Greetings!
There is part of our mission and purpose of the ORA that I want to focus your attention on for a moment: competition. For the ORA, that shows up in sponsoring and promoting state matches and presenting recognition for the victors. Competitions in the shooting sports are an incredibly big deal. In the early days of state associations, competitor proudly displayed their club and state association as well as all the matches across the US they had shot at on their jackets. The wearing of our association patches seems to have lessened over the years, and that is something I think would be a beneficial resurgence.
The path towards competition begins with the programs at our clubs that introduce the shooting sports or a specific discipline. This is where the learning takes place, not just of the safety essentials, but of the specific of our many disciplines. For those that stick around, they turn into enthusiasts. If you think about it, competitions are for the enthusiasts, and I think for that reason alone, we have a charge to build our enthusiast programs!
That begins with renewed commitment from a new NRA leadership to revitalize our foundations. In that we recognize the critical part that competition and our shooting competitions have to play in the NRA’s ecosystem, equipping and training our military and law enforcement, and in general the benefits that competition has in our personal development and building a community of enthusiasts. Besides, getting out and tgathering is good for everyone, and we need more of that in a world that is increasingly isolated and digital.
With all that, I’m pleased that so far this year we held an Air Rifle and Pistol Match that was well-attended by many high school teams and competitors practicing for regional and national competitions. Then a few weeks ago we had the NRA National Highpower Mid-Range Championship hosted by the Oklahoma City Gun Club. Finally, I travelled over to NW Arkansas for the second year to attend the Daisy National Championship, where teams of kids compete with their Daisy BB guns, having fun and learning the basics of good sportsmanship and marksmanship.
I’m proud of our heritage of competitions. It is a vital skill for life and is an important part of the ORA and NRA mission that we recognize and fully support. So watch for an upcoming state match and participate, you and the ORA will be all the better for it!
