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The 4-H National Championships Overview

The North Carolina 4-H National Team consists or 9 Individual Shooting Sports "Discipline Teams". The 9 Disciplines include Shotgun, Smallbore Rifle, Muzzleloader, Air Rifle, Smallbore Pistol, Hunting Skills, Compound Archery, Air Pistol and Recurve Archery. Each team consists of three or four 4-H Members from clubs across the state. Competitors compete over 3 days with each day being a different aspect of the discipline. For instance, on day one, the Shotgun Teams compete in Sporting Clays, on Day 2 they shoot Skeet and on day 3 they shoot Trap. Hunting Skills actually has 9 different "challenges" 3 each day that include Archery, Shotgun, Rifle, Wildlife ID, Hunting Knowledge, Compass and Map Skills etc. Awards are given for the top competitors and Teams for each day and final Overall Awards for the combined scores of all three days. A complete State Team can consist of as many as 36 (4 per team). States that have a team in every discipline also compete for the "Sweepstakes Award" or Top State Team.

This was the 21st year of the Championships (it was cancelled in 2020) and it has been held in Grand Island Nebraska for the past 9 years. Teams come from all over the Nation. This year there were 33 States represented. There have been as many as 42 in previous years. Covid Restrictions limited the time for many teams to get ready this year, and kept some 4-H Programs from traveling out of state.  A complete Team can consist of as many as 36 (4 per team). Although the comradary between kids from different states is obvious and sportsmanship is considered to be the rule. This is not a "Feel Good Everybody gets a Trophy Championship". With Close to or over 1000 competitors, the vast majority of kids finish the week and head back home with nothing but a nice T-Shirt and some fond memories.

The State Teams

Each State decides how and when they choose their teams and how they practice. In North Carolina, we give an invite to competitors that finish in the Top 6 at either the State or a Regional Tournament. Other 4-H Competitors may tryout if they competed in that discipline during either the State of their Regional Tournament. The State Tournament is normally in September and so Tryouts are held in October. Except for Hunting Skills (always has to be different...Lol) The Hunting Skills Team is chosen from a different Hunting Skills Tournament normally held in January. Most teams begin practicing in earnest in January or February. All meet at least monthly. Some teams may get together and shoot other tournaments outside of 4-H such as the CMP Shoots, NSSA, SCTP or 3D Archery. In North Carolina a Team Fundraiser pays for competitors uniforms and Entry fee. Travel and Accommodations are on the shooter's family. Some discipline teams may also do their own fundraisers to help with the travel costs. This year the NC team finished 2nd in the Sweepstakes behind Louisiana. We also finished 2nd behind Lousiana in 2019, the last time the Championships were held. Prior to 2019, Texas or Missouri had won every year with the other finishing second, for 19 years! NC and Louisiana have now moved up with the elite state teams. This year 7 of the 9 Discipline Teams finished in the top 5 and 6 of those made the Podium with Top 3 finishes. Muzzleloader was the only Gold Medal team for NC. It may be due to how are practices and training are structured, but NC Teams seem to be consistently in the Top 5 for the daily competitions, which makes us contenders for Overall Awards. Most other States seem to excel on one day and then drop off on other days. Whatever the case, we are striving for Number 1 in 2022.

Our Davie 4-H Members at the Nationala

Our Davie County 4-H Shooting Sports Club has been represented at the 4-H Nationals since 2016. Stephen Walker competed in Muzzleloader that year. Stephen had a great experience, but it was a humbling experience as well. It did however, light a fire in him to return and inspired other club members to tryout. In 2017, NC added a Hunting Skills Team for the first time, coached by Nelson Cowden, our founder. It made NC eligible to enter the Sweepstakes by having all teams required to be considered. Zoe Staley was a member on that team and Stephen Walker returned again for Air Pistol. It was a humbling experience once again, but we did manage to make it on the stage for Air Pistol and much to everyone's surprise, the Hunting Skills Team found the podium on day 3 with a 

silver by virtue of the fact that all of the live-fire events were counted on the final day. We sure didn't know what to expect as far as tests that year, but we had kids that could shoot! The next year Zoe Staley qualified for the Shotgun Team and Jimmy Staley became the coach for it. Stephen returned once again, this time for Smallbore Pistol and Mattie Clark made the Muzzleloader Team. This time Mattie made the stage and Stephen Walker walked away as Smallbore Pistol National Champion!! Stephen had no first place finishes for the 3 days, but was always in the top 5. When the scores were combined, Stephen won by a fraction and TCYSS had it's first National Champion. Much deserved too! Stephen had practiced literally every day since the Tryouts in October, he even gave up his favorite beverage, Cheerwine, for all of that time because of the caffeine. 

