PRESIDENTS CORNER 

December 2022

Merry Christmas!!  Happy Holidays!!  On behalf of the FSSA Board of Directors, we hope your days are filled with the joy of the season.

A big THANK YOU, to our club leaders, coaches and instructors, and match support personnel. You continue to volunteer your time, talent, and resources to lead and improve our clubs, organize, and conduct shooting events, and offer training. It’s needed, and very much appreciated.

FSSA had a busy year…a very good thing!  A short recap of 2022 FSSA supported shooting disciplines, Juniors and Women’s activities is provided below.  Detailed reports will be given at the annual meeting.

High Power Rifle state championships for both Across the Course and Mid-Range were conducted at Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol Club.   

Smallbore Rifle Silhouette state championships were held in April at Gateway Rifle and Pistol Club (GRPC) for both Standard and Hunter’s Rifle.  The state Smallbore Lever Action Championship was held in October at GRPC.  Silhouette remained active with other Regional and local tournaments at both Chuluota and Geneva clubs. 

Smallbore Rifle held the Conventional Prone state championship in November and the 3-Position state championship in December at Central Florida Rifle and Pistol Club (CFRPC).  CFRPC also hosted multiple Smallbore matches throughout the year.  Their junior program is rebuilding after COVID with the recruitment of additional coaches and more logistic help.  Florida Shooters attended the Black Hawk open in Georgia over Memorial Day and also shot in the Mid-Atlantic 6400 in Palmyra, PA.  

Precision Pistol: FSSA was proud to support pistol teams at the NRA and CMP National Championships.  FSSA held the state pistol championship at Gateway Rifle and Pistol Club (GRPC) in October.  GRPC hosted an NRA Precision Pistol Regional in April attracting competitors from as far Arizona and Virginia.  In November, the Wyoming Antelope Club hosted the Sunshine State Games for Precision Pistol.

Juniors of Florida had a great year with traveling to summer camps at Ole Miss and West Virginia. Juniors also travelled to Dixie Doubles at CMP in Anniston, AL, Winter Air Gun also held in two locations of Colorado Springs, CO, and Camp Perry, OH.  Rifle Nationals were held for the first time since 2019 in Colorado Springs, CO, with juniors from Florida traveling to gain the experience of the range at the Olympic Training Center.  Juniors are preparing for the fast-approaching Florida State Junior Olympics to be held in 3 locations across the state in February 2023 at Sarasota, Hollywood, and Lakeland.  Lakeland is the also holding alongside the Air Rifle and Smallbore event an Air Pistol event.

The FSSA Women’s Program again supported a firearms orientation “Ladies Day” in November at GRPC, reaching 100 women with assistance from 40 volunteers. While the Orlando Ladies Day at the Range, held at CFRPC, was cancelled again due to the pandemic, FSSA looks forward to sponsoring and supporting them again in 2023.

Many shooting opportunities exist throughout our state, and the prospect is good for more events in 2023.  I’m especially grateful to our FSSA Directors for their leadership in coordinating and enhancing the shooting opportunities for our clubs, our members, and many other shooters. Well Done!

FSSA, via our Grant and other available funds helped support our juniors as they competed in various out of state championships, supported women’s training events, and supported FSSA teams at the NRA and CMP National Championships. 

For our members who are 5-year or NRA Life Members, the FSSA Board of Directors, earlier in the year, voted to endorse the upcoming reelection of Barbara Rumpel, Patricia A. Clark, Howard J. Walter, and Ted W. Carter to the NRA Board of Directors.  Look for ballots in the February 2023 NRA publications.  While there are many great candidates up for election or reelection, FSSA focused their consideration on support to Women’s shooting programs and/or support to competitive shooting programs.

Finally, to all our members, my sincere appreciation for your support of FSSA. As we close out 2022 and prepare for the joys and challenges of 2023, THANK YOU for all you do in the name of our Second Amendment, including the exceptional effort to get out the vote and support our elections.  Florida remains a pro 2A state.  

I wish you all the best of health, happiness, and good shooting for 2023.

Ted

Ted Carter

President

Florida Sport Shooting Association

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FSSA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. The FSSA website has a link for members and non-members to make a charitable contribution to our state association, and your gift may be tax deductible. Please consider a donation at http://www.flssa.org. Click the link "Make a donation to FSSA". The donation can be designated to any of our discipline programs, our junior activities, or our general fund. These activities are designed to promote firearms safety, to enhance marksmanship skills of those participating in the shooting sports, and to support our junior and women's shooting programs.