Smith & Wesson Hosts First Scholastic Steel Challenge Collegiate Spring Championship

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, WA, April 26, 2011 (Press-News.org) The Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) announced that the organization's first collegiate event in the Scholastic Steel Challenge program will be hosted by firearms maker Smith & Wesson with targets provided by Action Target. The match will take place May 7-8 at the Hartford Gun Club in Hartford, Conn.

The Scholastic Steel Challenge Collegiate Spring Championship will feature a two-day format with instruction and demonstrations on setting up and running the various Steel Challenge stages followed by team practice sessions on day one. Team competition will take place on day two with four-person teams representing schools from the New England region.

Among those schools expected to compete are the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, University of Vermont, Harvard University and Yale University, as well as one high school team, Wayland High School from Massachusetts.

"Interest in our first collegiate championship is growing," said Scott Moore, director of the Scholastic Steel Challenge. "Thanks to the work of the National Shooting Sports Foundation and their Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative, as well as the support of program partners like Action Target and our match host, Smith & Wesson, young people looking to get into competitive pistol shooting are turning to the Scholastic Steel Challenge."

The Scholastic Steel Challenge is a national team-oriented youth shooting program developed by the Steel Challenge Shooting Association and funded in part by a grant from the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The program is open to young men and women ages 12 to 20 and offers them the opportunity to compete as a four person team for a national title in the action pistol discipline of speed shooting.

This is the first year the program has expanded to offer college teams the opportunity to participate in the program.

From the beginning, industry support for the Scholastic Steel Challenge has been strong with the program picking up sponsorship from Action Target, Atlanta Arms & Ammo, Brownells, Glock, GT Target Stands, MGM Targets, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network, Precision Delta, Safariland, Smith & Wesson, Winchester Ammunition and the Youth Shooting Sports Alliance.

Smith & Wesson in particular has been one of the major sponsors of the Scholastic Steel Challenge having donated over $20,000 in M&P pistols, incorporated Steel Challenge shooting in its fundraiser for the Boy Scouts of America and provided staff support for Scholastic Steel Challenge demonstrations around the country.

"We are particularly pleased to be holding our first collegiate competition at the Hartford Gun Club. Smith & Wesson staff have gone out of their way to assist us with securing the range and organizing the event. The immediate and positive response we got from college teams had a lot to do Smith & Wesson hosting the match," observed Moore.

For more information on the Scholastic Steel Challenge and the Steel Challenge Shooting Association, visit http://www.SteelChallenge.com, follow @ScholasticSteel or @SteelChallenge on Twitter, find the Steel Challenge on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SteelChallenge.

The Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) is the governing body of the sport of Speed Shooting and organizer of the Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships and the Scholastic Steel Challenge. For more information please contact us at (360) 855-2245.