On Saturday, April 18, the Kansas 4-H State Spring Match was held at the Expo Fairground buildings located just west of Great Bend. The State Matches held included 4-H Air Rifle, Air Pistol, and BB. Competing in these events, representing the Cottonwood Extension District included: Madison Gaddis (BT) – Air Rifle, Jessa Fuertges (EL) – BB, and Ryan Ward (EL) – Air Rifle. A lot of discipline and commitment went in to practicing and preparing for this great opportunity. Madison placed 12th in the state out of over 50 Kansas 4-H’ers.
The Air Rifle, Air Pistol, and BB projects are disciplines of the 4-H Shooting Sports Program. It is for 4-H members ages 8 to 18 years. In this project, the youth learn firearm safety, parts of and the operation of firearms, three shooting positions (prone, kneeling, and standing) for the rifle portion, shooting range rules and etiquette, and have the opportunity to shoot in a safe, supervised environment.
Learning firearm safety is an integral part of the 4-H Shooting Sports project. It is also an environment where youth can learn best hunting practices, and have an opportunity to challenge themselves through the commitment of attending practices and testing their skills. 4-H Shooting Sports programs across the state are often broken up into programs for each county unit or Extension District, where the youth are required to attend safety meetings at the start of the practice period, and will learn and improve on their firearm skills in a safe environment with a 4-H registered volunteer that has gone through extensive training.
Some local Extension Units have local contests to challenge and celebrate their local 4-H Shooting Sports project participants. State Match qualifiers are held throughout the state that are hosted by local 4-H Project Leaders. 4-H Members must qualify at one of these events before they can participate at the State Match in the Spring. It also serves as a time to acclimate youth to a contest setting to prepare them for the State Match.
On behalf of the Cottonwood Extension District, I want to congratulate Madison, Jessa, and Ryan on all your hard work! I would also like to thank our local 4-H Shooting Sports Instructors that have taken the time to go through training and preparing our youth ‘To Make the Best Better’. If you would like to learn more about joining 4-H, we would be happy to talk with you about the opportunity.
For more information on 4-H Youth Development or K-State Extension call 620-793-1910, email 4-H Agent Ben Sims at benjam63@ksu.edu, or stop by the Great Bend office at 3007 10th St. Be sure to follow K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood Extension District Facebook page and check the website cottonwood.k-state.edu for the most up-to-date information about Extension programming.
