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Tag: National Championships

First Time at Nationals? Keep These 10 Tips in Mind

WSRC Main Events Building
The Main Events Building is where you’ll find Registration and the answers to your questions.

If you’re going to Sparta, Illinois for your first SCTP-SPP National Team Championships, your head may be spinning with questions. While we can’t offer you a secret for taking home a medal, we can offer you some tips to enhance your enjoyment of Nationals.

  • Read the program. Almost anything you need to know can be found in the Nationals program. You will be able to pick up a printed copy when you arrive at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex, but you can also view it online anytime.

  • Do it all! Participate in as many activities as possible, including the side games. Cover the grounds to see what’s going on, see the exhibition shooting events, and watch anything you aren’t actively engaged in.
  • Stay for the after-hours activities. If you shoot your event and leave every day, you’ll be missing out on fun activities like Last Competitor Standing events, opening ceremonies, the pizza party, an ice cream social, and more.
  • Sign up for text messaging. We’ll pass along information about activities, schedule changes, and other things you need to know to those who opt in. Sign up here.
  • Visit the vendor mall. You’ll have the unique opportunity to visit with many manufacturers of shooting equipment in their own stores at the WSRC. Even if you aren’t buying, it’s the perfect opportunity to work on your wish list.
  • Take photos. Shoot as many photos as you can to help you remember this wonderful experience. Share them in social media with hashtag #SSSF2015, and when you get back home, share them with any sponsors, businesses, or civic groups who support you or have interest in your team.
  • Meet new people. While you will be there with your own team, don’t miss the opportunity to make new friends from all over the country. Be bold and introduce yourself.
  • If you have questions or don’t understand something, just ask. We won’t remember to tell you everything you need to know, but we’re happy for you to ask us. Catch a staff member anytime you see us, and if we aren’t convenient, just head to the Main Events Building. You can get an answer or help there for anything going on at Nationals.
  • Remember that many others are also new. It’s easy to feel intimidated when we enter a new event this large, and we all tend to think we’re the only ones who don’t know how something works. But that isn’t the case at Nationals. You’ll see hundreds of new people all over the place, figuring things out for the first time. You aren’t alone!
  • Have fun! After being safe, the most important thing for you to do at Nationals is enjoy yourself. Shooting is fun, being there with your friends is fun, making new friends is fun — everything at Nationals is fun! Go for it!

Shoot the HiViz Rimfire Rifle Side Match at Nationals

Whether you’re planning to compete with a shotgun and/or pistol at Nationals in July, this year you will have one more option — rimfire rifle — in a side match sponsored by HiViz Shooting Systems.

Many of our SPP teams have enjoyed shooting this popular side match at some of the SPP state and regional matches this spring. The HiViz Rimfire Side Match will consist of two stages but will otherwise be basically the same as the Scholastic Pistol Program with a .22 LR semiauto box-fed rifle. Rules will be the same as with SPP, including five strings per stage and low ready. The rimfire rifle match will take place at the pistol berms.

For the HiViz Rimfire Side Match only, scoring will be on an individual basis and not count toward a team score.

The top three (3) athlete scores will win a Mossberg Blaze .22LR rifle! Also, just for participating, you’ll be entered to win one of five (5) HiViz $100 gift certificates through a random draw.

Coaches and adults can also join in the fun. The top three (3) adults will win a donation to their teams’ MidwayUSA Foundation endowment accounts: 1st place – $750, 2nd place – $500, and 3rd place – $250.

The entry fee for the HiViz Rimfire Side Match is only $10! So bring your semiauto rifle with a detachable box magazine chambered in .22 LR, plus some extra magazines and ammo, and we’ll see who is the fastest rifle shooter at Nationals!

The HiViz Rimfire Rifle Side Match will be open Monday, July 13 through Thursday, July 16 with 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. slots. A limited number of slots will be available, so sign up now!

For sign-up information or to lock in your time slot, contact Tammy Mowry at tmowry@sssfonline.com.

SSSF Contributes Over $180,000 to MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Accounts

Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation contributed $181,400 to the MidwayUSA Foundation on May 31, benefiting the team endowment accounts of 88 scholastic shooting teams from 21 states.

