TRAPSHOOTING THE OLYMPIC WAY

Lester L. Greevy, Jr.


As an instructor of new shooters and a coach of developing shooters, I
am frequently asked, “How can a shooter become involved in
International Trap (Bunker) and Double Trap and learn to shoot the
games as they are shot in the Olympics; how can I get a try out for
the Olympic team?” The answer is somewhat complicated and unless you
understand the terms and the initials, it can be a bit confusing. Let
me try to explain.

USA Shooting (USAS), located at United States Olympic Training Center,
One Olympic Plaza, Colorado Springs, CO, 80909-5762, is the National
Governing Body (NGB) of all Olympic shooting in the U.S.. It selects
and administers the U. S. Shooting Team, including the Shotgun Team.

The Olympic Shotgun Team exists only during Olympic years. During the
three other years in the four year Olympic cycle, called a quad, the
American Shooting Team is referred to as the National Team (NT). USAS
also selects and administers the National Development Team (NDT).
Appointments to the National Team and the National Development Team
are awarded based upon competition in USAS National matches and
Selection matches. There are currently 26 members of the National
team and 24 members of the NDT many of whom train in hometowns across
the country while holding down jobs or attending school. Others are
part of the Resident Athlete Program at the Olympic Training Center
(OTC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado where they may work or attend
school while training at the OTC facilities, including the USA
Shooting International Shooting Park. We will discuss team selection
more in the next column.

It is very important for a young shooter to get into the USAS system
to develop knowledge, experience and skills in the sport as well as to
become known to the National Coaches. The International Shotgun
family is a small one. It is also important to study the better
shooters and learn from their techniques. USAS makes entering the
system easy by offering an Introductory Free Junior Membership, the
form for which can be downloaded from the USAS website
www.usashooting.com and then mailed in. With membership comes a
bimonthly magazine, USA Shooting News, containing articles of interest
and shooting schedules.

For a young shooter, born in 1983 or later, the next step is
involvement in USAS’s Junior Olympic Program, which culminates in the
Junior Olympic National Championships, held during late summer at the
USAS Range in Colorado Springs. Such involvement can also lead to a
National Development Team appointment or to membership in the
independently funded National Junior Olympic Shooting Team (NJOST),
which consists of younger shooters primarily under the age of 21, but
sometimes up to the age of about 23 years.

Participation in the Junior Olympic National Championship is by
invitation only. There are several ways to receive such an
invitation.

The first is to win the ATA 16-yard Junior Trap Championships or the
NSSA 12-gauge Junior Skeet Championships in your state. Those Junior
(not Sub-Junior) Champions will receive a Junior Olympic National
Championship invitation. The problem is that many state championships
are not held until after the Junior Olympic National Championship
invitations have been closed, which is typically about the last week
in June. Those Junior State Champions, whose State shoot was not held
until later, or whose results were not reported to USAS will not be
able to receive such an invitation.

Members of the ATA Junior All-American Teams for that year will also
receive an invitation, again, this refers to the Junior All-Americans
and not the Sub-Junior. Another way to receive an invitation is to win
the top male and female Junior Olympic State Championships (JOSC) in
your state in one of the three International Disciplines;
International Trap, Double Trap, or International Skeet and to have
shot a minimum score. The minimum score for Skeet and Trap is 65 out
of 100; in Double Trap, for men, it is 95 of 150, and for women, 80 of
120. The International Trap event may be shot on either a Bunker or
an ISSF (International Sport Shooting Federation) conforming automatic
trap (wobble trap).

Many states do not have Junior Olympic State Championships. Youth
from those states can participate in JOSC’s in another state and use
that score to qualify. Again, minimum qualifying scores are required.
For those Juniors residing in the Mid-Atlantic States, the Ontelaunee
Rod and Gun Club, New Tripoli, PA., will be holding a Trap and Double
Trap, JOSC, May 16 - 18.

Others who will receive Junior Olympic National Championship
invitations include all Juniors who have shot in the USAS National
Championships for that year typically held in July at Colorado
Springs. A very small number of shooters, who were specially invited
to the Junior Olympic National Camp held the few days preceding the
Junior Olympic National Championship’s, may also participate in the
Championship tournament.

If after all those invitations have been accounted for and there is
still space and beds available, USAS will review results of the State
Junior Olympic Championships and issue at-large invitations to male
and female shooters until all bed spaces are filled.

Athletes who attend the Junior Olympic National Championship may stay
in dorms at the USOTC and eat at the Dining Hall. They will be
subject to strict USOTC zero tolerance discipline rules and the same
drug rules as other athletes. A reasonable fee is charged for the
tournament and shells can be purchased at the range.

A word of caution, Junior Olympic National Championship competition is
shot over the International Bunker, consisting of 15 traps, the roof
of which is flush with the ground, with faster targets and angles much
wider than ATA Trap and having a big variance in target height. It is
much, much different from ATA and even wobble trap. Shooters who
attend the Junior Olympic National Championship without prior
experience on the Bunker are likely to shoot disappointing scores. It
is very important to receive or replicate that bunker experience
before attending.

At the J.O. National Championships, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are
awarded for male and female, first, second and third place in each of
the 3 disciplines in each of 3 age categories: Overall; Intermediate
Junior (J2), age 15-17; and Sub-Junior (J3), age 14 and under.
Participation in the Junior Olympic National Championship is very
important, because in International Trap, the winner for both men and
women and the second place man will be appointed to the National
Development Team. For Double Trap, the winner and second place man
and woman will both be appointed to the National Development Team.
And in Skeet, the male and female winner and the second place man will
also be appointed to the National Development Team. Sometimes,
depending on funding, appointments are also made to the National
Junior Olympic Shooting Team.

In future columns we will talk about the National Team and the
National Development Team selection process for both youth and adults,
the National Junior Olympic Shooting Team and how to start your own
Junior Olympic State Championship, if your state does not already have
one. We will talk about the difference between American and
International Trap and Double Trap and how to train for success. We
will talk about the location and competition schedules of the various
active bunkers around the country and how to begin competition. If
you have interest in the International Trap Disciplines, or specific
questions, please feel free to contact me. My e-mail is
les@greevy.com.