The Scholastic Pistol Program’s (SPP) Fall Northeast Regional hosted by Smith & Wesson was attended by a regional record of 11 teams, 18 squads of the region’s fastest young steel shooters. This groundbreaking event was held at Camp William Hinds which is a camp belonging to the Pine Tree Council (Portland, ME), Boy Scouts of America. The Pine Tree Council is home of the largest contingent of Venturing Crew SPP teams.
Teams from all corners of New England attended this match which included squads competing in all three SPP divisions, Junior, Senior and Collegiate. Retaining the NE Fall Regional Cup, awarded to the top centerfire Collegiate squad, was the University of Vermont (UVM) squad A with the West Point Black squad taking 2nd Place. In the Collegiate Rimfire Division the cadets from West Point Gold squad took home the Gold medal. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) squad 1 won Silver and taking the Bronze medal was UNH squad 2. In the crowded field of Junior Rimfire, Crew 401 (Maine) won 1st place honors with Crew 1675 (ME.) squad 1 taking 2nd and Crew 51 squad 2 in 3rd. Finishing out the division were additional squads from Crews 51, 633 and 1675. Senior Rimfire saw Crew 556 (New Hampshire) won 1st Place with Crew 70 (ME.) won Silver. Crew 51 took Junior Centerfire Gold and in the Senior Centerfire Holyoke Revolver (Mass.) placed 1st.
“The Boy Scouts of America is uniquely positioned to take the lead in teaching safe and responsible firearm enjoyment to the youth of our community,” said Eric Tarbox, Scout Executive Pine Tree Council. “This extends to our Venturing program which includes both young men and young women. Nearly a third of our new athletes are young women who are gaining tremendously in self-esteem, confidence, and competitive spirit through SPP.”
In addition to supplying the range, the Pine Tree Council called on local volunteers led by Uel Gardner of Weaponcraft, to help run the match. Assisting match director and SPP stage designer, Paul Dandini were SPP staffers Scott Moore and Tammy Mowry. Representing host Smith & Wesson was S&W/SPP liaison Tom Yost as well as scoring Guru Mike Critser. Also S&W brought in Northeast IDPA safety officers Brain Steskla and Bob Stonehill. Ed Fitzgerald, Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) Board of Trustee member and GLOCK SPP liaison was also on hand to supply loaner handguns and assist in the match.
SPP is supported, in part, by founding partners GLOCK, Smith & Wesson and Action Target. Additional partners include Atlanta Arms & Ammunition, Browning, NextLevel Training, PACT Timers, Pro Ears, Remington Arms, Rudy Project, Tactical Solutions and Winchester Ammunition among others. The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is responsible for all aspects of the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) across the United States, including participant registration, coaches, state coordinators, state and national championships, promotion, communications, websites, public relations and growth strategies The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation exists to raise funding and other resources for Youth Development Programs in the shooting sports industry.
SCTP and SPP are youth development programs, originally developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), where adult coaches and volunteers model sportsmanship, responsibility, honesty, ethics, integrity, and teamwork while using shooting sports programs to teach these and other positive life skills to the athletes.
To learn more about SCTP or SPP call (419) 794-9924 or visit their website at www.sssfonline.com.