With approval by Mandan Public School officials at a meeting on Dec. 8, Mandan High School will be joining the North Dakota State High School Clay Target League (ND CTL) this spring. Registration for the Mandan High School Clay Target League (MHS CTL) team is open on a first-come-first-served basis to all Mandan Public School System students in grades 6 through 12 who have a valid firearms safety certificate. Sign up and informational meetings will be held in the Mandan High School Cafeteria at 5:30PM on Tue. Jan. 30 and at the Advanced Business Methods Office (4480 Coleman St., Bismarck) at 7PM on Tue. Feb. 6.
Thanks to fundraising efforts by local sportsmen’s groups, area businesses and generous individuals, a portion of participants’ league costs will be covered; students need only provide their own firearms and pay the enrollment fee for shirts, shells, and rounds. Weekly league shoots will be held at the Capital City Gun Club (CCGC) located 4 miles north of Bismarck on Hwy 83 from 1-4 pm on Sundays from Apr. 1 through June 1, as part of the Missouri River Clay Target League (MR CTL) which hosts four area schools’ CTL teams – Bismarck, Century, Legacy and now Mandan High School.
“This is a big win and a huge opportunity for the youth in Mandan,” said Eric Thompson, MR CTL Coach , “they get the excitement of competing against 50 teams across the state, without having to travel to do it,” he concluded.
The only travel required, other than to the nearby CCGC facility, is the optional CTL State Championship tournament in Horace, N.D. on June 16, 2018.
The USA Clay Target League, which began with just 30 students from three Minnesota schools in 2001, is an independent provider of the trapshooting extracurricular co-ed activity and operates as a virtual competition which will include more than 500 teams, spread across more than 30 states. The ND CTL affiliate league began in 2013 and its format allows participants to travel a short distance to a local gun club to compete each week with hundreds of other students on similarly-sized teams. All scores are submitted online and compared against other scores from teams of similar sizes making up a school’s conference, and league points are awarded across three categories. The league stresses safety, fun and marksmanship as its three core values.
Unlike sports such as baseball, where the tenth best player sits on the bench, each and every student athlete gets to shoot each week and measure their progress against all other athletes in their conference. The popularity of the CTL has grown so rapidly in part because it provides an alternative outdoor sport in which everyone can participate and boasts a flawless safety record. Since its beginnings, there have been zero injuries in CTL practices and competitions, over 17 years and more than 50,000 participants.
“I’m proud of community’s efforts and the support we’ve had in bringing this program together for Mandan’s students,” said MR CTL Coach, Nick Simonson, “the school jumped right in offering a full varsity letter program and complete support in their very first year to get more kids involved in the safest and fastest growing sport in the country,” he concluded.
In addition to attending the sign-up and informational meetings on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, parents can enroll their youth, or learn more about the MHS CTL team – or any of the teams at the Bismarck schools – by calling Simonson at (507)829-9553. Registration for the spring season will be open until Thu. Mar. 1, 2018.
Thanks to fundraising efforts by local sportsmen’s groups, area businesses and generous individuals, a portion of participants’ league costs will be covered; students need only provide their own firearms and pay the enrollment fee for shirts, shells, and rounds. Weekly league shoots will be held at the Capital City Gun Club (CCGC) located 4 miles north of Bismarck on Hwy 83 from 1-4 pm on Sundays from Apr. 1 through June 1, as part of the Missouri River Clay Target League (MR CTL) which hosts four area schools’ CTL teams – Bismarck, Century, Legacy and now Mandan High School.
“This is a big win and a huge opportunity for the youth in Mandan,” said Eric Thompson, MR CTL Coach , “they get the excitement of competing against 50 teams across the state, without having to travel to do it,” he concluded.
The only travel required, other than to the nearby CCGC facility, is the optional CTL State Championship tournament in Horace, N.D. on June 16, 2018.
The USA Clay Target League, which began with just 30 students from three Minnesota schools in 2001, is an independent provider of the trapshooting extracurricular co-ed activity and operates as a virtual competition which will include more than 500 teams, spread across more than 30 states. The ND CTL affiliate league began in 2013 and its format allows participants to travel a short distance to a local gun club to compete each week with hundreds of other students on similarly-sized teams. All scores are submitted online and compared against other scores from teams of similar sizes making up a school’s conference, and league points are awarded across three categories. The league stresses safety, fun and marksmanship as its three core values.
Unlike sports such as baseball, where the tenth best player sits on the bench, each and every student athlete gets to shoot each week and measure their progress against all other athletes in their conference. The popularity of the CTL has grown so rapidly in part because it provides an alternative outdoor sport in which everyone can participate and boasts a flawless safety record. Since its beginnings, there have been zero injuries in CTL practices and competitions, over 17 years and more than 50,000 participants.
“I’m proud of community’s efforts and the support we’ve had in bringing this program together for Mandan’s students,” said MR CTL Coach, Nick Simonson, “the school jumped right in offering a full varsity letter program and complete support in their very first year to get more kids involved in the safest and fastest growing sport in the country,” he concluded.
In addition to attending the sign-up and informational meetings on Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, parents can enroll their youth, or learn more about the MHS CTL team – or any of the teams at the Bismarck schools – by calling Simonson at (507)829-9553. Registration for the spring season will be open until Thu. Mar. 1, 2018.
