Air Rifle Club forming for local youth

Fayette County Shooting Sports has announced the date of the first parents orientation and open registration which will be held on Aug. 8 at Autrey’s Armory in Fayetteville at 10 a.m. Parents interested in learning more about the programs that will be offered for youths age 9 to 15 are encouraged to attend this informative session. More information is also available at www.eteamz.com/fcss.

Fayette County Shooting Sports will offer in its inaugural season both a one day basic air rifle safety course as well as an 8-week Junior Olympic style four position development program. The basic safety course is tailored to those who have or will soon have an air rifle for home use but it’s also a pre-requisite for participating in the four position development program.

The four position development program is for those who simply want to improve their marksmanship skills as well as for those who want to experience the excitement of air rifle competitions and possibly realize their Olympic dreams. The club has six USA Shooting Level 1 Coaches, which is the governing body of our nation’s Olympic shooting program.

Although the club is new to Fayette County, Club President Todd Day would like for everyone to know that the leadership of this club has been working together for years as leaders in the local scout program and as instructors and range safety officers for the ranges at the Boy Scout’s Camp Thunder in Molena, Ga.

“We look forward to the opportunity to bring the air rifle program to Fayette County,” said Day. “We spent a lot of time last year at Camp Thunder working with boys from all over this region but at one point we realized that over 30 boys participating in that multi-county program were from right here in Fayette.”

Another reason that Day gave for starting this new program was that it will enable the club to meet more often and to offer those who want to enter the competitive side of the sport a better opportunity to compete with different organizations. It will also open up an opportunity for the girls to compete as well.

Air Rifle programs have a very safe track record; many clubs advertise that it’s the safest sport your child could sign up for. These clubs also serve a bigger purpose than training our future Olympians. These programs teach self discipline, emotional control, concentration, goal setting, teamwork and fair play to name a few life skills.

It’s also one of only a few sports that the girls compete against the boys and often win. Strength, size and coordination are often not a measure of success in this program. Desire and work ethic are much more important to success.

For more information, visit the club’s website at www.eteamz.com/fcss.