Success StorySuccess with Shooting Sports despite the challenges of COVID



Success with Shooting Sports despite the challenges of COVID

Author: Shannon Farrell

Planning Unit: Harrison County CES

Major Program: Natural Resources

Plan of Work: Targeting Life Skills and Family Lives

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

4-H Shooting Sports is one of the amazing opportunities that is provided to 4-Hers to teach skills development in marksmanship and gun safety in multiple discipline areas.  KY State 4-H leaders and National 4-H worked to develop guidelines that could meet CDC requirements, health department approvals, and still allow outdoor setting practices to continue for local shooting sports programs.  When the state shooting sports committee determined that the state contest would happen in 2020, but in a virtual way; shooting sports coaches of Clark County immediately responded with positivity in moving forward to allow the competition opportunity for it’s participants.  No contest had been permitted to take place leading up to the state contest, which further justified the urgency by local coaches to create this opportunity for youth who had worked earlier in the year (and years prior to 2020) to prepare for contests.  Each discipline coach worked with the youth in their discipline to determine a practice schedule that would gain each participant the required number of hours to compete in the state contest.  To participate in the virtual state contest, each county had to host their own county contest and submit scores to the state level that were then compiled to determine state winners.  In just a couple short months, Clark County coaches offered practices in 5 shooting sports disciplines, for nearly 30 youth participants (many competed in multiple disciplines) to gain the required number of hours needed for state competition, and hosted 5 separate discipline “state contests”.  Ten participants competed in the virtual state shooting sports contest.  Three of the Clark County participants placed in their respective categories reserving the following winning titles for 2020: 2nd Place Target Air Rifle 12-14; 3rd Place Sports Air Rife 12-14; 3rd Place Shotgun  12-14; 1st Place 22 Target 15-18; 1st Place Sports Air Rife 15-18; 2nd Place Target Air Rifle 15-18.  The 18 year old who placed in 3 of her categories will age out of the program next year.  She has helped the past several years as a junior coach, but is stepping into the adult volunteer coaching role for 2021.






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