NUMBERS AND ACCEPTANCE ON THE RISE . . . School spirit and local pride abounded last week at the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) state championships at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex in Nashville. Winning teams represented nine different schools and clubs from across the state. In Tennessee, trapshooting is now a varsity sport alongside football and basketball. Depending on the town, a student can actually earn a school letter jacket by ” bustin’ clays.” The National Shooting Sports Foundation initiated the SCTP program in Tennessee four years ago. Five competitors participated in the first year, then 16 , then 132 last year. This year, there were 259 competitors. Winning teams will now spend the summer preparing to represent Tennessee in the SCTP National Trap Championships in Vandalia, Ohio, in August. At stake is national recognition and a share of $81,000 in college scholarships. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commissioner and former trapshooting champion Jeanette C. Rudy, Nashville, kicked off the competition by firing the ceremonial opening shot and presenting a $25,000 check to boost the program in the state.]Sophomore Samantha Doster awaits her turn to shoot at the SCTP Tennessee championships. Doster got involved in trapshooting just two months ago. In a competition leading up to the championships, Doster, a winner of multiple beauty pageants in her area, missed one when the trapshooting ran long. Doster won the shoot. Was missing the pageant worth the first-place shooting trophy? “Definitely,” she says with a wink.
(Photo: Scott Engen)

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