Each day campers split time between classroom and range activities, which breaks the camp into sessions covering a wide variety of topics. Many of the classroom sessions are ran by Camp Director Dan Durben, or Assistant Directors James Hall and Sommer Wood.

As the holiday break ends and schools start back across the country, it is already time for students to begin planning how they want to spend their summer vacation. For air rifle shooters we hope that one of the events that will be marked on their new 2008 calendars will be a CMP Three-Position Air Rifle Summer Camp. To help make this planning easier, the 2008 schedule has already been posted online, and registration forms will begin being accepted on 14 January.

The Three-Position Air Rifle Summer Camps are considered the premier camps for juniors who want to improve in marksmanship competition. And this is the only rifle camp program available to juniors that is conducted by Olympians and active Collegiate Shooters from some of the top NCAA Rifle programs in the country. Leading the camps again this year will be Dan Durben, a 1988 Olympian, the US National Rifle Team Coach in the 2000 Olympics and the US Paralympics Shooting Coach in 2004 and 2008. Durben, who is a professor at Black Hills State University in South Dakota, is entering his fifth year as the Camp Director. Also entering her fifth year with the camps is the Camp Coordinator, Sommer Wood, a 2003 graduate of Clemson University where she was a member of the club rifle team. Another five-year camp veteran, James Hall, who will serve as an assistant director, will join Durben and Wood. Hall is a graduate of Jacksonville State University where he earned All-American honors all four years on the rifle team. Serving as camp counselors will be collegiate athletes with extensive national and international competition experience.

Some new locations have been added to the camp schedule including camps in Texas, South Dakota and Ohio. Fort Benning, Georgia will be the only return location on the 2008 schedule. One exciting addition will be the camp held at the new Air Gun Facility at CMP North Headquarters in Port Clinton, Ohio. This will be the first major event held at this state-of-the-art facility, which will feature an 80-point electronic range, the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Another new location is Rapid City, South Dakota. This camp will be held at the Rapid City West Community Center, which was the site of the 4-H National Championships in 2006 and 2007. This location also features the beautiful landscape of the South Dakota Black Hills and is a short drive to Mount Rushmore, making this the perfect camp for the entire family to attend. In all there will be seven full-length camps and one advanced camp that will focus on the standing position. The Standing Position Camp was a new addition to the program in 2007; it is intended for athletes who have already attended a full-length CMP camp.

Another new addition to the camp program this year will be the housing structure. In previous years CMP has designated camps as either a commuter camp or a residential camp. This year, participants may choose whether they wish to attend at the commuter rate or the residential rate. Housing and meals are provided for participants who select the residential rate. Participants who select the commuter rate are responsible for providing their own housing, except at Camp Perry where all participants pay the same rate and may stay in barracks housing for no additional charge. This can help reduce costs for local athletes who wish to attend camp but do not need housing. Participants must choose if they want to attend camp as a commuter or a resident at the time they submit their applications.

A complete Camp Program and schedule is posted online at http://www.odcmp.com/Programs/camp.htm, or you can click on the Summer Camp link that is located on the CMP home page at http://www.odcmp.com. Camp dates were posted on 2 January, but registration will not open until 14 January. You can download applications and medical release forms now so that they are ready to submit once registration opens. Some camps tend to fill-up quickly so early registration is recommended. Please have athlete deposits and all required forms when sending in applications. If you have further questions about the camps please refer to the Camp Program.

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