MN State High School Clay Target League Fall Season

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – 3,099 student athletes representing 130 high school shooting sport teams are competing for six weeks this fall in the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League. The organization’s fall season began on September 17th and will conclude on October 28th.

“Fall League participation continues to grow,” Jim Sable, Executive Director of the MNSHSCTL, said. “This year's increase in participation is a reflection of the tremendous success of our spring offering, in which over 11,000 student athletes representing 343 teams participated.”

According to MNSHSCTL Vice President John Nelson, the growth of the league is continuing. “We’ve already had a number of new teams form over the summer for the 2018 spring season and that will continue until March 1. Along with the expansion of existing teams, we expect to see over 13,000 student athletes participating this spring in Minnesota’s fastest-growing and safest high school sport.” Since its founding in 2001, the MNSHSCTL has no reported injuries.

The MNSHSCTL Fall League offering is open to high school teams that competed in the 2017 Spring League. The fall competition is 3 weeks shorter than the in the spring, and there is no final tournament to end the season. “The Fall League is a way for high schools to continue offering clay target shooting as an activity for those students that don't participate in other fall sports.” Nelson said. “Providing a safe and fun outdoor activity for students keeps them involved in school, and can help improve overall classroom engagement.”

The Minnesota State High School Clay Target League attracts student athletes to participate in shooting sports while creating a “virtual” competition among high school teams throughout Minnesota. Family travel is minimal because practices and competitions are conducted at a shooting range near the school’s location. Conferences are determined by team size rather than geographic location for fair competition. Athletes earn True Team® scoring points as determined by their performance and ranking against all athlete scores within their team's conference. The team score and overall standing are calculated by adding the earned points from qualifying athletes and posted on the MNSHSCTL’s website. Athletes and their families track their individual and team performance on their phone, tablet or computer via the Shooter Performance Tracker®.

The Minnesota State High School Clay Target League is an affiliate of the USA High School Clay Target League, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The League is an independent provider of shooting sports as an extracurricular co-ed and adaptive activity for high schools and students in grades 6 through 12. The organization’s priorities are safety, fun, and marksmanship – in that order. Each student is required to pass a comprehensive firearm safety education course prior to participation.  Nationwide, over 20,000 students representing over 600 school-approved teams participate in the League.

For more information visit http://mnclaytarget.com.