The “Kick-Off” weekend for the 2020-2021 Pennsylvania Junior Olympic State Rifle Championships, held at the Jerome Sportsmen’s Association indoor range, is now in the books.

This was the first such event ever held at the Jerome Sportsmen’s facility and Coach Rininger complimented his all-volunteer staff for keeping the registration and all other phases of the matches moving smoothly.

Mrs. Barron and Mrs. Rininger were stationed at the registration table the entire weekend logging in the teams and entering their “USA Shooting” information. The ladies answered questions and informed all participants about their shooting lane positions and time slots.

Five members of the Everett High School Rifle Team signed up for the match and two team members of the Seitzland Sting Rifle Team from East Freedom, PA were also on the schedule.

Sienna Chippie, Jerome Jr. Team member, along with her teammates shot in both the 22. Caliber and the 177. Caliber Air Rifle events on this opening weekend. Later, our Jerome Jr. shooters will be on hand as volunteer-workers for the rest on the competition.

 

Above are, Hanna, Elissa, Nicole, Ruby, Issac, and last shot is Zach, alone on the range.

Following Covid-19 guidelines all those entering the facility had their temp taken and logged in by Mrs. Klingenberg. This technique also takes a good aim and a steady hand. Don’t move Haley!

Thanks goes out to the “Target Girls” for passing out the bar-coded paper targets and backers to each shooter as they prepared to head for the range.

Another big thank you to all the members of the cleaning crew (made up of Jerome Team members and parents) for wiping down surfaces, brass pick-up, trash removal, swabbing the deck, and other housekeeping assignments.

The Range Safety Officers (RSO’s) started each match with a 5-minute video covering the special rules for this event.

The Range Safety Officers are a vital part of these competitions because a match cannot be held without a certified RSO on site.

After the safety video, Don Hammer, the RSO, added additional insight and tips for the shooters not familiar with this Olympic style format. Don is with Shanksville Stonycreek Rifle.

We have to thank these RSO’s; Don Hammer, Dave Strayer, Terry Altimus, and Craig Sprock for devoting their time, for this PA State Jr. Olympic competition.

Coach Rininger stated, “They all did a great job keeping the firing line safe and keeping the matches starting right on time.” He added, “The RSO guys all did a commendable job.”

The new Jerome Jr. Rifle Team Banner was displayed over the doorway to the range, welcoming all participants.

Thanks to Scott and Angel Mader for the Flat Screen and the wireless hook-up in the main lobby area. Great for parents and staff so they could keep up on the latest rifle results, individual and team scores.

Our team mascot “Bruno” was on hand as the team’s emotional support dog and he received much attention from most of the dog lovers in attendance.

Yes, temps were mandatory for all entering the building.

The JORC will continue for the next two weekends. When concluded, the official standings and an updated report will be posted here with a series of photos covering the entire competition.

 

See you at the registration desk next weekend for Part Two of the PA Junior Olympic State Rifle Championships. It’s not over till…