Junior Shooter Awards F Class

[Jennb]

As we all know the juniors coming up in F Class are the future of the sport but they get the least of the awards. That is just WRONG! It is very important for them to have something tangible that they can share with their friends. At the big shoots, Nationals, Southwest Nationals and possibly regional as well as State competitions.

It is just not right to be giving awards to every classification for every match and the juniors only get one special award. They should be able to compete amongst themselves for awards along with the other awards. At the very least they should have more than one award for the aggregate as juniors. First, second and third etc.

I have been told that the big matches have no idea how many juniors they will have and that is a load of bull. Entries are done well in advance and special categories are marked!

What can we do to provide more awards for our juniors, give them more reasons to succeed and more desire to be involved in growing the sport?

 

[shaggy10000]

As a start Rick Jensen is hosting a U25 nationals in Raton this June. I have no inside information on it but i can only imagine there will be awards structured similar to the regular nationals. I'll know more when its all over as i have 2 kids of my own going. To me that is a fantastic start to getting more youth involved in F-class. Serously a big atta boy needs to go to Rick for setting this up.

I do agree in other matches the awards can be pretty slim for juniors. I would say step up, talk to your club, group, match director. Get involved, ask others to do the same. F-Class is one of the most generous bunch of people i have ever met when it comes to juniors.
I watched Nancy Tompkins buy a gift for every junior at the big nationals last year and gave them out at the banquet dinner. Brux stepped up and gave away a free barrel to the youngest junior at that same event. Kelly Mcmillan is another one that i've personally seen step up to help juniors in big ways. I cant even list all the Folks that helped in some way or another to help my daughter get into an F-Class gun. I know that's not an award but the juniors are not going completely unnoticed.

 

[davidjoe]

The Juniors shooting TR generally get combined with Open, and of course that makes it especially hard for juniors to want to focus on TR.

 

[morpheus]

We had three junior awards recipients at the Midrange Regional last weekend at AEDC in Tullahoma, TN. Basically, every junior who participated went home with a trophy or a nice plaque. Notice the three smiling young faces front and center in the photo...

 

[Mudcat]

The Juniors shooting TR generally get combined with Open, and of course that makes it especially hard for juniors to want to focus on TR.

always been that way in sling too (palma vs open) and yeah, it doesnt help things.

 

[Immike]

Some kind of “I shoot Competition” T Shirts might work for a momento. Maybe list all the different disciplines in the sports so everyone can use it. Another option is that everyone attending the match signs it for them, making each one a little different.

Edit: I don’t think young people really care about saving money on supplies and equipment since dad is usually paying and loaning equipment. I did notice that my son was wearing my T-shirts on a daily basis and proudly displaying his trophies in his room. It’s not really different than any other bragging rights but they have to take it to the field to communicate it with their friends.

 

[KeithF]

The Juniors shooting TR generally get combined with Open, and of course that makes it especially hard for juniors to want to focus on TR.

I saw this first hand. The juniors shooting TR shouldn’t have to be lumped with the open juniors. We don’t do it with adults. That little bit of recognition gives them something to look forward to. I’m not for handing out everyone trophies. But, let’s encourage these youths.

 

[280man]

A lot of valid points here and we certainly need to do a better job retaining young juniors. Most are not going to compete in their 20s as that’s when they are typically away at college, getting married and that sort of thing. I guess time will tell if any of the juniors that have been introduced will come back. Remember Fclass is a relatively new sport.

On the U25 Nationals. Michelle and I have had this idea for years and we are finally getting it going. Attendance this year is expectedly light (25ish) and I think it’s primarily caused by people not knowing or possibly misunderstanding of our intent. This match is open to all shooters that are under 25 in all rifle classes. It is not limited to the most experienced or those that are on The US U25 Rifle Team. Prizes this year will primarily be cash and also plaques. If we can grow it I will certainly seek more vendor sponsors and try to have a prize table that will rival any around. That said if anybody that’s reading this wants to donate there is still time. Contact me here or by email if you have questions.

Entries for the match will remain open until June 14th so there is still time.

U25usafclass@gmail.com

 

[davidjoe]

You guys are fantastic for starting this. I’ll bring you five bottles of Varget for the top 5 TR and five boxes of 7mm Lapua 180’s for top 5 open.

 

[Scott Harris]

Having brought 3 boys shooting F-class for years, here are my lessons learned:
1. they don't really care about awards unless it is the overall.
2. They got bored shooting f-class because not enough movement and action....boring.....
3. They got more interested in shooting f-class with MORE juniors...not too interesting shooting with old farts.

I don't really know the answer...our sport is very expensive, takes a long time, and involves no action....not exactly what juniors live for...lol.

I think the only answer is shooting parents bringing their kids..what else have we seen work? To that end, we probably should be going after younger...ADULTS.

 

[Nature Boy]

Brought my kids for their first F Class match last year (daughter 18, son 15), and they were hooked.

Their biggest enjoyment is the competition, particularly beating their old man.

My daughter on her 2nd time out beat everyone with a 596 X23 at 600 yards shooting my .308. She calls “her rifle” now and it might as well be because she shoots it better than I do.

I think @Jennb is right though. Some kind if special recognition for the juniors would be nice. It would help keep them interested and motivated