The Washington herald., 1918-02-27
TRAP SPORT
ON BIG BOOM
Amateur Associ.
alton, Headed by Sousa,
Advancing Easily.

The American Amateur Trapshoot-
ers' Association, Of which Lieut.. John
Philip sousa Is president. was organ
lied in December. 1915.
II In composed Of amateur trap
shooters, pledged to the policy OF sd-
vancing the interest Of individual
amateur trapshooters. and Of local
trspshooting clubs. In the two years
Of its existence the association has
made remarkable progress.
During 1877, ~ gun clubs applied for
affiliation with the A. A T. A. bring
ing the total number Of affiliated
clubs up to 1.502. These clubs repre-
sent q total membership of ever GC.0o0
men and women. who are interested
in the sport Of trapshooting. During
the year 1,516 individuals Joined the
association
The A. A. T. A. has been w)rked
up so well that 1t now has organiza-
tions in forty-seven States, six Ca
madam provinces, In Alaska and
Hawaii. Fifty-two Canadian clubs
are enrolled. The officers OF the
association besides Mr.. Sousa are
DR.. Horace Belts. Of Wilmington,
Del. and Charles w. Billings, of
Oceanport. N. j., first and second
vice presidents; and the ritewr, secre-
tary and treasurer. The president Is
also a national vice president.
To encourage the individual shooter
to improve his scores, and to raise
his average, the American Amateur
TrapshOoters' Association offers a Sc
ries OF proficiency medals. which to
win, the shooter must turn in a GER
tain number of scores of q certain
average in each class.
A bronze medal is awarded in the
75 per cent class. a German silver
medal in the 50 per cent class.
sterling silver medal in the IS per
! cent class, a 10k gold medal in the 20
per cent class and l4k solid gold
medal in the 50 per cent class.
During 1917. a total of 1.O49 pro-
ficiency medals were awarded by the
association for scores made in club
shoots. Five hundred and forty-Ive
| new contestants entered the \. A. T.
A. medal race during the year.
Plans for 1918.
The plans of the A. A. T. A for
1918 are broader in scope and will ac-
complish more than ever before the
purpose of the association-to en-
courage regular club shooting and to
/ stimulate increased proficiency on the
! part of individual shooters.
The medal plan has been revised so
as to allow more members to take an
active partsi1 this competition, Cnu a
IS per cent solid gold medal is offered
for the first time. One of the chief
arguments in favor OF the A. A. T. A.
is that the contest for association
medals adds interest to club shoots.
The A. A. T. A. is to club shoots
NH hA Tnfa 4, e.
registered shoots. AS the Interstate
Association regulates the registered
shoots, contributes money and tro-
phies to them, and complies the aver
ages of the shooters who Participate,
so the A. A. T. A. confines its dl-
| tention to the club shoot features.
A new department has been organ
! iZed to keep a record OF scores made
/ at club shoots by all shooters. From
4 these records will be complied quar-
terly official club shoot averages. The
! compilation and publication OF club
shoot averages of the eatire shooting
! Eody of the United States and Can
| ada is a large undertaking, but such
| records will prove invaluable 20 hand
| leap classification committees, paI tly
in view OF the fact that class shooting
! is becoming more popular every day.
At this time when there rs impera-
/ tive need of a more universal knowl-
| edge of fire arms. and when every
nan requires regular periods of recre-
alton and outdoor exercise to keep
himself physically fit for his work,
| trapshooting has been aptly termed
I the Patriotic Sport"
Many of the members ct the A. A.
/ !. A. are already enrolled in the
| service and will be able to give a good
account of themselves when called
iron because they already know how
| to shoot, handle and take care of a
! gun. Lord Roperts once said, shoot
ing is seven-tenths of soldiers busi-
ness
Because trapshooting will fit young
men to be trained more quickly 1r
needed in the service; because trap
shooting takes men out in the open
! to meet their fellows in friendly COM
petition and sends them Jack to their
work healthier and more efficient;
and because trapshooting is so easily
available for all men, the American
Amateur Trapshooters' Association
expects to make 1915 banner year.