As of mid-June, the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) National Championship events are poised to set new records for attendance and event participation with a combined total of 3,614 athletes and 10,082 event entries. This tremendous bounce-back from the pandemic is a great indicator of the health of shooting sports and the industry as a whole. Teams, Sponsors, and Families from 33 states will converge on the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, OH for a nine-day National Championship event that offers twenty-one different events.
Event offerings include expansions from the SCTP in the form of Super Sporting Clays and the SASP’s newly established International Air disciplines. These Olympic-style events will be held right off the tail of USA Shooting’s National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships, where nearly 22% of participants were SASP athletes. As the official youth feeder programs for USA Shooting, the SCTP and SASP continue to provide opportunities for athletes to follow their Olympic pursuits. Registration reports indicate that the SCTP’s record-breaking year in 2019 has been shattered and the SASP’s continuous record for the world’s largest action shooting event each year has been bested again with over a 28% increase in event entries.
In addition to the competition shooting schedule, historic special events such as the parade of teams during the opening ceremonies and recognition of scholarship recipients and the 2021 All Scholastic Team members have returned. As the official youth feeder programs for USA Shooting, the SCTP and SASP will host College Recruiting Day on July 16th, where athletes and families can connect with college coaches to learn about potential shooting teams, academics, and scholarship opportunities.
Shooting demos and side events are available for athletes and adults alike, with offerings from our program sponsors and partners such as GLOCK, Kids and Clays, Winchester, Beretta, Metal Madness, and more. Industry partners have shown incredible dedication to supporting youth shooting sports, especially in a year where sourcing ammunition has been difficult for teams. Winchester Ammunition, Federal Ammunition, and CCI Ammunition have confirmed that they have plenty of ammo allocated for our National Championship events in support of our youth shooting teams.
2021 is shaping up to be an incredible rebound from last year’s stagnant shooting season. We look forward to seeing all of our thousands of athletes, team volunteers, sponsors, partners, and supporters on the ground at the Cardinal Shooting Center, July 8-17th. For more information about the 2021 National Championship, please visit https://mysctp.com/nationals/ and https://mysasp.com/nationals/
About the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is 501(c)(3) public charity responsible for all aspects of the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) across the United States. The SCTP and SASP are youth development programs in which adult coaches and other volunteers use shooting sports to teach and to demonstrate sportsmanship, responsibility, honesty, ethics, integrity, teamwork, and other positive life skills.
The mission of the SSSF is to provide and enhance personal growth and development opportunities for student athlete members; become the premier authority in all things pertaining to firearm-related pursuits for youth; pass on to future generations the legacy of lifelong, safe, responsible enjoyment of the shooting sports. This includes serving as a feeder/pipeline for organized, sanctioned shooting organizations and teams.
