St. Paul, MN – -(AmmoLand.com)- Jim Sable, the founder of the USA Clay Target League, has announced that he has stepped down from his roles as Board Chair and President of the League. Sable, the former owner of a Twin Cities communication agency, is a longtime clay target shooting enthusiast who started an after-school mentoring program at the Plymouth Gun Club in 2001. The success of that program led to the creation of the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League in 2008, where just three teams and 30 students participated in its initial year.
The program proved to be highly popular and has become one of the fastest-growing youth extracurricular activities in America. In 2012 the program was reorganized under the USA High School Clay Target League moniker and began expanding out to other states. Last year the League was reorganized again under the USA Clay Target League banner, and a college shooting program was introduced. Today the League is now the largest youth clay target shooting program in the nation, with nearly 30,000 students on over 900 teams expected to participate in League programs during the 2018-19 school year.
John Nelson, who had previously served as Vice President and Board Member, has been elevated to the position of President by the League’s Board of Directors. Nelson has been involved with the League since its inception.
“The success of the League is because of Jim’s vision and determination,” said John Nelson, “Jim’s devotion to youth shooting sports, and his unrelenting drive to create a lasting, safe, school-based program has resulted in the League being a beacon in the shooting sports world. His program has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of student-athletes, parents, and family members, along with thousands of coaches and volunteers.”
The League is the safest sport in school, with not one reported injury since the inception of the League in 2001. To participate in the League, each team must have the approval of their school’s administration. The League is the only 100% school-approved clay target shooting sports program in America and is a preferred vendor of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
The League attracts student-athletes to participate in shooting sports while creating a ‘virtual’ competition among high school teams throughout each state. Family travel is minimal because practice and competition are conducted at a shooting range near the school’s location. Conferences are determined by team size rather than a geographic location for fair competition. Athletes earn True Team® scoring points as determined by their performance and ranking against all athlete scores within their team’s conference. The team score and overall standing are calculated by adding the earned points from qualifying athletes and posted on the League’s website. Athletes and their families track their individual and team performance on their phone, tablet or computer via the Shooter Performance Tracker.
The USA Clay Target League® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The League is the independent provider of clay target shooting sports for secondary and postsecondary schools. The organization’s priorities are safety, fun, and marksmanship – in that order.
For more info visit https://usaclaytarget.com