Greetings Shooters!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
For trapshooters this is definitely the “slow” time of year but I’m sure you all are like me and starting to count the days to spring and nice weather and lots of targets flying through the air. As I write this in late October I can say we have definitely had a nice mild fall and hopefully don’t pay the price this winter. While the Registered ATA season gets pretty slow this time of year there are always plenty of fun shoots, practice and various meat and money shoots to keep everyone at the top of their game.
The 2017 ATA All-American teams based on 2016 performance have been announced and it is great to see Indiana so well represented on this list. Congratulations to Devon Harris for making the Men’s second team, Chrissy Byrd for Lady I second team, Tom Neal & Garl Gresley for both making the SubVet first team, Jeff Webb for SubVet second team, Jack Curry for Veteran second team, and Vern Brown & Bobby Hubble for making the Senior Veteran second team. This is quite an accomplishment and I am very happy for each of you, much deserved.
I know I said in last month’s article I would have the Indiana State Teams ready to announce by this month but unfortunately that’s not the case. I’ve been working on them, but have had some delays making sure everyone is in the right Category that they are eligible for. Keep an eye on our indianatrap.com website as they will be posted there once final and I will definitely have them in next month’s Trap & Field article.
Target minimums for All-State Teams will be the same in 2017 as they were in 2016. 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.
I do have some sad news to report. Indiana Hall of Fame member and our 1985 Singles Champion Mr. J.C. Swan passed away in October. JC was a true trapshooting legend and will be dearly missed. This past July during the Indiana State shoot I spoke with JC on the phone everyday as he was trying his absolute best to get to the shoot and keep his consecutive IN shoot streak going but unfortunately he was not able to make it. May he rest in peace.
Make sure you have your calendars marked for the Indiana State Shoot next year. It will be held July 4- 9, 2017.
Jason Barnett
ATA Delegate-Indiana