Third Annual Camp Perry Open Hits New Marks

Written by Sommer Wood, CMP Program Manager

Temperatures dipped into the negatives in Northern Ohio over the Camp Perry Open weekend, but that did not detour over 200 competitors from attending the event.

In 2007, the first Camp Perry Junior Open took place at CMP North Headquarters in Camp Perry, OH. At the time, CMP staff had no idea if they would be able to generate interest for a new match held in the middle of the Ohio winter. Plans had not even been developed yet for the Camp Perry Marksmanship Center, so the match was to take place on a temporary 20-point range. To CMP’s pleasant surprise all three relays of the 3x20 air rifle match filled and the event earned a permanent slot on the CMP Events Calendar.

The opening of the CMP's new Camp Perry Marksmanship Center in the summer of 2008 meant there would be plenty of room for growth in the 2009 Camp Perry Open program. The decision was made to expand the weekend from a 3x20 junior match and clinic to an entire weekend of shooting that included a two-day International Standing event.

The match was scheduled to take place over the MLK Holiday weekend, on 16-18 January. With an expanded program and new facilities, it quickly drew attention. Shooters from both the U.S. National Team and the Army Marksmanship Unit signed up, and some of the top juniors in the country registered for the entire weekend.

CMP Program Manager Brad Donoho (left) Dave Johnson, USAS National Team Coach (center), and DCM Gary Anderson track the 32 competitors in the first round of the Super Final held on Sunday. This elimination event was a huge hit for both competitors and spectators.

In all, 22 teams and 121 competitors entered the Three-Position Air Rifle Match, which offered relays on Friday and Saturday. The Standing Match had 36 women and 47 men, and was a two-day aggregate shot over Saturday and Sunday. Competitors traveled from as far away as Alaska to participate, and there were even two shooters from Canada who made the trip to Camp Perry to add an international flavor to the match.

CMP’s new 80-point electronic air gun range was a major contributing factor to the success of the expanded Camp Perry Open. Shooters were willing to brave temperatures as low as -13ºF and snowy weather to make the trip. Another attractive feature of the match was CMP’s efforts to minimize costs for competitors by providing free housing in the barracks on post. For those who didn’t want the full Camp Perry experience, lodging could be found in Port Clinton for as low as $25. All this made the Camp Perry Open hard to pass up.

Family members and supporters who could not make the trip were able to track their shooters shot-by-shot with CMP’s brand new internet score tracking system. This new program allowed viewers on the web to click on any competitor's name and view each shot exactly as it was displayed on that shooter’s MegaLink screen in the range. For the first time internet viewers not only knew the competitors live score, but could also see exactly where each shot hit the target. In addition to this advancement in score tracking, a PDF plotting the competitor’s shots in 10-shot strings could also be downloaded from the results page.

Some shooters used hair dryers to warm up rifles that had been sitting in sub-zero temperatures in the their cars. This is just one of the unique challenges posed by the extreme weather over the Camp Perry Open weekend.

With the large turnout of shooters, there were some great scores shot over the weekend. In the Three-Position Air Rifle 3x20 event, Emily Holsopple of Wilcox, PA entered the Precision final in first place with a 591, but Jamie Dutton of Eagle River, AK was just a point behind her with a 590. Dutton went on to shoot an impressive 101.3 final to overcome Holsopple 691.3 to 690.8. In the Sporter class Yvonne Swiontek of Beach Park, IL entered the final with a 540 and an eight-point lead over second place. Swiontek extended her lead with a strong 90 in the final to win the Sporter Class by 10-points with a 630.0.

There was also a team competition included in the 3x20 match. Teams were comprised of four shooters and the event was broken into Sporter and Precision classes. The top team in the Sporter class was Zion Benton HS of Zion, IL that shot a combined team score of 2112 to claim first place. In the Precision class, the Borealis Bulleyes from Anchorage, AK took first place with a team score of 2311.

After the conclusion of the 3x20 event, many juniors stuck around to compete in the International Standing Match, and participate in a USAMU clinic held on Saturday evening. The clinic covered topics from handling match contingencies to how to make the 2012 Olympic Team, and ended with a question and answer session with members of both the AMU and USA Shooting National Team.

The International Standing Match was a two-day event, with a final held each day. Competitor’s two-day aggregate scores and final average were used to determine match winners. The event was broken into a Men’s 60-shot and a Women’s 40-shot standing match with Open and Junior classes. In the Men’s Open event, Matthew Wallace of Colorado Springs, CO held off fellow U.S. National Team member Matthew Rawlings of Wharton, TX by just 1.15 points. Wallace shot a 1290.65 aggregate to Rawlings’ 1289.5 to claim first place. In the Men’s Junior class, Jimmie Cooper of Columbus, GA had a commanding 20.75-point lead to win with a 1255.7 aggregate score.

With only four competitors left standing in the Super Final, members of the U.S. National Team provided an extra distraction by making noise behind the shooters. The entire spectator crowd joined in on making noise to cheer on the finalists.

The Women’s Open event was won decisively by 2008 Olympian Jamie Beyerle of Lebanon, PA who shot a 892.3 aggregate to give her a 6.8-point lead over second place. The Women’s Junior event was a little closer with Alivia Yeager of Louisville, KY shooting a 103.5 final on the second day of competition in an attempt to climb out of second place. In the end though, Emily Holsopple’s aggregate score of 882.2 proved too much for Yeager, who shot an 880 aggregate. Holsopple and Yeager finished first and second respectively in the Women’s Junior class.

After the International Standing Match concluded, there was one more fun event on the schedule for the 2009 Camp Perry Open. On Sunday afternoon a Super Final was held between the top 32 competitors from the International Standing Match, the top 16 men and top 16 women. The event was an elimination match held in rounds until there was only one shooter left standing. The first round was a 10-shot final to determine the top eight men and women from the original field of 32 competitors. In the second round, men and women were bracketed against each other for head-to-head competition, much like the NCAA basketball bracket system. In the head-to head match-ups, competitors fired one shot, and the highest score between the two paired competitors was awarded one point. This was repeated until one of the two shooters earned five total points, with the winner advancing to the next round. The rounds continued until there was only one shooter left standing.

The International Standing Match was a new addition to the Camp Perry Open program, and it drew a large number of shooters in its first year. From left to right, Emily Holsopple was the Women's Junior Champion, Jamie Beyerle was the Women's Open Champion, Jimmie Cooper was the Men's Junior Champion and Matthew Wallace was the Men's Open Champion of the 2009 Camp Perry Open International Standing event.

The final round of the 2009 Camp Perry Open Super Final pitted junior Alivia Yeager versus U.S. National Team member Matthew Rawlings. Earlier that day Yeager had shot an impressive 103.5 final and she maintained her strong performance through the Super Final. In the final round, however, Rawlings’ experience proved too much and he claimed first place. As an extra incentive, a grand prize of $200 was awarded to Rawlings for winning the Super Final, and smaller cash awards were given for second through eight place.

Despite the weather, the improved 2009 Camp Perry Open was a great success. Congratulations to all the competitors and thank you to all of the coaches, parents and volunteers who helped make this event possible. The 2010 Camp Perry Open is already on the CMP Events Calendar for 15-17 January 2010. Start watching the CMP homepage this coming fall for the complete program and registration forms. For complete results from the 2009 Camp Perry Open go to, http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_matchResult.cgi?matchID=3950. Photos from the event are posted at http://www.odcmp.com/Photos.htm.

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