SCTP members,
We are happy to officially announce that the National Championships will take place as scheduled on July 11-18th at the Cardinal Center in Ohio. The National Championships are a tradition for many families not only to compete against the best in the nation, but also to share the sport and spend time together as a summer trip. Though this year will certainly be different, we hope that having our annual event in-person will be welcomed by the majority of our members.
This decision took careful consideration to a number of factors. This spring we kept a very close eye on how COVID-19 affected our communities and youth sports as a whole. It took time to get our bearings on the situation in a way we could confidently evaluate the logistics and safety of holding a large sporting event.
The safety of our members, staff, volunteers, partners, and spectators is our first priority. Our national staff has been carefully utilizing information from the state of Ohio, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morrow County (OH) Department of Health, and representatives from the Cardinal Center. We were also lucky to have advisement from some of our members that are medical professionals who deal directly with COVID-19 in their communities. Additionally, we surveyed our coaches across both programs to get their feedback. With over 400 responses, this survey helped give us important member-driven data that helped shape our decision to host a physical National Championship event.
We as a community are fortunate to participate in non-contact sports, which makes operating this event much easier than others during this time. Although the spirit of the SCTP National Championships will still be alive, some aspects of the event may be modified to act in accordance with all safety standards put in place by the Ohio Department of Health, as well as Federal and state guidelines at the time of the event. We understand that side events and experiences are part of what makes nationals so special. Some of these traditions are scheduled to continue as planned, such as the Make A Break and Flurry Fun shoots. We have also received feedback from many of the organizations that make up vendor row. They are eager to be part of the Nationals experience and plan to be there.
Cardinal Center staff are enthusiastic to help run SCTP events and are going above and beyond to make that happen in a safe and responsible manner. While the spring of 2020 saw postponements and cancellations, the SCTP Ohio Regional will take place as planned at the Cardinal Center June 19-21. During the same weekend, the Upper Midwest Regional will kick off in Iowa.
Preparations are currently underway at the Cardinal Center on four, state of the art International Skeet and Bunker field overlays. These new additions to their grounds will allow us to host all of our SCTP Nationals under one roof in July. On or about the 22nd of June, our project partners, Promatic will be installing their advanced target throwing equipment to make these fields ready for the SCTP “International Style” National Championships, running from July 9-12. Registration for the International Style National Championships is currently open and closes July 6th.
The SCTP will also be adding a Virtual National Championship event which gives those who cannot yet travel due to local mandates or those who are uncomfortable with the thought of doing so the opportunity to compete at the national level. If the logistics of your team traveling to Ohio was previously a barrier to compete, you now have the opportunity to participate in a national championship this year. This virtual component of the SCTP Nationals consists of five events of trap and skeet and will be run in conjunction with in-person national events to give the closest representation of the Nationals experience. Registration for the Virtual National Championship begins June 3rd and closes July 6th. This virtual tournament is a separate event from the in-person nationals and will have separate prizes and awards.
The Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) will be holding their National Championships in a virtual format over a three-week window, July 5th-July 26th. This three-week window also allows for teams who participate in both the SASP and SCTP, the ability to participate in both National Championship events and the opportunity to compete in the CZ-USA Top Gun Challenge. Athletes competing in the CZ-USA Top Gun Challenge will shoot trap, skeet, a rifle discipline of choice, and a centerfire pistol (iron, optic, or 1911), with their scores from each event being compiled to calculate the winners.
Registration for the 2020 SCTP National Championships in Ohio is currently open and available to team coaches in the SSSF’s SHOT system. Teams registering for the event will receive additional health and logistical information regarding event requirements, procedures and best practices based on the most current information available from the Ohio Department of Health and local authorities. Teams and athletes (parents) will be required to sign a waiver to compete.
Schedule of Events
July 7-8 – Open Training for International Events / Squads posted for International Skeet
July 9-10 – International Skeet
July 11-12 – International Trap (Bunker Trap)
July 11-12 – American Skeet / Trap Doubles / Trap Handicap
July 13-14 – American Skeet / Sporting Clays / Trap Doubles / Trap Handicap
July 15-16 – American Skeet / Sporting Clays / Trap Doubles / Trap Handicap / Trap Singles
July 17 – Skeet Doubles
July 17-18 – Trap Singles
Make A Break and Flurry side games will be available throughout the week starting at 11 am each day.
More detailed information about the 2020 SCTP National Championship to follow.
