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Coach, State Advisor Mark Burgess Passes

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We regret to report the passing of longtime SCTP coach and state advisor for Indiana, Mark Burgess, on Monday, December 15. Burgess was active in the shooting sports in Indiana and coach of the Hoosier Daddys shooting team.Mark Burgess

Burgess was recently instrumental in helping to facilitate and encourage the formation of the new Indiana SCTP league.

“Mark was a very nice guy, always making jokes and laughing,” said Tom Wondrash, SCTP Director. “He will be sadly missed from our program, his team, and his family.”

On the team’s Facebook page, another of the team’s coaches commented, “He was a great man who would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it, and he was an embodiment of the ROOTS program we preach as coaches. He would gladly drop what he was doing to help someone in need and he always did the job right.”

Burgess’ son Jeffrey posted a loving tribute to his father about his passion for coaching. “Each and every one of you brought so much joy to my father and he looked forward to seeing you all continue to grow in the sport that he loved so much. We all will miss him very much. Please continue to think about all the lessons and advice he gave. It truly was his honor to be your coach. The next time you are out on the field, you call for your bird, pull the trigger just an instant before you think you should and magically that target rises up enough to knock a chip off of it, just know it was probably my Dad, your coach, and your shooting angel giving you just that last bit of help. God bless you all and thank you for filling my Dad’s heart with so much joy while he was your coach.”

Mark Burgess was preceded in death by his wife, Linda Jo Burgess. Survivors include children Jeffrey Burgess and Stephani (Allen) Burgess.

A visitation will be held this Friday, December 19 from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Wilson St. Pierre in Greenwood, IN, with a funeral at the same location on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Indiana Forms Youth Clay Target Shooting League

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December 6 was an historic day for clay target shooting in Indiana. A youth trap shooting league was formed for the state, with 14 youth shooting teams meeting at the historic Kingen Gun Club to plan the 2015 season for the new league, which will utilize SCTP rules and guidelines for its shoots.

Ten competitions are scheduled in 2015 for the Hoosier youth shooters, including an SCTP State Championship and the SCTP National Championship.

Among the attendees at the formative meeting were Mark Burgess, SCTP State Director, and Chet Tuinstra, SCTP Regional Field Representative.

Formation of the league was due to the efforts of Derek Marshall, Superintendent of Attica Consolidated School Corporation in Attica, Indiana, who started by contacting every youth trap shooting program and every gun club in the state with the goal of organizing the people in Indiana shooting sports to create a statewide trap shooting league for youth.

Student shooters will compete in one of five divisions according to SCTP rules, and awards will be presented at each event. In the future, the Hoosier Clay Target Association hopes to expand to encompass skeet and sporting clays.

Randolph Engineering: How to Choose the Right Tint for Shooting Glasses

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There is probably no type of shooting equipment that provokes more questions than colored shooting glasses. With so many choices, how do you know which colors to buy?

In this interview by Field & Stream‘s Phil Bourjaily, Frank Robertson of Randolph Engineering, maker of the exceptional Randolph Ranger shooting glasses which are offered in numerous colors, explains how to choose the right lens tints for different lighting conditions.

Cyber Monday Is Coming! Support SSSF with Your Amazon and SSSF Store Purchases

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Black Friday is in just two days, and that means Cyber Monday is close behind, kicking off the online holiday shopping season. You can support SSSF with all your Amazon purchases just by using a special link, smile.amazon.com, and designating SSSF as the recipient of a donation from Amazon, based on a percentage of your purchase price. It doesn’t cost you a cent! Get started.

You can also find just the right holiday gift for the shooter in your life by shopping at the SSSF online store! Shop there for shooting gear and SCTP and SPP logo items like hats, shirts, gun cases, shooting glasses, and much more. Visit the SSSF Store.

SCTP’s Myles Walker Takes Gold at USA Shooting’s Fall Selection Match

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SCTP shooter Myles Walker from Burlington, Wisconsin has won the gold medal for bunker trap in USA Shooting’s Fall Selection Match. The match was held November 6-11 at the Delta Resort and Spa in Tillar, Arkansas.

Myles Walker-1-350Myles was one of four athletes awarded a spot on USA Shooting’s National Team as a result of his performance at the SCTP National Championship for international disciplines held in July in Colorado Springs. Hank Garvey and Nic Moscetti, who also earned their National Team spots at the SCTP Nationals, placed 4th and 5th, respectively, at the Fall Selection Match.

Six bunker trap competitors withstood the intensity of 500 targets and four finals matches to emerge as 2015 World Cup selections for the USA Shooting Team as a result of the four-day competition. The Fall Selection Match served as the second phase of selection for the first three upcoming World Cup competitions to begin 2015, including events in Acapulco, Mexico and Al Ain, UAE in March and Laranaca, Cypress in late April where the top three athletes will compete.

Fall Selection Match is also serving as the first of a two-part selection process for the Pan American Games (July), the last World Cup of 2015 in Gabala, Azerbaijan (August) and the 2015 World Clay Target Championships (September).

Myles, a sophomore at Lindenwood University, participates in SCTP as a member of his college team’s shotgun sports team. The win in Tillar places Myles in a great position to earn USA Shooting Team status come Spring Selection in April.

