Interested in bringing some new programs to your shooting range or club? Then join NRA Clubs and Associations for an upcoming NRA Club Leadership & Development webinar to learn how to start a youth program and how NRA can help you get started. The webinar will also provide an overview of the NRA Competitive Shooting Division's wide range of activities in shooting disciplines, for shooters of all skill levels.

The free one-hour webinar will be held this Thurdsay, March 22 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. You can register online or check out a listing of other upcoming NRA Club Leadership & Development webinars. Topics are offered to suit any club and offer great advice on how to make your club more successful.

Have a question or a suggestion for webinar topic? Contact NRA Clubs & Associations at 1-800-NRA-CLUB or at clubs@nrahq.org.

Receive preferred grant status as an NRA Gold Medal Club

Did you know that White Oak Rod & Gun Club in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania is an NRA Gold Medal Club? So is the Alaska Interior Marksmanship Committee, Florida's Hollywood rifle & Pistol Club and more. You can be an NRA Gold Medal Club too — but you only have about a week to get it done.

If you meet all the requirements, then print up an application, fill it out and put it in today's mail. Here's how you qualify:

• Be a 100% NRA Club
• Have a Club Newsletter (online/email newsletters are acceptable)
• Belong to your NRA State Association
• Operate (of have operated) an NRA Youth Program at the club
• Participate in NRA's Membership Recruiting Program

One of the biggest benefits of being an NRA Gold Medal Club is the preferential treatment you'll receive when it comes to NRA's Range Grant program. That means you can quafily for a $5,000 award that goes to the acquisition, development, and improvement of your shooting facilities. As a Gold Medal Club member, your application moves directly to the front of the line.

For more on how to be an NRA Gold Medal Club, go to the Clubs & Associations webpage at www.nrahq.org/clubs/goldmedal.asp or call (800) NRA-CLUB. The deadline February 15 so get moving.

With 2012 underway, why not start the New Year off with a new program at your club or range? The NRA Club Champion Challenge is a fun and exciting way to do just that - and to see who is the best all-around shooter in your club or shooting organization.

Getting started couldn't be more simple - learn more about the NRA Club Champion Challenge and register your event online at www.nraclubchamp.com. NRA provides the courses of fire to choose from and even provides awards including medals and belt buckles for champions. So what are you waiting for? Start 2012 with a "bang" by holding an NRA Club Champion Challenge at your range or club!

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As the winter chill begins to take hold, there's a rush to complete the seasonal shopping for all your Christmas needs ... maybe even a little New Years gear as well. To help alleviate some of that pressure, the National Rifle Association's Clubs & Associations section is giving away a mixed bag of NRA goodies.

Just go to NRA Clubs Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/NRAClubs, find the post on their December goodies giveaway and give them a like. And no, not every like gets a prize pack. They'll choose two at random after the contest comes to a close.

Included in the collection is an NRA knife, a Friends coffee carrier, a Law Enforcement carry-on bag, an Annual Meeting hat and more.

Just make sure to like their post before the close of business on Friday, December 16th. Anything after that and you'll have to rely on the malls and Amazon.com for the rest of your Christmas needs.

The December issue of Shooting Sports USA, NRA's Competitive Shooting Journal, features a special competition clinic held at the Scarborough Fish & Game Association in Scarborough, Maine deisgned specifically for women. Aimed at bringing more women into the world of competitive shooting, this successful event shows that recruiting new shooters can be as simple as making the classroom fit the student.  

Just For Women Competition Clinic

Written by David Petzal with photo by Bruce Fleming

- As any firearms instructor or coach can tell you, women shoot as well as men and are often easier to teach. So why aren’t there more of them in the shooting sports? Because getting women and guns to mix in this day and age takes some special effort. [Editor’s note: In our 2010 review of NRA Classification data, 9.12% of competitive shooters were women.]

A prime example of how recruiting more women shooters can be done successfully was provided on May 14, 2011 at Scarborough Fish & Game Association (SF&GA) in Scarborough, ME. Incorporated in 1958, this NRA-affiliated club has grown to 177 acres with ranges for ATA trap, sporting clays, 5-stand/ wobble trap, high power rifle, IDPA action pistol, bullseye pistol and archery. There are also 25-, 50-, and 100-yard utility ranges, all run and maintained by the 750-plus club members.

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Because we don't expect everyone to fly to Chicago to hear Club & Associations Marketing Manager Son Nyguen and NRA Board Member Herb Lanford speak about the latest in NRA Leadership Development opportunities, the folks over in Field Operations decided it was time for another Clubs Leadership Webinar.

Scheduled for November 10th at 1 pm eastern time, the hot topic this month is how to increase membership.

If that sounds like the webinar for you, sign up now by going to the Leadership and Development webpage and click on the registration button.

It's online, it's free, and a great opportunity to spend your lunch hour learning how to add more bodies to your operation.

Fairfax, Virginia - Every now and then, the National Rifle Association likes to reach out to our members for a little insight. Competitions likes to know if you're enjoying their tournaments and matches, Education & Training wants to make sure they're providing all the courses you want and Clubs & Associations wants to know about their hats.

On the bottom in black you see the NRA Clubs and Associations' hat for 2010. On the top in green is their hat for 2011. The 2021 hat? Well, that could be entirely up to you.

Sometime last week, the staff over at Clubs decided to open up the design process for the 2012 hat to the general public. And they wanted to make sure that no one was left out ... which is why we're telling you now. So how exactly do you get involved? Well, it starts with you going to their Facebook page.

Found at www.facebook.com/NRAClubs, scroll down to the October 24th entry on the hats and add your comments to the post. Have a favorite color combination? Maybe design a new logo? Or just switch around what's already there, just let them know what you're looking for in a NRA Clubs & Associations hat and your design could end up on your head next year.

Shooting USA just featured the NRA Bianchi Cup on this week's episode, and if you're interested in trying out the competition's unique course of fire, here's your chance. Peacemaker National Training Center is a new shooting and training facility that recently opened near Glengary, West Virginia. I've had the pleasure of shooting at this expansive facility, and now it's open to the public and accepting members. 

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NRA Competitive Shooting is releasing a new, more accessible version of its wildly popular conventional tournaments with the NRA Club Champion Challenge.

Today, NRA Competitive Shooting unveiled the “NRA Club Champion Challenge”, a new recreational shooting event for hometown shooting clubs, businesses and civic organizations. These events will be fun, relaxing, and will encourage your members to try a variety of disciplines and courses of fire.

What it is not is a high level competition using state of the art competitive equipment and the use of this equipment should be discouraged. Any club or organization can participate and any range can configure a challenge. NRA membership is not a prerequisite.

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