Olympic Theme Adds New Dimension to Camp Target Sports

 By Michael Peterson

One smile I will never forget!

I was on my first stint as rifle range counselor at a camp just outside Philadelphia.  One of our charges, eleven year old Jason, was the kind of kid life never seemed to favor.  He stood six inches shorter then his peers and struggled with a limp left over from an operation.  Like the other Jason's of the world, he never got picked for sports, didn't excel in music, art, or academics, and was in the grips of a bewildering self-esteem crisis that was already hampering his social development.

When he literally pranced back from firing line, finished target in hand, and grinning ear to ear, I knew something very, very good was about to happen.

That summer a seed was planted.  Jason found something he could excel at, something based not on being the biggest, strongest, or smartest, but simply the most determined.  He went on to become the star of our camp rifle team, and with that came the confidence needed to overcome many of his social handicaps.  I too went on - to become director of the camp, but that one golden moment Jason and I shared, that one instant of success, is something we will never forget.

There has always been a natural connection between target sports and kids.  Curiosity, fascination - call it what you want - but kids love to shoot!  Given a choice at camp, they invariably drift towards shooting sports.  Our camp runs an elective program, and without fail, this one activity has always filled up first.  In my twenty-five years of directing camps, I have never had an empty slot in a riflery class, and I cannot say that about any other activity.  Traveling around the country, working with other camps, that enthusiasm is echoed in those camps too.

Target Sports Under Attack

Lately, all has not been well for camps that have traditionally featured target sports.  Though the pastime itself is as popular as ever, it has recently been on the decline in camping.  There are various reasons.

Foremost, the nation's largest shooting organization, the National Rifle Association, reduced its grassroots sport development through organized youth camping.  With limited funds and an increasing political challenge, the organization shifted so much of its focus to fighting for basic American second amendment freedoms that other areas had to suffer.  As a result, many camp directors no longer find the support they need for day-to-day programs coming from this direction as it did in the past.

Further complicating the situation has been the ongoing difficulty that large national organizations had found in working with camps on their very highly specialized needs.  Both sides became exasperated by these organizations' inability to adjust to the uniqueness of the summer camp setting and provide training in late spring time for the large number of "basic" instructors necessary to meet the peak demand of summer camping schedules.  With the NRA having pulled back, until recently no other organization has been willing to step in and fill this void, leaving camps adrift without direction or options.

Cost is another factor in the decline of target sports in camps.  Many directors holding on to their smallbore rifle programs know it costs them nearly $.04 a shot for expendables, even before adding in the capital investment of rifles and range construction.  Ammunition prices can climb into the thousands of dollars - and the question arises, is this money better spent elsewhere?

In my role as a former NRA Training Counselor and an ACA Visitor, I have inspected hundreds of camp ranges over the years.  Many are seriously outdated, inadequate and often the safety buffer surrounding them has given way to development and congestion.  This gives rise to serious safety issues.  Without alternatives, the easy choice is to shut down the range and terminate the shooting program.

Last is the anti-gun card, and this one is dealt from the bottom of the deck.  Target sports are the safest thing a child can participate in at camp.  Personally, I have never heard of a shooting accident in a camp setting, ever, while every year, in every other activity, even arts and crafts, children get hurt or injured.  Safety is found in trained supervision and organization, not the nature of an inanimate object.

Yet the entire aura doesn't sit right with some directors.  They question if we should be teaching children to use guns at all.  The same people never concern themselves with what we are teaching children about those guns, or for what use we are teaching them.  Society has never been able to eliminate its dark side, so the answer lies in education and developing positive attitudes, safety consciousness, and starting young.  Camp directors are in the ideal position to accomplish this.

Target Sports Can Be Tools In Youth Development

Riflery is a life-long endeavor for many.  It is a major international sport and one of the most popular events in the Olympics.

Camp target sports are not associated with military, police, self-defense or hunting themes.  Nor should they be.  This is strictly and purely a sport - scoring points on paper.  It is taking aim, and going for a goal.  Properly conceived, shooting a rifle in competition is no different then hitting a tennis ball, swinging a bat, or shooting a basket.

It is a sport that can be played individually, on a team, or both.  It is not for girls, or boys, only.  It is not just for the young or physically fit.  It does not favor the strongest, the dominant, the fastest, the biggest or the smartest.  Jason was the smallest of his peers, and never able to excel in other sports.  Marksmanship, both in the progressive rifle skill awards and the competitive arena turned out to be his ticket to success at a crucial stage in his development.  This is a sport where everyone starts out equal - even physically and mentally challenged participants!  That's why target sports continue to remain popular tools in camp programs all over the country, despite the nagging criticism of a handful.

Many children are attracted to target sports because they teach absolute discipline, a component often lacking in our modern society and their young lives.  Both the act of shooting, and the entire ritual surrounding it requires dedication and single-minded concentration.  Further, working around guns doesn't just ask a youngster to be more responsible, it demands it, and they thrive on the opportunity to show adults they can meet that challenge.

