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Program Information
Thanks for your interest in joining Whatcom Clay Buster’s Championship Youth Trap & Skeet Team. All school-age boys and girls in grades 12 and under with the physical, mental and emotional maturity to participate in a team sport are eligible to participate in the our WAYess (Washington Youth Education in Shooting Sports) program. Divisions are broken down as follows:
- Novice Division Grades 6 and Under
- Intermediate Division Grades 7-8
- Junior Varsity Division Grade 9 and first year High school competitors
- Senior Division Grades 9-12
- Collegiate 2 or 4 year or Trade school
TEAM PROGRAM
Please know that ours is a team program. It is not an individual participation program. That is, each member of the team is asked to work for the betterment of the team as well as for him or herself. This involves coming to practice on time each week, and working hard all the time. Good behavior is required always. As a team sport, our program is run like any school varsity sport, and the same level of interest, participation, quality of effort, and sportsmanship are required of each athlete.
SHOOTING EXPERIENCE
You don’t need any prior shooting experience to join our team, and if you don’t have a suitable shotgun we have a limited number of guns available to use. Of course, you can use your own shotgun if it meets our requirements. For example, we don’t allow shotguns designed for military, law enforcement or home defense use, which usually have one or more of these features: extended magazines, pistol grips, collapsible stocks, non-choked barrels, barrels shorter than 24 inches, or optical sights. Our team shoots 12 ga and 20 ga only.
SHOOTING YEAR
The shooting year begins by early September and mandatory practices are each Saturday through the end of April. Practices scale back to once or twice a month for the remainder of the summer and fall and are suspended during December, January while the club is closed. We consider our program a year-round activity.
COACHING GOALS
The goal of our program is not to win matches or prizes. Our goal is continuous improvement, in both shooting skills and life skills. We teach and coach both things equally and continuously. Our coaching staff is composed of several very dedicated coaches with many years of shooting and shooting team experience. They work for nothing more than a kind word now and again. Most are NRA and USAYess certified shotgun coaches. The structured program consists of:
- Safety
- Gun Types: Pump, Automatic, Over/Under & Side by Side
- Ammunition and Chokes
- Eye Dominance
- Gun Fit (patterning plate)
- Mount and stance
- Intro into all shotgun games
- Instruction and target techniques
- Competition – games and formal registered shoots
- Practice, log books
COSTS AND FUNDRAISING
Our team is not government or state funded. We are a private group which relies on benefactor support, Midway Foundation grants, and on our team’s fundraising activities. Whatcom Clay Busters fundraising activities generally provide for partial or full coverage of State Competition Registration fees. Each member must pay Lynden Shotgun Club for their rounds (targets shot) and provide his/her own ammunition for practices, while ammo used for competitions may be provided by the team. Each team member is asked to take part in all fundraising activities, which usually consist of one or two raffles each year, hosting a Team Shoot for other WAYess teams and working at Lynden Shotgun Club shoots as scorekeepers and trap fillers. Most members think these activities are a lot of fun.
HOW TO JOIN
Joining a team is one of the best preparations for life that a young person can do for him or herself. We truly feel that our youth shooting team teaches the right combination of shooting skills and life skills that will help our athletes excel at whatever worthy goal they may wish to achieve.
Thanks for your interest in Whatcom Clay Busters Youth Trap & Skeet Team and Lynden Shotgun Club. Please feel free to ask questions of the coaches anytime if you need more information.