As I sit down to compose this December article, I first want to wish all Indiana shooters and their families’ a very Merry Christmas!! It is difficult to believe that the 2015 calendar is coming to a close so quickly. I hope everyone is able to look back on 2015 with fond memories of good times and a lot of broken targets!
Please join me in congratulating the Champions at the 28th Annual Tippecanoe Valley Championships, held September 26th & 27th at Fulton County Gun Club. Garl Gresley was the 200 target Singles Champion and Matt Moser took the Doubles crown on Saturday. In Sunday’s 200 bird Handicap Championship, Thomas Rhoads prevailed with a 188 combined score, beating out Kaleb Lanoue by one target. Garl Gresley was also the HOA Champion for the two day event. Congrats to all of these shooters and also to Fulton County Gun Club for once again proving why they are a premier gun club in the State of Indiana!
There is a change with the Indiana Trapshooter’s Association Board of Directors that I want to make everyone aware of. Back at the Indiana State Shoot in July, Director Al Gamblin was elected to serve as President of the ITA for the 2016 target year. Due to time constraints with a very busy schedule, Al has decided to vacate his position on the Board. The 2016 ITA President will instead be Mr. Don Carlton, with Director Bob Reynolds moving up to the Vice-President position. Also Mike Williams is your new ITA Director for the Central Zone effective immediately. Congratulations to Don on becoming the ITA President, and also a special thanks to Al Gamblin for his many years of dedicated service to the ITA.
Don Carlton also just received his 75,000 target pin for Handicap!
The Indiana All-State Team calculations are now complete and I would like to recognize the following shooters for making the All-State team:
Men’s 1st Team: Jason Seitz, Eric Shroyer, Devon Harris, CW Arnett, Bobby Bolden, Tank Lunsford, Gary Scott, Tom Kleyla, Garl Gresley & David Winn.
Men’s 2nd Team: Tom Neal, John Hill, John Harden, George Rezabek, John Fry, Jeff Webb, Mike Williams, Keith Jones, Adam Hart & Tim Richards.
Veteran Team: Tom Antczak, Roland King, Jack Curry, Kenneth Heathcoate, Jerry Brown, John Roussel, William Tempest, Richard Weir, Charles Graham & Dr. R. Scott Norris.
Senior Veteran Team: Vern Brown, Ray Strabavy, Gene Baxter, Michael Stephenson & Charlie Vise. Women’s Team: Chrissy Byrd & Jamie Taylor
Junior Team: Brandon Sullivan, Colton Bright, Clayton Taylor, Jacob Wieneke & Tyler Lewis Sub-Junior Team: Alex Raleigh, Alex Vannatta, Kaleb Lanoue & Ethan Buck
Congratulations to each of these shooters on this great accomplishment for the 2015 Target Year! I look forward to presenting each of you your All-State plaque at the 2016 Indiana State Shoot.
I mentioned this in last month’s article, but I want to again make you aware of a few changes to the Indiana All-State Teams that will start with this 2016 target year. We have added the Sub Veteran, Lady I/II and Junior Gold Teams to the All-State teams. The Men’s Team will consist of the Top 10 overall averages, as will the Sub Veteran, Veteran & Junior Teams. The Lady I, Lady II, Sub Junior, Junior Gold and Senior Veteran Teams will consist of the Top 5 overall averages. Category placement will be determined by where you are at the end of the target year. For example if you start the year in Veteran category, turn 70 during the year and declare Senior Veteran at a shoot, you will be eligible for the Senior Veteran Team. If you turn 70 but stay in Veteran class for the rest of the target year which is your
option, you will be eligible for the Veteran team. If you never declare a category during the target year at any shoot, you will be eligible for the Men’s open team.
Target minimums for All-State Teams have been changed around a little for some of the categories for the 2016 target year. In order to qualify for the Men’s, Sub Veteran & Veteran Teams, minimum targets must include 2,500 Singles, 1,500 Handicap and 1,000 Doubles targets. For Lady I, Lady II, Junior, Junior Gold & Senior Veteran, minimums are 2,000 Singles, 1,000 Handicap and 500 Doubles. To make the Sub Junior Team, you must shoot 1,000 Singles, 1,000 Handicap and 300 Doubles. Also to clarify a common question, your Over All Average for All-State Team rankings is computed by your singles average plus your handicap average plus your doubles average, divided by three.
Hopefully everyone hasn’t put away their trap gun already and you are able to get out and shoot some winter targets, be it some practice, meat shoots, Calcutta’s or maybe you are migrating south to some warmer shooting climate. Keep an eye on the www.indianatrap.com website and start planning your 2016 shooting season!
Make sure you plan to attend the Indiana Zone, Indiana State & ATA Central Zone shoots, which will be held at the following clubs & dates:
South- Vincennes Gun Club, May 13-15, 2016
Central- Kingen Gun Club, May 13-15, 2016
North- St. Joe Valley, May 20-22, 2016
Indiana State Shoot- Indiana Gun Club, July 5-10, 2016
ATA Central Zone – July 29-31 at Evansville Gun Club AND St. Joe Valley
May you have a Happy & Blessed Christmas and Holiday season!!
Jason Barnett
ATA Delegate