 |
| Precision shooters on the line during the final held during the End-of-Camp Match. All juniors who attend the CMP camps receive instruction in how to fire finals and have opportunities to shoot in one or more finals during the camp. |
While for most young people in the U.S. summer brings images of baseball leagues, swimming classes, football and soccer camps and a myriad of outdoor adventure camps, summers also bring opportunities for youth to participate in shooting camps. The biggest and most popular shooting camps are the CMP Junior Three-Position Air Rifle Camps that take place in different locations throughout the summer. The first two of six 2004 CMP Junior Camps have now been completed.
 |
| Mattie Brogdon of Lumpkin County High School in Georgia was one of the top precision shooters of the camp. Some people say this was due to the interesting skunk hat she wore while shooting! |
The CMP camps offer high school age juniors a unique opportunity to receive intensive instruction from Olympic coaches and Olympians, hands-on coaching from college rifle team members and plenty of range time to practice the lessons and techniques that are taught. Topics covered during camp instruction or through training exercises include fundamentals of the shot; the prone, standing and kneeling positions; physical training; shot analysis; emotional training; relaxation and imagery; technical training and shooting in competitions. Each five-day camp begins with a diagnostic match and ends with an “End-of-Camp Match” where the top scorers can earn EIC credit points.
 |
| Members of one of the many school and club teams that attend the camps poses in front of the CMP banner before heading for home. |
The beginning of June saw 32 young shooters and 13 adult coaches and parents arrive at Camp Perry, Ohio from Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, South Dakota, Maryland and North Carolina for the first 2004 CMP Three Position Air Rifle Camp. They worked under the tutelage of a camp staff that includes the Camp Director, Dr. Dan Durben, and Assistant Camp Directors, Jayme Dickman and Dan Jordan. Durben is an Olympian himself, was the National Rifle Coach from 1996 through 2000 and currently teaches physics at Black Hills State University in South Dakota. He coached the U.S. Olympic Rifle Team in 2000 that included Olympic gold medalist Nancy Napolski-Johnson. He is the coach of the 2004 U. S. Paralympic Rifle Team that will compete in the Paralympic Games that will take place in September in Athens, Greece. Dickman was a member of the 1996 and 2000 Olympic teams and has taught in several previous CMP camps. Jordan is the top disabled shooter in the country and will compete in the 2004 Paralympic Games.
 |
| Dan Jordan, Assistant Camp Director and 2004 US Paralympic Rifle Team member scores targets prior to the final held on the last day of the camp. Attendees in these camps typically see significant increases in their three-position scores. |
The 2004 camp staff also includes twelve top collegiate shooters. During the camps counselors work with small groups of campers to correct their positions and techniques and help them apply the lessons they learn during camp instruction. Counselors and the schools they presently attend are:
- Brad Donoho, University of Kentucky
- Vickie Goss, University of Kentucky
- Jared Lostetter, University of Kentucky
- Eric Surber, University of Kentucky
- Sommer Wood, Clemson University
- Jason Labella, Rose Hullman University
- Inara Auzins, Tennessee Tech
- Susan Jayroe, UTEP
- Rachel Glenn, UTEP
- Kevin Simon, Jackson State University
- Lindsey Meagher, University of Kentucky
- Ben Jochum, University of Nebraska
 |
| Jayme Dickman, former U. S. Olympic team member and Assistant Camp Director, congratulates a camper for upon her performance throughout the camp. The camp concluded with an awards ceremony and pizza lunch for all. |
Following the Camp Perry camp, the camp staff moved on to El Paso, Texas where they conducted a large camp for 68 JROTC school team members from the El Paso area. Lt. Colonel Terry Hoke (USA, Ret.) JROTC District Army Instructor, coordinated arrangements for this camp. All camp participants competed in End-of-Camp Matches that tested the things they had learned during the week. Each individual fired a 3X20 course of fire and the top eight shooters in both the precision and sporter classes then fired a 10-shot final to determine the award winners for that camp. Almost all of the campers demonstrated significant improvements in their three-position scores. Scores fired by participants in all of the End-of-Camp Matches are being posted in a combined results lists on the CMP web site. Anyone interested in following the results from these matches is invited to check this results list periodically throughout the month of July. Other End-of-Camp Matches will be fired on 9, 16, 23 and 30 July.
The next camp will be at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, after the USA Shooting National Championships conclude. Other 2004 camps are scheduled at Fort Benning, Georgia and Grand Rapids, Minnesota. A few spaces remain available in one of the 2004 CMP Junior Rifle Camps. The National 4-H Shooting Sports Adventure Rifle Camp to be held 20-25 July at Camp Perry has now been opened to applicants who are not members of 4-H clubs. Any junior three-position air rifle shooter can now apply for the remaining positions. For more information on this camp, open the program posted at http://www.odcmp.com/Programs/4hcamp.htm or contact Kathy Williams, 419-635-2141, ext. 1109 or kwilliams@odcmp.com.
|
