4-H Shooting Sports National Championships coming to Nebraska

Nebraska 4-H will host the 2016 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships June 26 through July 1 at the Heartland Public Shooting Park near Alda and the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island.

The event will involve more than 650 4-H youth, ages 14-18, from 36 states, competing in nine disciplines.

“This is the major competition in the country for 4-H shooting sports youth,” said Steve Pritchard, Nebraska Extension educator and coordinator of Nebraska’s 4-H shooting sports program. Fifty-four national 4-H champions, both individual and teams, will be named during the competition.

The 27 events in the nine discipline areas include: compound archery, recurve archery, air rifle, air pistol, .22 rifle, .22 pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading and hunting skills.

States can send up to nine teams to compete, with a maximum of 36 youth representing each state. The competitors, their families and 150 to 200 coaches add up to about 1,800 people attending the shoot, a boon to the economy of Grand Island and the state.

More than 125 volunteers from Nebraska and other states help organize and conduct the events.

“It’s like a family reunion when all these volunteers return to Grand Island for the national championships,” Pritchard said. “They really look forward to visiting and seeing their shooting friends in Grand Island. Many of them have assisted several years to help out with the various events being conducted at nationals.”

The free event is open to the public. For more information, click here.