This is Gipson's letter to the ATA members. A letter should have been sent long before this one. Just my opinion. Will Illinois allow the Grand? Better chance in Ohio? April 20, 2020 To All ATA members, Hope everyone is well and that we can get back to breaking targets very soon. The ATA Executive Committee met via video conference on Saturday April 18. Please accept the following information regarding upcoming registered shoots. Regarding 2020 State/Provincial Championship tournaments: • 2020 Championship tournaments may be scheduled through November 1. • For those championship tournaments scheduled after August 31, scores and All-American points will be applied to the 2021 target year. • Trophy winners from these shoots will be recognized as 2020 champions. • For the post Grand American championship tournaments, the most recent state singles champions (2019) will be allowed to represent the state/province in the 2020 Champion of Champions event at the Grand American. • If a 2020 state/provincial shoot is cancelled and not rescheduled, in accordance with ATA rules, the Association will not receive an annual rebate from the ATA. Regarding the 2020 Grand American: • We have asked IDNR to inform us no later than June 15 if we will be able to start working on site on July 20 and be allowed to host the Grand on the scheduled dates. An announcement to the membership will follow shortly after. • The look back period for minimum target requirements for the 2020 Grand and AIM championship will be extended to September 1, 2018, rather than September 1, 2019. Regarding the US Open at Sparta: • We expect an announcement in the next few days regarding the lock down order for Illinois. A decision will be made and announced shortly thereafter on our ability to host the shoot on the scheduled dates of May 27-31 or postponing to September 9-13. The ATA staff remains healthy and active in processing shoot reports, memberships, and all other services on a remote and timely basis. Thank you for your support and dedication to our sport. Lynn A. Gipson Executive Director
This is going to be tuff for the vendors and suppliers to get all the logistics together on such a short time frame.
The Vendor's will feel the hurt the worst before this is all over ... They are the Stars and Main attractions at many of the shoots and have been for many years ... Some consolations should be made for them ... WPT ... (YAC) ...
I'm ready to write this year off. Maybe I can actually attend a shoot (if there is one) and shoot some of the program without worrying about customers. Handgun and semi-auto rifles are selling like hotcakes-shotguns-not much. Rifle and handgun ammo is flying out the door and shortages are everywhere. Distributors are running out of inventory and some are no longer taking orders. One of the main reasons is the lack of knowledge on pricing because manufactures are raising prices on existing inventory. This is getting uglier by the day. Unemployed people might be reluctant to spend thousands on trap guns, entry fees and travel expenses. Local, smaller practice and money shoots should hold their own. Time will tell.
Oleolliedawg, A lot of the shooters may not return to registered shooting. If they enjoy the leagues and fun and games along with meat shoots, they may write off registered shooting. I will save them money and keep them closer to home. Roger C.
Roger, I think before this is over there will be a lot of things that people will feel are not quite as important as they did before this Virus opened many people eyes to just how vulnerable we really are ... I personally know people who have had season tickets to many sporting events (Base Ball, Foot Ball, Hockey, and Basket ball) for several years that are now having second thoughts and are reluctant about the future ... There are and will always be the Die Hard fans that will let nothing change their mind but I think they are rapidly becoming the minority and who knows where clay target shooting come into ones mind under this type of circumstances on ones list of importance ... I make it a point to follow the daily reports (CoronaVirus.com) and get some of the Data they are giving out to the public, hoping they are even remotely accurate and not blown out of proportion or the minimums by someones guesstimates (Some are quite extreme) ... It appears this thing has not come close to hitting its peak as of yet though in many places it has leveled off considerably ... We can only hope and Pray this is not the "New" normal and they figure some way to wipe it out so the effects of it can die out ( diminish over time) and we can all get back to living our lives ... If I were the President or Governor I am not sure I would be quite as Diplomatic as they are while being questioned by the Media whores ... ( most of their questions are very ( mis) leading as they try to get answers and commitments of accuracy, that nobody has ) ... WPT ... (YAC) ... Trump 2020 , Stay safe and be well ...
"The ATA staff remains healthy and active in processing shoot reports, memberships," That is from Mr. Gipson's letter. I'm glad and pray that the staff remains healthy but what shoot reports are they processing? Are there any clubs shooting registered targets now?