The great thing about the Junior, Sub-Junior, Intermediate-Junior categories in registered Regional or State tournaments is that the winner of those categories get a Free Entry to the Nationals that year!

Joel Huddleston won both Standard and Hunter Junior categories this year at our Spring Break Regional. Nice shooting Joel! I hope they are planning to go to Raton and compete this year! It would definitely be a great experience for a Father/Son team!

For the Senior category: Hugh Burnett shot one of his best matches in a while. He won 1st AA and Senior and I was very happy for him to get both awards-he earned them.

For the Lady category: We only had one lady - Twilla Toney - in her second match in this sport and she did very well - one under AAA in the Standard Rifle and beat a lot of guys that have been doing this awhile. The Lady category probably did not mean as much to her as just beating the majority of the competitors in Standard 1st AA (6/33 overall) and 1st A (13/33 overall) in Hunter. However, if more females had been present to provide meaningful competition, it would probably mean more to win that category.

Because we can not predict who will be at the tournament when we turn in the program for NRA approval, we just have to include the categories most likely to be represented based on past turnouts and hand out the awards to the winners. However, if someone wishes to decline the award because they won the Championship, etc. and would like for the award to pass to the other eligible competitors, that is an option for them to consider!

Innocent wrote: So how many points do you think I should spot you two when I'm shooting a lighter trigger than I'm used to?
Mary

Seeings how you are a girl and all, I think they should spot you a couple of points!

Mary, excellent post. I think you hit the nail on the head. The wives are the backbone in the family and all to often have a very strong opinion about what the children will be doing with their time. I agree that if we want the sport to flourish then we need to do something to get the women out to a match. My wife shot her first NRA match last year and beat a man in a shootoffto take the Un classified trophy. Boy was she jazzed, not as much as I was though.

I got it maybe give away a free hairdoo for the top lady or a day at the spa, manicure etc. Then let the lady choose the the class trophy or the more femine prize.

(sure am glad my wife isnt watching me post this)

I also cant seem to shoot the standard class as well as the hunter class with the same rifle. Must be a mental thing.

Kevin

Chicken,
Seeings how you are a girl and all, I think they should spot you a couple of points!


I can still see the photo of one of my idols Margert Murdock sharing the top podium with Lanny Bassham in the 1976 Montreal olympics ( the last time in olympic competition that women and men shot in the same category) because she had tied with him and he won the shoot off. I'd be proud to share the podium with either David or Cubano, especially if Cathy or Chris is spottin' for David, it's all in the spotta ya know.

Mary

I guess that I should chime in about this delicate subject. At the Southern Nationals, we recognize Senior Lady Champions and Super-Senior Champions. NOT NRA categories.

Maybe some people have a problem with an individual winning all the special categories that they possibly can. We have not thought too much about this, but an answer could certainly be that a Lady shooter can declare herself as being only eligible for one special category; however, keep in mind that Overall Match or Class Winner is NOT a Special Category. Therefore, an individual can win multiple awards.

Maybe some people have a problem with this. We do not as most of the multiple award winners (i.e. class winners, overall winners, and special category winners) have put in the necessary practice time to earn these awards. NOT letting individuals win multiple awards is akin to Socialism!

I guess that Alston just wanted to start some feces talking about Political Correctness. As I once heard, Political Correctness is like trying to pick up a turd by the clean end!

Nothing is fair in life, so live with the awards that we have. If anyone has a better system, then we are willing to do what the majority of the shooters want regarding special categories regarding the Southern Nationals.

As I once heard, Political Correctness is like trying to pick up a turd by the clean end!



That is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time.


Kevin

All of these posts are interesting but the thread has been hijacked, not that there's anything wrong with that.
The only point I was trying to make is that a separate category suggests that the members of the category are at some disadvantage. I am absolutely in favor of anything that encourages people to participate and if a top competitor like Mary is comfortable, who am I to rock the boat?
FWIW, I think a junior or senior who wins an overall should get both trophies.
Edit:I was posting while David was. I've been called a lot of things but never PC.
Margaret Murdock is one of my idols, too. She is a great marksmanship teacher with a lot of interesting things to say. She wasn't beaten in a shootoff at the Olympics. She and Bassham had the same score and the last 10 shots was considered the tiebreaker.
A student once asked her about the best way to clean an airgun. She said: "I don't know. I've never cleaned an airgun."

Second edit: Ain't never been called a heavy hitter, either.

Duckie,
The Southern Nationals is one of the few matches in which there are enough prizes for everyone. I credit that to your promotional ability, the support you recieve from all those involved with the Winny club and some not necessarily involved including your wife, mother, and Robin and maybe even a daughter or two!!!
One thing that few people realize is how hard that club works to keep the awards evenly spread, and everyone happy, few people have the organizational and managerial skills needed to operate like Winnsboro, thus the need for opinions on how to distribute awards.

I agree that Overall and Open awards should be category/class blind.

Let us not forget that picking up a turd by the clean end is akin to remembering that slinging s.... will always land some on those slinging, even if only on their hands. Is that politically correct way to say that???


So how many points???

Mary

[quote="Gator"]

I think the awards are healthy for the sport and those of you

AJJ,
We know which category member is at the disadvantge, don't we?

LOL

Mary

[quote="Innocent"]AJJ,
We know which category member is at the disadvantge, don't we?

My point exactly. Mary can take a few shots for me anytime.

Innocent wrote:......Let us not forget that picking up a turd by the clean end is akin to remembering that slinging s.... will always land some on those slinging, even if only on their hands. Is that politically correct way to say that??? Mary

Or... I believe it's stated as "Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed"

I don't think the special awards bring new shooters to the big matches so what they give for awards should have nothing to do with bringing in new blood.

We need to get the new shooters hooked on the sport at our monthly club matches. It is still a big mystery to me as how to do that. We have had winter indoor shoots with 70+ people shooting every week but when the spring rolls around they never come out to the outdoor matches.

Back to the thread, I feel the trophys need to be spread around at least to the newer shooters in the lower classes. Most of us oldtimers shoot for the chalenge and to see all of our old friends at the big matches. We probaly would show-up and shoot for a cold beer and a good BS session at the end of the day.

Back to the thread, I feel the trophys need to be spread around at least to the newer shooters in the lower classes. Most of us oldtimers shoot for the chalenge and to see all of our old friends at the big matches. We probaly would show-up and shoot for a cold beer and a good BS session at the end of the day.

Jerry G.,

Well put! The Southern Nationals tries extremely hard to distrubute the prizes to ALL classes equally according to class participation. Robert Massey told me about 15 years ago that we were on to something right in the awards and the way that we recognized the newer lower class shooters. As another "old-timer", I invite you to the 2007 Southern Nationals and I wil buy you the first cold adult beverage of your choice (providing it is a Budweiser product)! Apparently, you could be a leading candidate for the Golden Cow Patty award presented to the best BS competitor; but beware, we have some semi-professional and professional bovine feces throwers always n attendance!

With the "baby boomers" coming up to retirement we should not over look them as a way to continue the sport, at least for the time being. In 10 meter competitions in europe they have a very big Section just for seniors. M & F. First time shooters are joining all the time.
I think David and the winnie bunch are doing the right thing. Support the Seniors, Super Seniors, for all three genders. (How PC correct....!!!!)
I think the NRA should have Grand Slams, for Seniors, and Super Seniors. M & F Just like they do for national records. Take a look at Golf, I know a wast of a good rifle range, The Girls do very well, and so do the seniors.
There are a lot of getable national records for both M & F Seniors.
Let the ladies have their day, and their trophies...
Just my 0.02