The Scholastic Capturing Sports activities Basis (SSSF) has grown youth taking pictures sports activities to new ranges over the course of 10 years on the Cardinal Capturing Middle in Marengo, Ohio. Between the SSSF’s clay goal and motion taking pictures packages, 39 states have been represented on the 2025 Nationwide Championships, which noticed over 2 million rounds safely fired with out incident.
The SSSF’s dedication to tirelessly offering taking pictures sports activities schooling and youth improvement to its athletes all through the nation is realized with a 153% progress over the course of the previous decade. This robust improve in taking pictures sports activities participation year-over-year is a testomony to the clear mission assertion of the SSSF and the industry-wide sponsors that stand behind it.
With a decade of historical past on the Cardinal Middle, the SSSF’s Nationwide Championship has secured its popularity as the biggest participated taking pictures sports activities occasion on the earth, doing so solely with youth athletes.
In 2025, the inspiration’s Scholastic Motion Capturing Program (SASP) Nationwide Championship noticed over 2,500 entries, with these athletes safely firing over 416,000 rounds of ammunition in competitors with out incident. Quite a few alternatives of aspect matches, sponsor demos, and practices tallied in extra a whole lot of hundreds of rounds.
On the Cardinal Middle’s shotgun services, the inspiration’s Scholastic Clay Goal Program (SCTP) had almost 3,000 athletes and over 14,000 occasion entries throughout the twelve-day occasion schedule. In an effort to conduct a clay goal occasion at such a big scale, properly over 2 million White Flyer targets have been thrown in competitors, aspect matches, and observe.
Capturing sports activities continues to be a level-playing subject the place successful could be achieved with out being the strongest athlete or the quickest runner. Athletes come from a variety of backgrounds and a few that don’t discover their place in conventional ball sports activities typically discover success in taking pictures sports activities. Athletes additionally discover monumental success in youth taking pictures sports activities, no matter gender. The SASP’s Nationwide Championships noticed 32% feminine participation, a 1% improve from 2024’s occasion.
A staple of extra actions at SCTP Nationals is the Final Competitor Standing or “Annie Oakley” occasion. This massive-scale elimination occasion noticed over 450 clay goal athletes lined up throughout the size of sixteen entice fields to find out who would come dwelling with bragging rights and spectacular prizes from SCTP sponsors. Enduring and persevering via fierce elimination, the lads’s champion, Cody Lang and the women champion, Madison Krumney have been awarded Browning Silver shotguns and customized Shamrock Leather-based pouches for his or her achievement.
Exploding in reputation, the Make-A-Break competitors was expanded to 4 fields, attracting almost five-thousand members. For the staff championships, the Looking Hill Hawkeyes retained their title as champions, as soon as once more taking dwelling the Ray Forman trophy. On the person aspect, Taylor Hilliard as soon as once more beat out the women and continued on in opposition to the highest male to retain her title as general champion for the second yr in a row.
These youth additionally discover the clear social profit from the team-based setting the SSSF’s two packages provide. The SASP and SCTP packages concentrate on team-based youth taking pictures sports activities because the catalyst for youth improvement into high-quality, accountable younger adults. SCTP and SASP members profit from a year-long season, with native, state, and regional occasions, culminating within the Nationwide Championship every July. As the biggest youth taking pictures sports activities occasion on the earth, the youth improvement packages maintain industry-wide help, with many sponsors current on web site to help the occasion reminiscent of GLOCK, Remington, Ruger, Winchester, Browning, Federal, Vortex Optics, Kolar, Beretta, and extra.
Each packages function official youth feeders for the respective sports activities of USA Capturing. Athletes competing within the worldwide disciplines of the SCTP and SASP typically have Junior Olympic and Olympic objectives in thoughts, with the youth feeding packages fostering these ambitions with extra alternatives. Presently over a dozen SSSF athletes and alumni represnt the USA on Nationwide or Junior Nationwide Groups. Probably the most well-known SCTP alumnus is Vincent Hancock, a now four-time Olympic Skeet Champion, four-time World Champion, 30-time ISSF medalist.
Vincent Hancock, pictured in 2015 throughout a training seminar for SCTP athletes
For extra details about team-based youth taking pictures sports activities, go to the Scholastic Capturing Sports activities Basis at www.sssfonline.org
Concerning the Scholastic Capturing Sports activities FoundationThe Scholastic Capturing Sports activities Basis (SSSF) is 501(c)(3) public charity liable for all facets of the Scholastic Clay Goal Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Motion Capturing Program (SASP) throughout the USA. The SCTP and SASP are youth improvement packages through which grownup coaches and different volunteers use taking pictures sports activities to show and to show sportsmanship, accountability, honesty, ethics, integrity, teamwork, and different constructive life abilities.
Present and improve private progress and improvement alternatives for pupil athlete members; develop into the premier authority in all issues pertaining to firearm-related pursuits for youth; cross on to future generations the legacy of lifelong, protected, accountable enjoyment of the taking pictures sports activities. This consists of serving as the first feeder/pipeline for organized, sanctioned taking pictures organizations and groups, like USA SHOOTING, TEAM USA, and the NGBs (NSSA, NSCA, ATA).