The funds were awarded to teams at SCTP and SPP shooting events this year. A total of $109,800 of the donated funds went to 40 SCTP teams, while $71,600 benefits 48 SPP teams.

SSSF will make endowment funds available for teams to earn at numerous other tournaments this year, including the SCTP-SPP National Team Championships next month. A total of $468,000 in endowment funds will be on the line at that event, July 13-18.
Teams are awarded endowment funds through their participation in sanctioned shoots. SSSF, which administers the SCTP and SPP, contributes the funding to the MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Account Program on behalf of the teams. Active teams, like the 88 that will benefit from this donation, are eligible to draw a grant each year to assist with team expenses, such as ammunition, range fees, travel, uniforms, and more.

The MidwayUSA Foundation helps communities and organizations raise funds to support their high school, college, and other youth shooting teams and activities. This donation brings youth involved in shooting sports closer to sustainable support.

For more information on the MidwayUSA Foundation or to set up an account for your team, visit www.midwayusafoundation.org.

Get 2015 SSSF Nationals News on Your Cell Phone

You can keep up with all the news and action during Nationals in Sparta via text messaging on your cell phone. The updates will provide timely announcements about weather delays, schedule changes, reminders about evening events, and other important information.

The service is optional, and messages will be sent only to those who opt in. You can opt out at any time.

We respect your privacy and will only use your number for Nationals information. All phone numbers will be deleted on Monday, July 20.

This is a free service from SSSF, but standard text messaging rates for your account may apply. To sign up, go to:

http://eepurl.com/bpvJlr

Or scan the QR code below:
Nationals Texting

SSSF’s Ben Berka Discusses National Championships on Cam and Company

The upcoming SCTP – SPP National Team Championships and its explosive registration launch this month seized the attention of NRA News, which featured SSSF President and Executive Director Ben Berka on Cam and Company, a talk show airing on the Sportsman Channel.

Berka discussed the National Championships with host Cam Edwards. Watch the interview.

Cam and Company

Volunteer as an SPP Safety Officer at Nationals

The Scholastic Pistol Program has been building its roster of Range / Safety Officers to assist at its growing events, and we’re looking for a few more good men and women who would like to assist at this year’s largest-ever SPP Junior/Senior National Championships. If you have some time during the week of July 13-18 and can be at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois, we want to hear from you.

To reward our volunteers, we’ll be holding a drawing to give away three guns, and you could win one of them. Each day you work, you will get an additional chance to win. Plus, there will be additional random draw prizes from our sponsors, so you will have a chance to win some great prizes for your help!

Lunch will be provided to the Safety Officers.

Nationals is a week-long event, and we need a minimum of 16 volunteers per day to work the stages, with two per stage.

Daily Schedule:

Monday, July 13 – Friday, July 17

  • 8:30 a.m. – Shooters meeting
  • 9:00 a.m. – Match begins
  • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (approximately) – Lunch break
  • 4:00 p.m. (approximately) – Daily match concludes

Saturday, July 18

  • 8:30 a.m. – Shooters meeting
  • 9:00 a.m. – Match begins
  • 12:00 (approximately) – Match concludes / Lunch

And here’s a big bonus: You’re invited to bring along your range bucket to pick up all of that great 9mm brass!

Please consider coming out and helping the next generation of action shooters, and pass along this information to others who might want to help.

If you’re interested in working as a Safety Officer or learning more, contact Scott Moore, jsmoore@sssfonline.com, or Tammy Mowry, tmowry@sssfonline.com.

Plan Your Trip to Nationals with the 2015 National Team Championships Program

2015 Nationals ProgramYou can learn about everything that’s happening at the 2015 National Team Championships with the event program, and it’s ready for your perusal. Use it to plan your schedule, learn about side events, or just stoke your excitement for the biggest event of the year!

The program also includes information on the SCTP International-Style National Championships in Colorado Springs.


View Nationals Program


The SCTP and SPP National Team Championships will be July 13-18 at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois. Based on opening-week registrations that were almost double 2014 numbers, staff are expecting to have a record-breaking event.

