More than 2,700 Iowa shooting sports athletes will participate in the 2021 Iowa Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) Trap Championships in American Singles, Doubles, and Handicap Trap. More than 700,000 targets will be shot by the athletes, ranging in age from grade school through high school.
The Scholastic Clay Target Program has seen constant growth in Iowa and across the nation, with increases in participation seen in Iowa middle school and high school teams, which have grown from 1,400 athletes in 2011 to more than 4,200 athletes today.
“The Scholastic Clay Target Program provides many opportunities to Iowa’s shooting sports athletes. You don’t have to be the biggest, strongest or fastest, it really is a level playing field. All athletes are welcome to attend and compete at the state championship events. The shooting sports are as much a competition against yourself as it is with other competitors, and we have many athletes shoot their personal best at these events,” said Chris Van Gorp, shooting sports coordinator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The all-day events will take place at the Iowa State Trapshooting Homegrounds, located north of Cedar Falls:
- June 8-9: Elementary and Middle School Trap Singles
- June 10: Handicap and Doubles Trap Events, all ages
- June 11-13: High School Trap Singles
The Scholastic Clay Target Program is the largest, fastest growing, and most exciting youth clay target program in the US, Van Gorp said. Student athletes from elementary through high school and college have the opportunity to compete in sports such as trap, skeet, and sporting clays, as well as Olympic disciplines like bunker trap and international skeet.
The SCTP is a youth development program, first and foremost and we do this through the shooting sports and competitive shooting. The SCTP’s mission is to help kids reach their highest potential in becoming the best athletes and young adults they can be. For more information on the Scholastic Clay Target Program in Iowa, contact Chris Van Gorp, DNR Shooting Sports Coordinator at 515-313-8048 or chris.vangorp@dnr.iowa.gov.