More than 1,000 young shooters are expected to compete for national titles in trap, skeet and sporting clays next week at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta.
In what will be the second biggest shoot, in terms of entries and participants, to be held at the complex this year, the Scholastic Clay Target Program’s (SCTP) national championships are set to take place July 21-24.
The team-based championships begin with sporting clays, which will be shot July 21-22, while the traps and skeet titles will be decided July 23-24.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) along with the SCTP and other major shooting organizations will be combining their efforts to run the shoot.
Chris Hespen, shooting specialist of the IDNR, estimates that over 1,000 youngsters will compete in the trap competition and nearly 400 more youth will take part in both the skeet and sporting clays.
The team events are divided into four age and skill categories–rookie, intermediate, junior varsity and varsity.
This will be the second consecutive year since the Grand American moved to Sparta that the SCTP national championships and the Amateur Trapshooting Association’s biggest yearly event will not be held in conjunction with each other.
The Grand American begins August 3.