By Irwin Greenstein
Pikesville, MD – -(Ammoland.com)- Sporting clays is often described as golf with shotguns and now the new Professional Sporting Clays Association intends to commercialize that depiction with five national broadcasts on NBC Sports beginning April.
The PSCA is the brainchild of champion shooter and instructor Dan Carlisle and energy entrepreneur Michael Osowski.
“There are few opportunities to introduce a new sport to a national television audience,” said Mr. Osowski. “This is a rare chance to positively benefit pros, amateurs, shooting clubs and equipment manufacturers….the entire sport and associated industry.”
The business of the PCSA is to provide a professional tour for top sporting clays athletes in a closed competition with others of a similar skill level, while broadcast TV coverage attracts bigger sponsorships and greater mainstream exposure. Ten weekend telecasts will air April through July.
PSCA rules and regulations go beyond scorecard tallies and irregularities. The PSCA is polishing the image of American clays shooters. A dress code, for example, bars blue jeans, sweat-stained ballcaps and other sloppy apparel often seen on competitors.
Dan-CarlisleDan Carlisle, President of the PSCA.
“We have to be more professional than anybody else because we have guns,” noted Mr. Carlisle.
The organization also manages media relations, marketing and branding initiatives associated with professional sports. The PSCA will deliver broadcast-ready programming to NBC Sports.
Through its efforts, the PSCA wants to buoy the entire industry. The expectation is to broaden the appeal of sporting clays, reduce firearms stigma via sophisticated programming on a major TV network, stimulate bigger sponsorships and ultimately lure viewers to their local clays clubs.
“I think it’s great,” said Anthony Matarese, Jr., an All-American clays champion and instructor. “It’s huge for sporting clays in many regards. It’ll bring an awareness of the sport to the general public. The main thing I’d hope for is that the PSCA will attract more everyday people to give sporting clays a try.”
For starters, the PSCA roster is impressive. The first invitational tour boasts 60 professional titleholders (52 men and eight women) including Miles Gebben, Vincent Hancock, Zach Kienbaum, Wendell Cherry, Will Fennell, Ashleigh Hafley, Bobby Fowler, Jr., Brad Kidd, Anthony Matarese, Jr., Haley Dunn and David Radulovich.
Amateurs will eventually get a crack at the main events. Thirty amateur shooters (26 men/4 women) will compete…
Read the entire article “All New Professional Sporting Clays Association Cinches Landmark Broadcast Deal With NBC Sports” at Shotgunlife.com: http://tiny.cc/qcl39w
Shotgun Life is published by SGL Media, LLC. Prior to founding Shotgun Life in 2009, Irwin Greenstein spent 15 years in Silicon Valley as a marketing and media-relations executive specializing in technology start-ups. Visit Shotgun Life at www.shotgunlife.com.