USA High School Clay Target League

The USA High School Clay Target League is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and the independent provider of shooting sports as an extracurricular co-ed activity to high schools for students in grades six through twelve who have their firearms safety certification. The organization oversees high school trapshooting and skeet shooting leagues in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, with leagues expected to form in additional Midwestern states in Spring of 2016.

League Format

Five students is the minimum number for a team. There is no maximum number of students that can be on a team. There may be some limitations to team size because of coaching resources and/or gun club capacity. Teams are made up of students from 6th grade through 12th grade. Middle school students are eligible to participate with high school kids if the team size allows for it

Each team competes in their own conference with teams of similar team member size. A true team scoring system (similar to track and swimming) is used and a team competes against all teams within their conference each week. The highest total of points achieved by the team at the end of the competition is the winner.

Growth

While the first years of the league were limited to just a handful of teams in Minnesota. It is now one of the largest sports in Minnesota High Schools.[1]

Growth of the USA High School Clay Target League
Year # of Teams # of participating schools # of Athletes
2001–2008 3 3 30
2009 6 6 60
2010 13 15 340
2011 29 34 707
2012 57 100 1,715
2013 115 215 4,200
2014 185 275 6,100
2015 268 425 8,600

Official Recognition

On December 6, 2012 the Minnesota State High School League approved a sanctioned, presenting partner, trapshooting State Tournament. The first tournament was held at the Minneapolis Gun Club in Prior Lake on June 14, 2014. This meant that trap shooting had been recognized the same as all other high school sports, and Minnesota became the first and only state high school athletic association to host a trapshooting tournament. The League operates and abides by similar rules as the Minnesota State High School League.

Media Attention

Little media attention was given to the league's efforts until the Minneapolis StarTribune wrote a piece[2] about the efforts to get shooting sports into Minnesota schools.

More recently, Bloomberg wrote about the league's expansion, noting that nearly 10,000 high school students were now taking part.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "MSHSL Programs and Participants" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. Minnesota State High School League.
  2. ↑ Wascoe Jr, Dan (January 9, 2003). "Aiming for the Future" (PDF). StarTribune. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Deprez, Esmé E. "U.S. High Schools Embrace Shooting as a Hot New Sport". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
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