The International Championships |
Bowling Green, KY July, 1997 |
"We're here to build kids, not tear them down." |
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The International Championships |
Bowling Green, KY July, 1997 |
"We're here to build kids, not tear them down." |
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The International Championships are sponsored by Daisy Air Rifles and the U.S. Jaycees and are usually covered by ESPN. In 1997, the 4 day event was held in Bowling Green, Kentucky at Western Kentucky University in early July. During the 4 day event, our kids got to meet shooters from all over the U.S. and Canada.
Our first day started with a tour of the Chevrolet Corvette Hall of Fame near the Corvette Assembly Plant. Our team then had a dinner together and the kids had free time the remainder of the evening and spent it swimming at the hotel. The next day we spent getting the guns and our equipment torn down and inspected by the NRA officials. We then got out onto the field and spent the afternoon doing some extremely serious sighting in of the guns. That night was the opening ceremonies to the Competition and all teams got to march out before the stadium and were introduced. |
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Day three of the event started early with the Prone and Standing positions being recorded and we broke for lunch. That afternoon held the Safety Test for the kids and workshops sponsored by the NRA for the coaches. After the test we sent all the kids to see a movie and then we met back again for supper.
Afterwards was the "Swap Meet" and it was probably the biggest highlight for the kids. All of the teams brought items to swap and barter with the other teams. Big items in the Swap Meet were pins, hats and t-shirts. I think everyone, kids and adults as well had allot of fun swapping the same items time and time again.
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The fourth day of competition began early and included the Sitting and Kneeling positions record fire. That afternoon held a few workshops as we awaited for the scores to be tabulated. Every one of the coaches knew how the standings would turn out, as we all were constantly watching the scoreboards. (Have you ever tried to sleep the night before knowing that you haven't told a kid that he's gonna be crowned a National Champion tomorrow? It's hard to do.) |
The Closing Ceremonies were fun. We saw Myerstown, Pennsylvania's team crowned the International Champion for the third year in a row. We had our own International Champion in that James Hall had taken the individual standing position medal. Our neighbor, "Coweta County" had 2 individual medallists.
If you would still like to learn more about youth shooting sports:
