The South Dakota State Trapshooting Tournament is back in Aberdeen.
The annual event, which is on a three-city rotation schedule, starts today with a warm-up day and concludes Sunday with the final day of state championships.
Randy Thomas of Faith, President of the South Dakota State Trapshooting Association, said while he did not know the exact number of shooters, he knows there will be many that will make the trip to Aberdeen for the tournament.
“I’m going to guess we’ll have somewhere around 220 single shooters on Saturday, and the doubles on Friday for the championship doubles will probably be in that 140-150 bracket, and the handicap probably in that 160-165 bracket,” Thomas said.
Thomas also noted that not everyone shoots in every division, and noted that is why the number of participants could be down from past years.
“For the tournament, we’ll have over 600-700 different shooters I’m sure,” Thomas said. “Not everybody shoots everything, so that’s the reason why numbers are down somewhat in the handicap and the doubles. A lot of people don’t shoot doubles, so that’s why we’ll probably be in that 140-150 bracket.”
There will be several divisions during the tournament, including six classes, as well as certain distances for the handicap division.
“Everything is classified. We have a Class AAA, AA, A, B, C, and D in both singles and doubles,” Thomas said. “And then for handicap, we have 19-yard shooters, 20-yard shooters, 21-yard shooters, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 27-yard shooters.”
Thomas said there are also divisions within the distances for handicap shooters.
There will also be world champion shooters competing in the tournament as well, and Thomas says South Dakota is home to several world champion shooters.
“South Dakota does have probably five of the top shooters in the world. We’re very fortunate,” Thomas added.
Not only do residents of South Dakota compete in the state tournament, but many non-residents compete for championships at the tournament as well. Thomas explained why out-of-state shooters are allowed to compete in the tournament.
“We have resident trophies and we also have non-resident trophies,” Thomas said. “To make the All-American team for the ATA (Amateur Trapshooting Association), you have to shoot at least three state shoots, so two of them would have to be out of state shoots. So, that’s the reason why out-of-state shooters come in.”
While he says he is not a very good shooter himself, Thomas said he enjoys trapshooting, especially when it comes to the relationships he has built through the years while attending trapshooting events.
“The thing that keeps a lot of people going is the fact that the only time I see some really good friends is at a trap shoot,” Thomas said. “It’s the only time I see my East River people is when I go to a state shoot.”
Although Thomas has been the President of the South Dakota State Trapshooting Association for 10 years and has been on the board for 20 years, he is retiring after this year, but says he still enjoys the sport.
“I love the sport. I love shooting targets,” Thomas said. “The people are phenomenal. There’s a tremendous amount of really good people.”
Thomas is also impressed with the Aberdeen Gun Club and their facilities.
“Aberdeen Gun Club is a wonderful facility. Your background for targets is clear blue sky, and orange really, really shows up in clear blue sky,” Thomas said. “They’ve got a great clubhouse, they run a good, good program. Jerry Brick does a great job there.”
While there is a warm-up day and club shoot today, the actual state tournament begins on Thursday and concludes on Sunday with the final events. There is no cost for spectators looking to take in some trapshooting action.
To find out more information about the State Trapshooting Tournament, click on the following link:
