Duck Hunting Forum banner

Iowa Clay Target Program ( Awesome )

892 views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  feathhd 
#1 ·
Mr. Smith,

I also saw the nice YouTube video of Nebraska's youth trapshoot put together by
the National Shooting Sports Foundation. If anything, I think it underscores
the need for our agency to work more at "telling our story". The Iowa DNR has
been involved in youth clay target shooting efforts since 2007.

If you look at overall participation levels (versus how many kids attend a
single shoot or how many kids "sign up" for something) Iowa happens to have the
largest youth clay target shooting program the country. The Iowa High School
and Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) surpassed one million targets in
competition for the 2013 spring season. If you also consider that teams
practice regularly and shoot 2-3x as many targets in practice we conservatively
estimate that 3 million targets were shot between March 1 and June 23 this year
alone.

The Department's primary role is in administration of all aspects of the program
including conducting standardized coach certification, assisting over 400
volunteer coaches each year, and organizing most aspects of the shooting leagues
and state championship events. The actual league events however are all
conducted with local efforts and local resources, just like Little League
baseball for example. This model ensures sustainability since it requires local
teams to garner support and resources from their local community while raising
awareness for the shooting sports at the same time. I've included links to our
website below to give you a better sense of what we do. I've also attached a
summary from the 2013 season which also shows the exponential program growth
since the DNR has been involved.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Recreation/Shoot ... mSCTP.aspx

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Recreation/Shoot ... sults.aspx

http://www.iowadnr.gov/Recreation/Shoot ... urces.aspx

It is also exciting is that we have seen some data which may indicate the
program is also resulting in direct recruitment of new hunters; perhaps via
"surrogate mentorship" through shooting sports program volunteer coaches or
peer-to-peer relationships. Check out the 2011 Shooting Sports 5 year recap for
more information: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/upl ... report.pdf

Please feel free to contact me if you need more information or are looking for
ways to get involved with the program.

Best regards,
Ben Berka

BEN BERKA Shooting Sports Program Coordinator

Iowa Department of Natural Resources
P 515.313.8048 | F 515.281.5967 | Ben.Berka@dnr.iowa.gov
 
See less See more
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top