LAS VEGAS, NV – USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports (USAYESS), ended the weekend with record-breaking attendance at the 2021 Western Regional Junior Clay Target Championships, held March 25 - 28, 2021, at the Clark County Shooting Complex. The event saw over 840 student-athlete entries in the 400-target competition. Athletes were from 26 teams across eight different states.
"We are more than double last year's Western Regionals," said Brian Beard, President of USAYESS. "This event has also surpassed our largest National Championship by about 50 student-athletes".
Onsite was also a handful of sponsors and supporters. "There are young shooters everywhere breaking clays in trap, skeet, and sporting clays," explained Jay McClatchey, Northeastern Program Manager for MidwayUSA Foundation, in a Facebook post. "The USAYESS folks are great fun while working hard to put on a first class competition."
USAYESS strives to make its events fun and competitive. Saturday night, all of the Utah teams pitched in and hosted a free steak dinner for all student-athletes and their families, regardless of what team or state they were representing.
In the end, USAYESS awarded 105 medals for Gold, Silver, or Bronze for the student-athletes individual placement in their categories.
During the event, USAYESS announced a new scholarship opportunity for USAYESS Junior or Senior members, the Mike Borg Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship honors the legacy that the late Co-Founder, President, and CEO left behind after his tragic passing in August 2020. More information on the Mike Borg Memorial Scholarship can be found on the organization's website at www.usayess.org/mikeborgscholarship.
Also announced, USAYESS plans to donate five cents for every target thrown in competition to various endowment accounts held at MidwayUSA Foundation. The breakdown is to be two cents to the team endowment account for whichever team each athlete represents, two cents to the USAYESS agency endowment account, and one cent to the Mike Borg Legacy endowment account.
Anyone can donate to a youth shooting team near them by visiting www.midwayusafoundation.org and clicking on the Donate button in the upper-right hand corner. The MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Program gives a community the ability to support a competitive youth shooting sports program financially. Like other sports, shooting teams provide fantastic opportunities for students to make friends, develop confidence, and learn discipline and leadership skills. The MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowments provide financial support to high school and college-level youth shooting sports teams across America. As 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, all donations made to the MidwayUSA Foundation are tax-deductible, and thanks to the generosity of Larry and Brenda Potterfield, all donations in 2021, including the five cents for each target thrown in this years Regional and National Championships, are matched.
Teams that have an account balance in their MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment account are eligible to request a grant of 5% of their balance once per year. The more fundraising the team does for their team endowment, the higher their grant amounts become. Donations made to the endowment accounts remain there in perpetuity and are eligible for quarterly earnings. Fundraising today means funding every year for as long as the team exists.
About USA Youth Education in Shooting Sports
USAYESS is a non-profit organization and the nation's only all-inclusive youth program which introduces, grows, supports, and educates youth, and their families on firearm safety, shooting sports, and wildlife conservation and habitat. For more information, visit www.usayess.org.
About MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Program
The Team Endowment Program gives a community the ability to financially support a competitive youth shooting sports program. Like other sports, shooting teams provide wonderful opportunities for students to make friends, develop confidence, and learn discipline and leadership skills. However, most schools and clubs provide little or no funding for youth shooting sports teams, so it is up to us to help. As the primary program of the MidwayUSA Foundation, Team Endowments provide financial support to high school-aged and college-level youth shooting sports teams across America.
About the MidwayUSA Foundation
The MidwayUSA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity working to sustain the shooting sports industry by providing long-term funding to youth shooting teams. Every donation made is 100% tax-deductible and supports the mission to help communities and organizations raise funds to support their youth shooting team. The Foundation supports all shooting disciplines. Each year, teams can apply for a grant for 5% of their endowment balance to use for expenses, such as range fees, travel, ammunition, uniforms, and more. For more information about how the MidwayUSA Foundation is changing the future of youth shooting sports, please visit midwayusafoundation.org or call 1-877-375-4570.