“SCTP has provided me with the opportunity to flourish both as an athlete and an individual,” Myles commented. “The benefit of the experience I have had surpasses any other activity I have been involved with.”

Congratulations to Myles, Hank, and Nic for earning their National Team positions and representing SCTP well!

Firearms Safety Depends on You

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NSSF Safety FlyerFrom the time you pick up a firearm, you become part of a system over which you have complete control. You are the only part of the system that can make a gun safe — or unsafe.

Here are 10 basics of gun handling that you must know, courtesy of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF):

  • 1. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
  • 2. Firearms should be unloaded when not actually in use.
  • 3. Don’t rely on your gun’s “Safety.”
  • 4. Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.
  • 5. Use correct ammunition.
  • 6. If your gun fails to fire when the trigger is pulled, handle with care!
  • 7. Always wear eye and ear protection when shooting.
  • 8. Be sure the barrel is clear of obstructions before shooting.
  • 9. Don’t alter or modify your gun, and have guns serviced regularly.
  • 10. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the firearm you are using.

NSSF has developed a booklet that explains each of these gun safety rules in detail. You can view or download it here.

NSSF also offers other safety literature for use by individuals, families, or shooting teams. You can find it at www.nssf.org/safety/lit/.

Give Your Input on Possible Ammunition Orders

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MidwayUSA Foundation is working with Winchester Ammunition to provide shotgun ammunition direct from the distributor to your youth shooting teams. They need your help in determining the potential quantity to order.

Should they move forward, this program will be offered in 2015 and be limited to the amount agreed upon with Winchester. By answering one quick question, you’ll help MidwayUSA Foundation gather information to make this program a success.

Here’s what the program would offer:

  • Each order will contain 104 cases (10 boxes/250 rounds @ $59 per case) of Winchester Super Target 12 ga. 1 oz, #8. Total cost, including shipping, would be $6,136. Order MUST be placed by January 1, 2015.
  • Orders MUST be placed in bulk (pallets only).
  • Shipments will start in March and run through June and must be delivered directly to a location that is capable of receiving pallets.
  • MidwayUSA Foundation will provide an order form on its website.

Click here to give your input. By participating in this survey, you are NOT obligated to purchase. If you have already participated in this survey, please disregard.

Activate Your Team in SHOT V.5

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A new version of SSSF’s online SHOT registration and scoring system is now online, and if you haven’t yet activated your team in the system, you should do so soon.

Start by clicking on the Coaches Login link to reach the registration page. Then look for this:

SHOT Start Here

That’s where you start the registration process. You will only have to do this once. Once you’ve registered, you can simply login with the credentials you set up.

Coaches who have previously had multiple logins for multiple teams will now have just one login, to simplify team management.

On the registration page, you’ll find a list of tutorials on using the SHOT system. If you run into problems, we’re ready to help. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the link to SHOT support.

Learn more about the benefits of the new SHOT V.5 system.

New Background Check Policies Being Implemented for SSSF Adult Volunteers

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The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is implementing some changes in how the organization conducts background checks on participating volunteers. Individuals registering with the SSSF as a volunteer (i.e., head coach, assistant coach, or other adult volunteer) must now conduct a secure background check that includes local county checks for a seven-year address history.

In the past, SSSF has conducted checks only with the National Criminal Database (NCD). However, due to the variability of information across states, the NCD may or may not reveal all pertinent criminal history concerning eligibility of a volunteer. Thus, the new county-level background check will be used in addition to the national check.

See Our Background Check FAQs

 

With the changes in screening comes a price increase. Starting December 12, 2014 volunteers will be required to pay a portion of the cost directly to our background check provider, Intellicorp, when they submit to a check. Volunteer fees paid to SSSF will remain at $30. SSSF volunteer registration is not considered complete until background checks are completed.

The SSSF wants to ensure it upholds the highest standards in youth protection on behalf of its programs and young athletes. The SSSF also must ensure that all of its volunteers are screened with the same level of background check, regardless of their state of residence or past residence history.

To complete or renew your check go tohttps://sssf.volunteerportal.net/ and enter password scholastic.

SSSF Donates $246,500 to MidwayUSA Foundation

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MidwayUSA Foundation logoThis week, Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation made a donation of $246,500 to the MidwayUSA Foundation, Inc. The funds were deposited into the endowment accounts of 75 member teams of the Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Pistol Program representing 26 states.

The money was earned by the teams through participation in recent SCTP and SPP regional shoots. Of the total contribution, $216,500 was deposited into SCTP teams’ accounts and $30,000 went to SPP teams’ accounts.

This week’s donation brought SSSF’s total MidwayUSA Foundation contributions for 2014 to $1,751,645. SSSF has funded accounts for 273 teams in 40 states this year.

The purpose of the MidwayUSA Foundation endowment program is to provide sustained financial support for youth shooting teams. Teams with an endowment account are able to draw a grant each year to use for team expenses. SSSF regularly makes endowment funds available for SCTP and SPP events and contributes them to participating teams’ endowment accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation. Since 2011, SSSF has donated funding to several hundred team endowment accounts across 48 states.