High School Rifle Clubs Soar In Popularity

posted on April 20, 2016
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There’s video games, Snapchat and another interest taking high school students by storm—shooting sports. More teens are training and competing nationwide, causing a boom in gun club participation. As Thomas Ciarula, coach of Potomac High School’s Robinson Rifles, told LifeZette, “Shooting is a great sport because, unlike other sports, men and women compete equally. All are welcome as long as we have the space.” 

It was common for high schools across America to have shooting clubs until the late 1960s. But as debate over guns intensified, involvement dwindled. According to Bloomberg News, the Minnesota High School Clay Target Championship attracted only 30 shooters in 2009. The same challenge drew more than 5,000 last June, as well as 20,000 spectators.

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William A. Bachenberg
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