-mail me at: <Les@greevy.com> with your comments. They will be
greatly appreciated.

Attached is a list of the public eastern bunker clubs that have
expressed an interest in the Junior Tour and their contact
information.

TRAP AND SKEET CLUBS


PRINCE GEORGES TRAP AND SKEET CENTER
10400 GOOD LUCK ROAD
GLENDALE, MD
(301) 577-7178
Attention: Mark Biggins


FAIRFIELD SPORTSMEN’S CLUB
5696 WEST FORK ROAD
CINCINNATI, OH 45247
(513) 574-8315
Attention: Charlie Wentzel


NORTH MOUNTAIN SPORTSMEN’S ASSN.
1460 WASHINGTON BOULEVARD
WILLIAMSPORT, PA 17701
(570) 326-6561
Attention: Les Greevy
<Les@greevy.com>


ONTELAUNEE ROD & GUN CLUB
8100 GUN CLUB ROAD
NEW TRIPOLI, PA
(908) 832-2009
<www.ontelaunee.org>


QUANTICO SHOOTING CLUB
QUANTICO, [MCB?] VA
(703) 626-8490
Attention: Sam Work
<www.quanticoshootingclub.com>