As many are aware, Pierce County 4-H has been working to bring a 4-H Shooting Sports Program to Pierce County for the last couple of years.

After receiving several grants, donations and conducting fundraising activities the group was able to purchase its first set of air rifles this past spring and will be purchasing a set of archery equipment later this month to be used by youth at practices. The group also hopes to continue raising funds to purchase an enclosed trailer to facilitate storage and transportation of equipment. Thanks to a very generous recent donation of $3,000 by Iberdrola the group is well on its way to reaching that goal. Each business, organization, or individual that has donated funds to the Pierce County Shooting Sports Program can expect to see a decal with their name or logo on the future trailer.

Dedicated and passionate volunteers are the key to successful 4-H programs and last month a number of new volunteers were certified in both the archery and air rifle disciplines.

The registration deadline for youth wishing to participate in Pierce County 4-H Shooting Sports this year was Dec. 19, with enrollment limited to current 4-H members and youth of volunteer instructors. At a Shooting Sports Committee and Volunteer meeting held earlier this month, it was decided that if there were any spots left after the deadline, registration would be opened to non-4-H youth wishing to participate. As of now there are 10 available spots.

Youth must be 8-18 years of age to participate and will need to register by Wednesday, Dec. 31, to allow for necessary paperwork to be completed before the first practice. A notice will also be sent to contacts at each of the local schools in the county.

Practices are set to begin Monday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 pm at the Rugby Armory. A $10 processing fee will be charged for each discipline to cover equipment repairs and ammunition. It is expected that a parent or adult will attend practices with their child and be willing to help with practice as needed. At this time instructors are asking that youth use the equipment provided by the program at practices and not bring equipment from home.

At the first practice youth will have a chance to try both the air rifle and archery disciplines, after which they will need to choose one discipline to continue in for the remainder of the season as practices will run concurrently at this time due to location availability.

We wish to extend a special thank you to Iberdrola for their generous $3,000 donation to the Pierce County 4-H Shooting Sports Program. We also wish to thank the following organizations for their contributions to the Shooting Sports Program over the past two years: Rugby Eagles, Rugby Jaycees, Barton Sportsman’s Club, Rugby American Legion and Pierce County Shooting Club. Thank you everyone who has donated time, talents and funds to help Pierce County 4-H continue to grow and thrive in so many ways! For questions about the Pierce County 4-H Shooting Sports Program or Pierce County 4-H please call the Pierce County Extension office at 776-6234 ext. 5 or email yolanda.schmidt@ndsu.edu.