A local youth shooting team placed third, fourth and fifth in different divisions at the 2021 Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) National Championships in Ohio.
Team Gotta sent 11 shooters ranging from sixth to 12th grade. Coach and team manager Jim Coffey said five of the kids had not been to nationals before. They all competed in the intermediate division, made up of sixth through eighth graders, and took fifth in the rimfire pistol.
“It was a good experience for them,” Coffey said. “Overall, they performed really well.”
Action shooting or speed shooting is a firearm sport divided into eight stages where targets are placed in different formations and distances from the shooter, ranging from 21 to 105 feet. Competitors shoot each stage five times and add their top four times to get their aggregate score per stage. Then, each stage score is added together to determine the shooter’s overall score. The sport requires focus, precision and speed.
Team Gotta is a program of Juniors Aim, a local shooting nonprofit organization, and shoots at the Custer Sportsmen’s Club.
At nationals, the team’s senior division shooters, ninth through 12th, took fourth in the rimfire pistol and third in the rimfire pistol optic.
Coffey said the competition was filled with mixed emotions, as many shooters were pleased with their individual performances but had hoped for a better overall team result.
“They out performed expectations, but the competition has gotten faster,” he said.
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