If shooting is costly, trained instructors scarce, ranges inadequate and national leadership lacking, what does the future of the sport hold for organized camping?

Camp directors began asking these tough questions, and as a result solutions are closer at hand.  In 1994, ACA responded to member concerns by contacting Leo Lujan, a former director of the National Guard's youth marksmanship program who was then working with the U. S. Shooting Team Foundation.  After retiring from the military in 1991, Lujan has continued to explore more effective means of introducing young people to Olympic shooting sports.

By working directly with interested ACA camps, most recently under the larger umbrella of the Civilian Marksmanship Program, Lujan initiated a comprehensive youth camp riflery program that offers a new affiliation option enhanced by the magic of the Olympics, and focused on presenting target shooting as a true sport.  The mutual interest here is in pure dedication to the sport, and the commitment is to introduce more youngsters to it.  The partnership is a natural one.  In answering our critics, this offers camps a fresh start, one for which we need make no apologies. 

A Look At The Future

While .22 caliber smallbore rifle shooting should continue to be an important part of programs where ranges and equipment now exist, new options are available.  The sport has changed dramatically in the last twenty years.  And many of these changes directly address some of the very reasons camps were closing down their target sports.

The first has been the realization by coaches of the importance of matching the child and program with the correct equipment.  Beginning instruction should be done with lighter, simpler BB guns.  Once considered toys, these inexpensive rifles have reached new levels of sophistication in the Daisy Model 499.  As trainers, they are perfect.  With the danger of a serious accident greatly reduced, larger groups of inexperienced children can be introduced to the range, and allowed to concentrate on basics including safety and technique.  Success is easily achieved at this level.

BB gun ranges are only 5 meters (16 ft. 5 in.) in length and can be set up and taken down with a minimum of equipment and space.  On rainy days, this activity easily transfers indoors in limited space, or under a tent, making it ideal for many day camps.  Further, many states don't recognize BBs as particularly hazardous, and are therefore far more reasonable in expectations for instructor certification.

For many camps, BB marksmanship is an ideal answer and potentially an entire program in and of itself.  However, those with older children, and longer sessions find BBs fit as a good introductory progression tool, leaving kids something else to look forward to and graduate into.

The instrument used in five different Olympic shooting events is the air gun.  They propel a small .177 caliber lead pellet, via a burst of compressed air.  Though far more powerful than BB guns, they are still a perfect solution on ranges where location, safety, noise, etc, are concerns.  Many retired or unsafe .22 smallbore rifle ranges can readily be brought back into service using air rifles.

A long time competitive shooter in my youth, I grew up with a prejudice against air rifles.  They were poorly built, didn't last, were very inaccurate, never had the feel or look of a real rifle, and were basically toys.  No more!  New generation air rifles are highly accurate, beautiful instruments, offering everything a small bore program does, at a fraction of the cost.  Further, they too can be shot indoors, in smaller spaces, with equipment easily and inexpensively assembled.  Again, the safety margin is much greater.

Having joined with The Civilian Marksmanship Program in these conclusions, we feel the future of camp target sports lies in the adoption of a BB gun/air rifle training progression in our own camps.  There is really no downside.  To test the concept, new teaching techniques, and new equipment, we invited Lujan in 1996, to spend two weeks at YMCA Camp Mason.  Here he field-tested some new program ideas for camps and succeeded in weaning us from our "purist" smallbore attitudes.

At Camp Mason, a concern had always centered on the number of children who could participate in our shooting program during each two-week session, and the amount of actual shooting time and direct instruction they would be able to receive.  We were limited by the need to double up on certified staff, the fact that our range had only six positions, and five structured daily activity periods available to schedule.

The solution was in front of us all along, but needed someone else to point it out.  Leo set up a separate BB gun range - something easily done, and easily staffed.  That immediately doubled capacity and better served the younger children anyway.

Overall, we found many of the children in our camps expressed a desire to continue to work on their skills at home with parental supervision, something easily done with just a little guidance - and the real pay back to the non-profit Civilian Marksmanship Program, which is focused on the development of future competitive shooters and Olympians.  Also, these are the kids we are likely to see back at camp next year - ready to move ahead in our more advanced programs.

The CMP has prepared a new generation of training outlines, teaching aids, progressive skill awards, and resource assistance for camp directors.  The collaboration with ACA appears well poised to address the specialized needs of the youth camping industry.  In addition, a new effort is under way by CMP to take over the daunting task of training and certifying so many camp rifle instructors in such a short time.

There are problems ahead.  New roads are never smooth.  Some will resist change and new affiliations.  I know camp directors who still use wooden tennis rackets!  But here lies an opportunity to save our camp target sports, and revive those programs currently in suspension - a chance to continue to do good things, and bring a smile to the face of kids like Jason!