In 2019, Davie County had 4 members on the State Team. Stephen returned for his 4th trip, this time for Compund Archery. Mattie returned for Smallbore Rifle and first time competitors Rebekah Walker for Air Pistol and Caleb Mathis for Hunting Skills. Also Maurice Walker became the Smallbore Pistol Coach. The experience began to show itself even more and everyone made the Stage or Podium. Caleb Mathis had the biggest day with a surprise Gold Medal on Day 3 of the competition and led the team to a Silver on Day 3 and Overall. Stephen, who actually competed in Archery with a shoulder injury didn't have the individual success of the year before, but with his help the Compound Archery team finished second. Mattie's Rifle Team finished 3rd Overall and the NC Team itself finished 2nd in the Sweepstakes behind Louisiana breaking the stranglehold that Texas and Missouri had on the Sweepstakes for so many years!

2020-The Year that Wasn't

After the Tryouts and Hunting Skills Tournament, the Davie County 4-H Club had 6 members heading to Nebraska for the 2020 Championships. Rebekah was going back for Smallbore Pistol, the "Family Tradition". Caleb was returning for Muzzleloader and first time National Team members were Jacob Durham and Stephen Timbinaris for Hunting Skills, Chandler Carter for Air Pistol and Samantha Taylor for Muzzleloader with Caleb. Unfortunately, Covid-19 arrived and all was canceled. Unfortunately for Chandler, he would age out and could not return in 2021. The remaining 5 club members were still eligible and planned to return in 2021 if they were going to be held.

2021-One for the Ages!

NC 4-H decided that we would plan for the best and hope for the best, albeit delayed a bit. Tryouts for the teams were held in January. Many teams decided to keep any returning members from 2020 and just add new members and alternates. In Hunting Skills we had lost one team member from 2020 due to age, but had an alternate in the wings, so we were set. We still planned to have the Hunting Skills Tournament although it was moved to February. The top finishers would be given the option to become an Alternate for the 2021 Team and a place on the 2022 Team if they attended the practices as prescribed. Unfortunately, in January, two of the Hunting Skills Team members decided that they did not want to compete in 2021 for personal reasons. We held the Hunting Skills Tournament and Davie County 4-H Member Naomi Hellard won and was offered and accepted one of the remaining two spots. The second place finisher was already committed to a different team and the third place finisher made the Muzzleloader team and decided to go with them. The 4th place finisher took the offer, but left the team in April to pursue other interests. So Hunting Skills was left with just 3 Members. (The format of Hunting Skills requires competitors to take written tests on various hunting related things each day of the competition...it's a deal breaker for some) It was not announced until Mid-April that the Championships would be held and turned out also to be the first National event held by 4-H Since the Pandemic canceled everything the year before. Also, Nelson Cowden had to remain at home due to an illness in the family and Emily Hellard agreed to be the Hunting Skills Coach while in Nebraska.

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This time, all of the Davie County 4-H Members made it not just to the stage (Top 10 Individuals and Top 5 Teams) but to the Podium for the first time ever. The Medal and ribbon haul for our kids was enormous. On Day 1 Caleb and Samantha won Silver for the Team and Caleb was 4th. Rebekah placed 9th and her team placed 5th. The Hunting Skills team with Stephen Timbinaris, Jacob and Naomi finished 3rd and Stephen finished 3rd as an individual. Jimmy's Shotgun Team finished 4th, and had a Day 1 Champion! Day 2 saw Caleb and Samantha once again on the podium with a 3rd place finish, Rebekah made the stage with an 8th Individual and the podium with a team Bronze and Hunting Skills made the stage with a team 5th and Stephen once again scored with a 7th place Individual ribbon. The Shotgun Team had yet another 4th. Day 3 was also spectacular with Muzzlelaoder wininning Gold for the day and Caleb finishing 8th, Rebekah's pistol team won Bronze and the Hunting Skills team won Bronze again led by Jacob Durham with our only Member with an Individual Gold and Naomi's 4th place finish. Jimmy's Shotgun Team finished 7th for day 3.

The overall awards were also great with the Muzzloader Team finishing First Overall, Smallbore Pistol 2nd and Hunting Skills 3rd. Rebekah also finished 7th as an Individual as did Stephen and Jacob who hadn't shown up as an individual until day 3 with the big Gold Medal win ended up 4th. Caleb finished 10th Overall and Naomi just missed a top 10 finishing 11th by a fraction of a point. Jimmy's Team finished 4th by less than one target for the highest finish ever by a NC 4-H Shotgun Team. As stated before the NC Team finished 2nd for the second consecutive time behind Lousiana, but once again defeating traditional powerhouses Texas and Missouri. 

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