First Shot Ceremony to Inaugurate 2005 National Matches

Written By Gary Anderson, DCM

Major General Gregory Wayt, the Ohio Adjutant General, will be the First Shot Speaker at the opening of the 2005 National Matches on 11 July.

The Adjutant General of the State of Ohio, Major General Gregory Wayt, will be the guest of honor at the 2005 National Matches First Shot Ceremony. The First Shot Ceremony has become the traditional opening ceremony for the annual competitions at Camp Perry, Ohio that attract over 5,000 competitors and school students from all over the United States and several foreign countries.

This year’s First Shot Ceremony will take place on Camp Perry’s Rodriguez Range on Monday afternoon, July 11, at 5:30 PM. The colorful ceremony is always attended by numerous national, state and local political and military leaders as well as leaders representing the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) and National Rifle Association (NRA). The guest of honor is the “first shot speaker” and after his comments, he has the honor of firing the first shot of the National Matches. This year General Wayt will fire the first shot with a specially selected Model 1903 Springfield rifle. This historic rifle was the standard military rifle in World War I and was used by competitors during the first three decades of the National Matches.

Jim Hill, a former Highpower and Smallbore Rifle National Champion and Olympic silver medalist who has been the National Matches Highpower Match Director for several years, fired the first shot of the 2004 National Matches.

Governor Taft appointed General Wayt and he assumed the duties of the Adjutant General on 1 July 2004. He is a member of the Governor’s cabinet and is responsible for the operation of the Adjutant General’s Department and the military preparedness of the Ohio Army National Guard, the Ohio Air National Guard, the Ohio Military Reserve and the Ohio Naval Militia, totaling more than 15,000 personnel. General Wayt is a Distinguished Military Graduate from the Ohio State University ROTC program. He began his military career as an artillery officer in 1975.

The 2005 National Matches will be the 85th reunion of this popular national rifle and pistol target shooting championship. The U. S. Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt approved legislation in 1903 that established the National Matches. They came to Camp Perry, Ohio in 1907. Since then, Camp Perry has been the traditional and permanent home of the matches.

Six-time NRA National Pistol Champion in the 1950s and 1960s, Bill Blankenship, fired the first shot of the 2003 National Matches.

The National Matches begin with the First Shot Ceremony and continue until mid August. The matches include National Trophy Pistol and Rifle Matches that continue to be mandated by federal law and which are conducted by the CMP, Pistol and Rifle Small Arms Firing Schools conducted by the CMP and the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit, and NRA National Pistol, Smallbore Rifle and Highpower Rifle Championships, which are conducted by the NRA.

A partnership involving the Adjutant Generals Department of Ohio, the NRA and the CMP conducts the National Matches. In 2004, over 5,000 total individuals participated in one or more phases of the CMP and NRA matches or schools in the National Matches. 3398 individual competitors competed in rifle and pistol events conducted by the CMP while an additional 1128 persons attended CMP schools. If early entries are any indication, the 2005 matches will be just as well-attended. Three of the five highpower rifle matches conducted by the CMP are already filled to capacity.

2000 Olympic gold medalist in women’s air rifle, Nancy Johnson, fired the 2001 first shot after inspiring comments about her personal quest to win the Olympics.

Camp Perry is located on Lake Erie in northern Ohio near Port Clinton. Visitors and media are welcome to visit the National Matches at any time although it is always best to check the schedule (the CMP has a schedule posted at http://www.odcmp.com/ NationalMatches.htm). Highlights include the First Shot Ceremony that starts at 5:30 PM on 11 July and the Springfield and John C. Garand Matches that take place all day on 5-6 August. A large Commercial Row with shooting equipment sales firms’ displays and sales and the CMP Store with surplus military rifle sales are also open during the matches.

There is much to see and do at Camp Perry, Ohio during the five weeks of the National Matches and it all starts again with the 2005 National Matches First Shot Ceremony on 11 July.