Enter Now--the 2009 U.S. Army Junior Air Rifle Open Championship
Written by Gary Anderson, DCM
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Junior shooting clubs and school teams can now make on-line entries in the 3rd U.S. Army Junior Open Air Rifle Championship. The annual U.S. Army-sponsored event offers state championship postals and a shoulder-to-shoulder national championship in two events, sporter air rifle three-positions and precision air rifle standing. Organizations interested in this major junior air rifle championship can download the official match program that is posted at
http://www.odcmp.com/3P/Army_Jr_Championship.htm and make their entries on-line at
http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/matchInfo.cgi?matchID=4148.
This championship is sponsored by the U.S. Army, which provides direct support and administration through the U.S. Army Recruiting Command and the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit that is based at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Civilian Marksmanship Program also provides support by administering the State Championship Postal Phase and helping to conduct the National Championship.
The Army Junior Air Rifle Championship features two different air rifle events, sporter three-positions and precision standing. In the postal phase, sporter shooters fire 30 shots and precision shooters 40 shots. This competition is for true club or school teams where all team members are from the same school or the same local geographic area. Multi-state, all-state or all-star teams are not eligible.
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The National Championship shoulder-to-shoulder phase of the Army Championship will once again take place on the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Pool Range Complex. 2009 Championship dates are 14-16 May, however, not in August as in previous years. |
A major sponsor objective is to encourage as many junior teams and individuals as possible to participate. Last year, 1,723 young shooters fired in the postal, 1,206 in the sporter event and 517 in precision standing. There were 240 different clubs or schools that competed, 163 in sporter and 77 in precision. Since the Army took over sponsorship of this junior competition in 2006, participation has grown 70 percent; everyone is hoping there will be even more growth this year.
It all begins with a State Championship Postal Phase that junior teams can enter and fire any time between 1 January and 13 March. Official targets with competitors’ names printed on them will be shipped as soon as entries are received. The rules allow teams and clubs to fire as many junior shooters as they wish, with the top four in each event counting for the team total.
With individual entry fees set at an affordable $5.00 per person and with no additional team fees, clubs and teams are encouraged to enter everyone in their program who is prepared to shoot the 3x10 sporter or 40-shot precision standing courses of fire. The rules also allow clubs or teams to enter both events and for individual juniors to shoot in both. For the postal phase that takes place in January through mid-March, the initial competition is between teams and individuals in each state. Every team and individual’s first goals should be to see how well they rank within their home state.
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Marco Aguayo from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School Army JROTC unit in McAllen, Texas won the 2008 Army Individual sporter championship and his teammates won the sporter team championship. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo HS will be invited to return to the 2009 Army Championship to defend their title. |
The rules have been changed this year to encourage more participation at the state level. States with lower participation will no longer be moved into an at-large award category. There will be team and individual awards in every state where there are entries. U.S. Army Recruiting Command representatives will, to the extent possible, present these awards in April. Scores fired in the State Championship Postal Phase also determine which teams and individuals advance to the Army Junior National Championship at Fort Benning in May.
This year, qualifying opportunities for the National Championship are expanded. The top ten state champion sporter and top ten state champion precision teams will advance to the Army Junior National Championship as they have in previous years. In addition, this year the top ten at-large individual competitors in the sporter and precision classes will receive invitations to the National Championship. At-large individuals are the highest-ranking individuals who are not members of teams that have qualified.
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Junior clubs and school teams can enter teams in both the precision class (precision team shown here) and the sporter class. All teams can also enter more than four shooters, with the four highest-scoring individuals counting as their team total. |
Another 2009 change involves the National Championship dates. Previous championships were in August. This year, the National Championship at Fort Benning will move up to mid-May and take place on 14-16 May. It is hoped that this will accommodate the interests of many teams that shut their programs down over the summer.
Now is the time for your club or school team to enter the 2009 U.S. Army Junior Air Rifle Championship. Make your State Championship competition a real competition with lots of team and individual entries. If your team has one or two strong individuals, but might not have a state champion team, make sure those individuals get their chance to qualify for the new at-large individual slots in the National Championship.
The official program for the 2009 U. S. Army Junior Open Air Rifle Championship is posted at
http://www.odcmp.com/3P/Army_Jr_Championship.htm.
When you are ready to submit the entries for your program enter your whole team on-line at
http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/matchInfo.cgi?matchID=4148.
If you have any questions regarding your entry in this match please contact
Tommy Whitten at twhitten@odcmp.com or 419-635-2141 ext 1113.
