The sport of target shooting is one of the safest of all youth sports. Target or precision shooting established its record as one of the safest of all sports because it is a sport where the safety of its participants can be assured when everyone follows basic safety rules. Air rifle marksmanship is, in fact, a sport of control and discipline where everyone involved, including participants, instructors, coaches and range officials, are expected to know and apply the sport’s safety rules at all times. All competitors and officials must take a standard safety instruction class, pass a Safety Test and Sign a Safety Pledge before being allowed to move onto a range to participate.
JROTC Cadets are engaged in “Three Position Air Rifle Marksmanship” commonly known as 3P Air Rifle Shooting. The Range distance is 10-meters and the air rifles, powered by compressed air or CO2, use “pellets” made of soft lead, 4.5 mm in diameter (.177 caliber). The three firing positions used in JROTC competition are Prone, Standing and Kneeling positions. Precision shooting is just that, it takes dedication, hours of mastering the three unique positions, concentration, self-discipline and movement efficiency. Competitions are normally divided into two divisions, sporter and precision, of competitions depending upon the type and cost of rifle used and the muzzle velocity of the rifle.
The NEISD JROTC program have Nationally ranked Air Rifle teams and the 2013 Army JROTC National Champion individual in the sport and will continue to participate in the Shooting programs sponsored by the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and the All Army JROTC championships. The District has been very fortunate to have had many JROTC cadets receive NCAA Division I college scholarships for Marksmanship and educational assistance thru the Senior ROTC programs. We are just hoping one of our outstanding alumni will make one of the 19 Olympic shooting teams in the future.
