June 25, 2025

Students to participate in clay target state tournaments

By AgriNews Staff
High school athletes and teams representing schools from across the state are set to participate at Illinois State High School Clay Target League State Tournaments in June.

High school athletes and teams representing schools from across the state are set to participate at Illinois State High School Clay Target League State Tournaments in June.

BUNKER HILL, Ill. — High school athletes and teams representing schools from across the state are set to participate at Illinois State High School Clay Target League State Tournaments in June.

The premiere event of the year will be the Brittany Shooting Park in Bunker Hill May 31-June 1, featuring 1,188 athletes from 74 teams.

A full list of events and dates is available on the league website at https://il.usaclaytarget.com.

The state tournaments are sponsored by The Bass Pro/Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, Walker’s, Sportsman’s Guide, SCHEELS, Guns.com, Illinois College, Ducks Unlimited, Outdoor News and Friends of NRA.

About 2,019 student athletes representing 111 high school teams across the state participated in the Illinois State High School Clay Target League this spring. The ILSHSCTL is a part of the USA Clay Target League, which offers high school and college programs in 40 states.

The top athletes in the nation this season will be eligible to compete at the USA High School Clay Target League National Championship in July.

About The League

With over 54,000 participating athletes in the 2024-2025 school year, the nonprofit USA Clay Target League is America’s largest clay target shooting organization. The league offers trap, skeet, sporting clays and 5-stand leagues to secondary and postsecondary schools across the country.

The league is the only 100% school-approved clay target shooting sport program in America. Every team must have school approval to participate.

Most participating schools have lettering programs as well as yearbook inclusion for the teams. In addition, tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships are provided to qualifying seniors by the league and post-secondary institutions each year.

The league’s co-ed and adaptive nature are key attractions to schools nationwide: it’s fully Title IX compliant with both male and female athletes competing on the same team and it’s an “adaptive” sport, which allows students with physical disabilities to take part.

The league’s priorities are safety, fun and marksmanship — in that order. The league is the safest sport in school, with not one reported injury since the inception of the league in 2001. Each athlete must complete firearm safety certification before participation

Farm Family Life
AgriNews Staff

AgriNews Staff

The Illinois AgriNews and Indiana AgriNews staff is in the field each week, covering topics that affect local farm families and their businesses. We give readers information they can’t get elsewhere to help them make better farming decisions.