Class Act

"Three-position air rifle shooting is a full varsity sport in the State of Georgia. We are governed by the state high school association…it has been extremely healthy for our sport."  Larry Pendergrass  Georgia High School Association

Larry Pendergrass, the Georgia High School Association State Championship Director (standing) and Phil Williams, the CMP State Junior Director in Georgia, described for coaches and junior directors at the conference the dramatic growth of high school air rifle teams in Georgia.  By 1992, smallbore competition at the high school level in Georgia was nearly a thing of the past. Per Pendergrass, "It was dying primarily because of the closure of ranges, and new schools being built without ranges." As shown in the graph, three-position air rifle not only filled the void left in the loss of smallbore programs, but it has allowed high school rifle in Georgia to grow phenomenially from 22 teams in 1992 to 109 teams in the present 2001-2002 school year.