Hello, My name is Todd, and I represent the Albany Sportsman's Club in Albany, Mn. We, as a Club, support 3 School districts that have Teams that are part of the USA Clay Target League. It is the fastest-growing High School sport, with over 30,000 participants this year. As a Club, we sponsor nearly 150 of those Students in the League. The Schools that participate in this sport and shoot at the Albany Sportsman's Club are Albany Area Schools, Holdingford School District and the Upsala School District, all of which are in MN. I have also been the Head Coach for the Albany Team for the last eight years and have enjoyed working one on one with every one of the Students on the Albany Team. The League is for anyone between the ages of 6th grade and 12th grade, and Firearm Safety is required, and Safety is stressed every time we are shooting. Over half of the students do not participate in any other extracurricular activity, which has been phenomenal in getting these kids involved. We have students on our Team who physically cannot participate in other Team sports, and students engaged in every sport they can manage to find the time for. The greatest reward that I have been given is watching these kids grow new friendships, improve their skills, and show absolute pride in their sport, and for many, it brings them out of their "shell" and helps them grow socially.
The dilemma that we are facing is with our infrastructure. Over the last two years, our trap houses have been pushed by the freeze and thaw cycles in the spring, forcing us to condemn one of the houses with another on the same path. The remaining three houses (we have five total) are not far behind. It is causing the walls to be pushed to a point where the ability to hold up the roof is failing. This condition is also causing water to run into the trap houses, producing a constant need for sump pumps to remove the water, which can be two to three feet deep inside. All five of the houses need to be replaced as soon as possible as next year we will not be able to support the schools and the students who rely on the Club for their sport.
There are additional issues that need to be addressed as well. We offer three skeet fields for both Students and the Public, but one of these needs to be rebuilt. We also need to repair our shed, which houses our clay targets. It is being pushed out of the ground by the frost cycles, which has allowed rodents, birds and even wild animals into the shed. Once in, they tend to destroy targets that are on pallets. They dig into the boxes and break numerous cases of targets. This problem also poses a safety issue for anybody that enters the shed should a wild animal be in there at the same time.
Any funds obtained through this fundraiser will go directly to the needed repairs and updates so that we may continue to support what is a fantastic program for these kids. As an individual, a Club and our School Teams, we appreciate you taking the time to consider our Fund Raiser and to donate to keep these kids involved. I have included a link to the Clay Target website if you would like to know more about this great High School sporting opportunity for the kids. http://mnclaytarget.com
Thank You,
Todd
Top photo courtesy of Ludwig Photography
Bottom photos courtesy of Albany Sportsman's Club
Top photo courtesy of Ludwig Photography
Bottom photos courtesy of Albany Sportsman's Club
Top photo courtesy of Ludwig Photography
Bottom photos courtesy of Albany Sportsman's Club