Colville, WA –-(Ammoland.com)- The Association of College Unions International (ACUI) has announced a pivotal industry partnership with USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports (USAYESSS) to build the ranks for competitors for the Clay Target Collegiate Shotgun Bowl Series starting with the upcoming 2014–15 shooting year.
USAYESS was a sponsor of the events at the ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Championships held last month, including competition in American Skeet and Trap, Sporting Clays, and 5-Stand, as well as International Skeet and Trap. USAYESS was among 55 sponsors, shooting organizations, and media partners who helped with the more than 46-year-old event.
This year’s event had a record 3,100 entries in the six different events, nearly 400 more than last year. In addition to competitors, coaches, and family members, many of the sponsors for the program were on site and sharing expertise with competitors, including Q-MAXX AK, which provided a complimentary gun cleaning, and MidwayUSA Foundation, which shared information about raising funds and using grants from the foundation.
The foundation of this program will be supplemented with the new USAYESS partnership.
“The growth of the ACUI program is in part due to the emphasis our partners have placed in developing the youth segment of shotgun sports. USAYESS is a strategic alliance in this area because they share the goals, values, and mission of our program. Students, education, leadership, and then shooting sports,” said Michelle Smith, director of meetings at ACUI.
Jake Dawes, ACUI’s recreation and leisure activities coordinator at ACUI, added, “Working with USAYESS and the younger student athletes at the conference championships is going to help grow the national program, too. Today’s youth competitors are tomorrow’s collegiate athletes, and ACUI is thrilled to see regional competitors in later years at nationals who do so well on the field.”
ACUI has organized the collegiate clay target championships for 46 years. The Clay Target Collegiate Shotgun Bowl Series is 10 events hosted across the United States and created to provide additional opportunities for competition closer to participating campuses, thereby allowing full team roster participation. To learn more about ACUI, call 4422.ACUI.CT (442.222.8428) or visit www.acui.org/claytargets.
Visit www.usayess.org for more information about USAYESS, which was formed in 2013 to introduce and educate youth to the outdoors using hands-on competitive shooting sports and wildlife/habitat conservation as a vehicle to safe firearm handling and outdoors activities that youth and parents can share together for a lifetime. Contact Mike Borg 831.229.4872 or Russ Arnold at 817.690.6194/rga@ss-consulting.org for more information.
Founded in 1914, ACUI is a nonprofit educational organization that brings together college union and student activities professionals from hundreds of schools in seven countries. Its members work on urban and rural campuses, in two-year and four-year institutions, and at large and small schools. They are students and administrators whose mission is to build campus community. ACUI enriches them all through education, advocacy, and the delivery of services. ACUI considers its clay targets program not only a place to practice skills and compete with student athletes, it also is a place where leadership opportunities abound and scholarships are awarded. It is a living, breathing community on campus, on the field, and at events.