San Antonio, TX -(AmmoLand.com)- The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation, recognized and respected as the leader in youth development shooting programs, is pleased to announce that the Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) will now be re-branded as the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP).
With this change, a rimfire rifle component is now being offered along with the centerfire and rimfire pistol disciplines that teams have been competing in since 2012.
Coaches and state SPP leaders have been asking the Foundation to offer other disciplines that their teams can learn and compete in that will help them grow and develop within their program. We’re happy to announce that beginning in January, current Scholastic Pistol Program teams and new teams will now be able to add rimfire rifle as another discipline.
While the pistol program begins with athletes in grades 6 and above (including full-time college students), the rifle discipline also has a “Rookie” division for grades 5 and below (depending on federal, state and local range requirements), allowing younger athletes to join the fun! SASP offers an absolutely “level playing field” for gender participation in the shooting sports and will use the same rules, scoring and course of fire as the original pistol program.
“We’re excited with the opportunity of adding rimfire rifle as a component of the Scholastic Action Shooting Program. We feel that this additional discipline opens the door for younger athletes to learn firearms safety along with the thrill and excitement of competition. This is a positive step in giving our teams more opportunities to pursue their passion for the shooting sports. We want to be able to introduce young shooters to a sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime,” said Tammy Mowry, National Program Director.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is an educational-athletic organization that exists to introduce school-age youth to the shooting sports and to facilitate their continued involvement by providing, promoting, and perpetuating opportunities to safely and enjoyably participate and compete in a high-quality, team-based sport led by trained adult coaches focused on enhancing the personal growth and development of their athletes.
About SSSF:
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is responsible for all aspects of the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) across the United States. SCTP and SASP are youth development programs in which adult coaches and other volunteers use shooting sports to teach and to demonstrate sportsmanship, responsibility, honesty, ethics, integrity, teamwork, and other positive life skills. SCTP was developed as a program of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) until the SSSF was created in 2007 to operate the SCTP. In 2012, SSSF created the SPP and became the managing foundation of both programs.
For more information about SSSF, visit www.sssfonline.org.