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Much of the growth in target shooting has come from increased participation among youth. According to the National Sporting Goods Association report, between 2006 and 2010 shooters ages 7 to 17 grew more than 40 percent; those aged 7 to 11 from under 1 million to approxi- mately a million and a quarter; those aged 12 to 17 from nearly a million and a half to more than 2 million.
Those are encouraging numbers for Michael Theimer, youth programs and athlete development coordina- tor for USA Shooting, the primary amateur shooting sport organiza- tion in the nation. Theimer's activities involve working with youth programs that, while not Olympic pro- grams, are development programs that can bring
strongest. It does require—or will teach— patience, determination, organization skills, mental and physical control, safety aware- ness, goal setting, problem solving, and good sportsmanship," according to USA Shooting executives.
"Where a youth may not have excelled in other sports, shooting sports do not require a participant to be the fastest, tallest, or strongest.
talented shooters into what he calls "the Olympic pipeline."
USA Shooting encourages youth to enter the sport by telling them they don't have to already be great athletes to be competitive, Theimer said. "Where a youth may not have excelled in other sports, shooting
MEN'S 50-METER SMALLBORE RIFLE Three-position shooters line up their shots at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Fort Benning, Ga.
sports do not require a par- ticipant to be the fastest, tallest, or
Colorado Springs, Colo.-headquartered USA Shooting is the governing body of amateur shooting sports, recognized by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and affiliated with the U.S. Olympic Committee. USA
Shooting's pri- mary mission, according to its website, is to "prepare American ath- letes to win Olympic and Paralympic medals, pro- mote the
shooting sports throughout the United States, and govern the conduct of interna- tional shooting in the country." USA Shooting has the largest indoor shooting facility in the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. Olympic Shooting Center, which is housed at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. U.S. Shooting team members also use the out- door ranges at the International Shooting Park located nearby at the outskirts of U.S. Army's Fort Carson military base. Fort ➤
www.sportseventsmagazine.com
July 2012 27
USA Shooting
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