Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) squads from throughout Texas converged in San Antonio June 14-15 for the first SPP Junior / Senior Division Championships. This match ran concurrently with the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) state championships. SPP / SCTP are youth shooting sports programs administered by the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF). The match was hosted by the Bullet Hole Shooting Range, which waved range fees for the competitors.
The Red Dawn Raiders – Junior Marksmanship Academy team with its Red and Black Squads took 1st and 2nd respectively in the Junior – Rimfire Division, with South Texas Shooters Squad 3 taking 3rd. The Senior – Rimfire Division saw a tight finish with only 11 seconds separating 1st place South Texas Shooters Squad 2 and Dripping Springs High School FFA Shooting Team Squad 1. The Dripping Springs High School FFA Shooting Team Squad 2 took 3rd place honors. In the Senior – Centerfire Division the South Texas Shooters Squad 1 won the 1st place medal.
The teams that attended the match will receive deposits in their MidwayUSA Foundation Scholastic Shooting Trust (SST) team account. The total SST amount the teams earned for this match was $19,500. To date, during this SPP competition year, teams have earned $256,500 thanks to the MidwayUSA Foundation.
The match was staffed by local action shooters Tom Orashan, Don Hardy, Roy Stedman, Chet Polo, Tim Meyers and Mike Dines demonstrating the growing recognition of SPP as the premier youth handgun competition in the country. Also on hand to provide free loaner handguns and instruction was Ed Fitzgerald, GLOCK SPP liaison and Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) Board of Trustee member. Also National Shooting Complex (NSC) staff including Marketing Manager, Nicki Martin and Royce Graff supplied support.
Also included in the weekend match was a women’s SPP introductory clinic. Members from the A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League, as well as staff from the NSC spent Saturday morning learning about SPP and shooting an introductory match. Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Marksmanship Unit SPP coach Kevin Jimmerson and Cadets Matt Hawes and Jordan Walker volunteered to coach and handle safety officer duties.
SPP is supported, in part, by founding partners GLOCK, Smith & Wesson and Action Target. Additional partners include Atlanta Arms & Ammunition, PACT Timers, Pro Ears, 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.shootsctp.org.