Taking Aim at the Future: Youth Embrace Olympic-Style Trap Shooting

At the 2025 SCTP National Championships, alongside the Cardinal Shooting Center and White Flyer targets, we hosted an open event for all to try International Trap. A resounding success, the SCTP was thrilled to welcome 364 athletes who stepped up to try Olympic-style International trap shooting, many for the very first time. Your enthusiasm, curiosity, and willingness to take on a new challenge truly energized the event.
International trap also called bunker trap is fast-paced, demanding, and incredibly rewarding—and seeing so many young athletes embrace it with open arms shows just how bright the future of this sport can be. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to compete at the next level, there’s never been a better time to get involved.
Take Your Passion Further
We encourage you to explore the SCTP International Team. This team is a group of youth athletes selected from the SCTP International National Championships who compete in the Olympic disciplines of International Skeet and Bunker Trap. This team offers year-round training, elite coaching from former Olympians, and opportunities to compete at the national level through USA Shooting events. It is a perfect opportunity for athletes looking to elevate their game.
Additional organizations offering international discipline instruction and competitive opportunities include:
- New England International Junior Shooting Sports
- 3Rivers Shooting Sports Academy
- Blue Rock Coaching, LLC bluerockcoaching@icloud.com
Even if your state doesn’t yet have a full bunker field, JO matches can still be held using a wobble trap on a standard American trap field—an easy way to introduce more athletes to international disciplines. We’ve included more details in the link at USA Shooting website on how to set up a wobble machine for training and hosting State Junior Olympics.
Interested in building your own bunker or wobble mini bunker?
- Contact 3GE, LLC to get started
- Consider utilizing Range Development Grants awarded by the MidwayUSA Foundation
Get Involved in Your Area
- Start or join an international trap program at your local club.
- Compete in up coming USA Shooting – Events.
- Compete in your state’s Junior Olympic (JO) events – Stay tuned from USA Shooting for 2026 events
- Host a JO match in your state. If one doesn’t exist, now’s the perfect time to create it! Reach out to Ashley.MacAllister@usashooting.org, USA Shooting’s Manager of Competitions, to learn how.
And don’t forget: The 2026 SCTP National Championships will feature international events from July 7–10, 2026—mark your calendars!
Thank you once again for making this event such a success. Your energy and excitement are what drive the growth of this incredible sport.
We can’t wait to see where your international trap journey takes you!
The SCTP International Team
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.
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 the primary feeder/pipeline for organized, sanctioned shooting organizations and teams, like USA SHOOTING, TEAM USA, and the NGBs (NSSA, NSCA, ATA).