COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (June 5, 2017)
With a 2020 vision, the USA Shooting Team is taking their National Sporting Clay Cup Fundraiser nationwide beginning in 2017 and they’ve chosen the Show Me State as the first destination.
Modeled after two highly-successful fundraisers hosted by Butch Eller and Houston’s America Shooting Centers, the National Sporting Clay Cup Fundraiser will now travel to Missouri in partnership with the Missouri Youth Sport Shooting Alliance (MYSSA) and St. Louis Skeet & Trap Club. The fundraiser and clinics will take place October 20-22 and will feature a sporting clays fundraiser shoot along with highly-anticipated youth and coaching clinics. More details about the youth/coaching clinics will be available on July 31.
USA Shooting has raised over $550,000 in three similar events in 2012, 2014 and 2016, hosted in Houston and near Dallas. The National Sporting Clay Cup will be making a return stop to Houston in May of 2018. As the only non-government supported Olympic shooting team in the world, USA Shooting relies heavily on donors and sponsors to help maintain a history of success that includes 114 Olympic and Paralympic medals. Money raised will help support USA Shooting’s quest for World and Olympic glory.
Now, USA Shooting is expanding on this fundraising event concept to try and create greater awareness about the USA Shooting Team and to help deliver additional engagement opportunities with fans, donors and sponsors throughout the country. Partnering with the state of Missouri, MYSSA and St. Louis Skeet & Trap Club was an easy fit given the popularity of the shooting sports that exists and the number of youth already involved in the sport. MYSSA is a statewide organization that promotes all shooting opportunities, safety, leadership and training for Missouri's youth. Currently, MYSAA has 122 affiliated schools and clubs, representing approximately 23,000 youth shooters.
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Additionally, intrigue for this event is provided by the unprecedented success of Lindenwood University’s shotgun program and the 14-straight national titles they have earned and the strong connection the university has in placing athletes on USA Shooting Teams. Most recently, Lindenwood grad Morgan Craft earned a fifth-place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and their coach, Shawn Dulohery, was a 2004 Olympian as well.
The state’s appeal is further cemented by USA Shooting’s long-time sponsor Winchester Ammunition’s close proximity to St. Louis from their headquarters in Alton, Illinois. Furthermore, Missouri-based company MidwayUSA and the MidwayUSA Foundation are located approximately 124 miles west of St. Louis in Columbia. Thanks to the generosity of Larry and Brenda Potterfield, the MidwayUSA Foundation is single-handedly changing the future of youth shooting sports.
“The success of USA Shooting depends on our ability to create additional streams of revenue,” said USA Shooting’s Interim Chief Executive Officer Dave Johnson. “We are taking what has proven to be a very successful model of event fundraising for us and turning that into a national concept in hopes of showcasing our athlete and our brand to a wider audience.”
“The addition of youth and coaching clinics, featuring USA Shooting Team members and coaches, is that important tangible asset that we feel will make the National Sporting Clay Cup much more attractive moving forward,” add Johnson. “Under the leadership and guidance of Lou Rupp and Jan Morris, partnering with MYSSA on this opportunity has long-ranging benefits far beyond just our team’s success in 2020.”
“The Board of Directors for MYSSA feels fortunate and privileged to have the opportunity to support and work with the USA Shooting management team to coordinate and conduct this major shooting event here in the state of Missouri,” said Lou Rupp, MYSSA Chairman.
The event will begin Friday, October 20 with a coaching clinic, sporting clays practice, VIP Dinner and auction at the St. Louis Skeet & Trap Club, followed by the Sporting Clay Cup on Saturday, October 21. Kicking off Saturday’s activity is an exclusive youth-only Sporting Clay event followed by the main event. A youth clinic involving Missouri-area youth shooters will take place Sunday, October 22.
St. Louis Skeet & Trap Club was founded in 1934 and will provide a great setting for the event. The course will feature 15 stations with 75-100 targets and will include a youth flight, followed by two afternoon flights. The youth event will feature 15 teams while the main event will be limited to the first 30 teams. Sponsorship opportunities begin at $1,500.
“St. Louis Skeet & Trap Club is honored to partner with USA Shooting and excited to host the National Sporting Clay Cup,” said Roy Smith, President of St. Louis Skeet & Trap Club. “Our club has been a long-time supporter of youth shooting, the MYSSA, and home club to several Team USA shooters as well as Lindenwood University's National Champion Shooting team. The timing of this prestigious event seems a natural progression for both our club and those organizations involved, to establish a long-lasting relationship to benefit our future Olympic shooters, our youth shooters and the future of shotgun sports.”
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