If your team hasn’t yet registered, do it today!

SCTP Nationals Registration Opens with a Bang!

June 1 was much anticipated by Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) teams across the country, as it marked the opening of registration for the 2015 SCTP National Team Championships. Based on the first day’s registrations, staff are predicting another record-breaking event.

In the first 24 hours of open registration for the July 13-18 tournament, the program saw 66 teams register 1036 athletes. Eighteen states were represented with 2,026 event registrations filed.

“These numbers are incredible; they doubled last year’s first-day totals,” commented Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director. “Coaches set their alarm clocks to wake up at 12:01 on June 1 to register their teams!”

While the numbers are already up significantly from last year’s registrations, Wondrash points out that there will be enough shooting slots at the spacious World Shooting and Recreational Complex to fit in every team wanting to attend.

The Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) will also hold its National Junior/Senior Championships in conjunction with the SCTP tournament. In its third year, the SPP event has registered 259 athletes from 24 teams in 13 states to date.

New SCTP side events include 16-yard Preliminary Singles Trap and a coach/athlete trap shoot. Team endowment funding, games, and many industry representatives will also be on hand all week. With appearances by people like MidwayUSA’s own Larry and Brenda Potterfield on Tuesday, July 14, Olympic Gold Medalist Vincent Hancock on Wednesday through Friday, shooting exhibitions and clinics by professional shooters, and more exciting events still to be announced, SCTP and SPP are looking at a very busy and exciting week in Sparta, Illinois!

Plan Your Lodging for Nationals in Sparta

If the SCTP-SPP National Championships in Sparta, Illinois are a part of your team’s plans for this year — and why wouldn’t they be? — it’s a good idea to start considering accommodations for the week of July 13-18. To make it easier for you to know your options, especially if this will be your first trip to the Sparta area, we have some resources for you.

We’ve accessed a Google map that shows lodging in the vicinity of the World Shooting & Recreational Complex, so you can not only see your lodging options, but also where they are relative to the complex.


See local lodging near the WSRC


In addition, the World Shooting & Recreational Complex offers 1001 camping sites for those of you who want to stay right on the premises in an RV or tent. Click the link below to learn about the WSRC campground options and to access online reservations. You can also make campground reservations by calling Sherry Flowers at the WSRC, 618-295-2700, ext. 486.


See WSRC campground options


Don’t know when you need to be there? Below is the schedule for each discipline:

    Sunday, July 12 – Registration
    Monday, July 13 – Skeet, skeet handicap/doubles, sporting clays, pistol
    Tuesday, July 14 – Skeet, sporting clays, pistol
    Wednesday, July 15 – Skeet, skeet handicap/doubles, sporting clays, pistol
    Thursday, July 16 – Skeet, skeet handicap/doubles, sporting clays, pistol
    Friday, July 17 – Trap, skeet doubles, pistol
    Saturday, July 18 – Trap, skeet doubles, pistol

Congratulations to Prize Winners Who Completed Our Nationals Survey

We recently closed our National Championships survey after several hundred of you gave us your feedback on our year’s big events. As promised, we have drawn the names of eight (8) respondents to win a prize from SCTP or SPP. Congratulations to these winners:

    Aiden Belongia – SPP shooter from Wisconsin
    SPP water bottle, patch, and pin

    Houston Unsell – SPP shooter from Alabama
    SPP water bottle, patch, and pin

    Darin Bruski – SPP and SCTP shooter from Wisconsin
    SPP water bottle, patch, and pin

    William M. Seifert – SCTP shooter from Michigan
    Case of Nobel Sport ammo

    Dakota Bishop – SCTP shooter from Texas
    Case of Fiocchi ammo

    John Michael Baggett – SCTP shooter from Tennessee
    SCTP hat and t-shirt

    Edward Rowland – SCTP coach from Tennessee
    Weather Writer System

    Terry Brookman – SCTP coach from Missouri
    SCTP lanyard, coffee mug, and hot/cold pack

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our survey and provide us with valuable information that we will use to make future events even better.

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