More than 50 teams and 850 athletes will be competing in the South Dakota State Trap Shooting Tournament in Aberdeen Saturday and Sunday at the Aberdeen Gun Club.

One of the athletes is Aberdeen Christian’s Iszy Helm who is coming off a regular-season championship.

However, Helm said the focus is not necessarily on winning.

“I just want to have fun,” Helm said. “I started trap shooting because it was fun for me … so I’m just going to go into the tournament not set on winning, but just having fun and making good memories with the people who have supported me.”

Helm has been involved in trap shooting for six years and one of the reasons she is coming into her last tournament focused on having fun is because she lost that aspect of the sport in the last few years.

“I think I had a lot more fun when I was first starting out and then the last two years I took it too seriously,” Helm said. “I just wanted to win so badly, so this year I just want to have fun because it’s my last year.”

Helm hasn’t just enjoyed the sport itself, but also the people she’s met along the way.

“There’s a lot of support that you can carry with you for the rest of your life,” Helm said. “I shoot on a men’s league team right now and the guys that I’ve met through that are going to be really good reference for me and supportive people for me.”

Of course, part of the fun factor was getting to call herself a regular-season champion this spring.

“It was definitely fun,” Helm said. “Just competing for my best score and watching myself shoot better and better. Then, when I shot 50 straight, I didn’t even believe I did it myself.”

While Helms enjoyed breaking those targets, she said there were still anxious moments.

“It’s nerve-racking,” Helm said. “But there’s a calming experience that comes with it because you know what you’re doing right, and you don’t have that negativity in your brain from missing.”

Helm also talked about the experience of being at the state tournament.

“It’s crazy, there are a lot of people there,” Helm said. “And everybody can go; you don’t have to shoot a certain amount. I think it’s a really good experience for anybody to go, even if you’re not shooting. It’s fun just to watch and it’s a really big deal for Aberdeen.”

Helm said her family was a major reason why she got involved in the sport.

“My dad and my whole family and friends hunt a lot,” Helm said, “so that’s what kind of got me into it. And the culture.” ​Helm hopes to continue to be involved in the sport after high school as she plans on attending Montana State in Bozeman while majoring in animal science and pre-veterinary medicine, while also trying out for the trap shooting team.