Camp Perry Commander, COL Jim Chisman (2nd from left) and DCM Gary Anderson (far right) pose with the 2007 National Matches banner and Ottawa County, Ohio officials. They are County Administrator Jere Hirt (far left), County Commission Chairman Karl Koebel (center) and County Commissioner Jim Sass (2nd from right).

The 2007 National Matches will celebrate 100 years of National Matches at Camp Perry. On 8 February, in one of the first official acts involving this celebration, the Ohio National Guard’s Fort Ohio Commander, Colonel Jim Chisman, and the Director of Civilian Marksmanship, Gary Anderson, presented a banner recognizing this significant anniversary to the Board of Commissioners of Ottawa County, Ohio.

The new banner features a dramatically enlarged panorama photograph of the Camp Perry firing line taken in 1907, the year the National Matches were first held at the northern Ohio base. It invites shooters and visitors to come to Camp Perry in 2007 to “Celebrate a Century of Shooting Heritage.” The 2007 matches will begin on 9 July with the First Shot Ceremony and Pistol Small Arms Firing School. The matches end on 14 August after five weeks of CMP and NRA championships competitions. The CMP expects that its 2007 National Matches program and on-line entry system will be open to competitor registration by early April. The new banner was presented to the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners so that it can hang in the County Court House in the months leading up to the matches.

Camp Perry was founded in 1906 and the matches, which were established by Congress in 1903, came to Camp Perry in 1907. The National Matches have been staged there in 82 of the 100 ensuing years. The primary reasons for interruptions were wars. The Ohio National Guard, NRA and CMP are planning several special events in recognition of the 100-year anniversary.