2024 USA Shooting Winter Air Gun Championship

Match Dates: December 13 – 15, 2024

Locations: U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center USA Shooting, Building 3 1 Olympic Plaza Colorado Springs, CO 80909

This was our first competition of the year for Team 2026. Back in 2023, we had originally planned to attend the same event, but had to withdraw at the last minute due to a team member falling ill. This year, we had to go through the same procedures again—coaching certification exams, submitting police background checks, and other paperwork—before being allowed to lead the team.

The primary goal of participating was to achieve qualification scores, but of course, winning medals was an exciting motivator for the athletes, who had trained so hard. Managing 21 athletes as the only team official was incredibly busy, but we were all excited to be there.

Upon arrival, we found that all our athletes had been placed in the “Visitor” category. I immediately approached the Match Director to clarify how medals would be awarded. While some people criticize us for focusing too much on medals, I believe that in a competitive sport like this, medals are important recognition for the athletes’ efforts.

The Match Director explained that Visitors would only compete against other Visitors, as this match served as a selection event for the U.S. Junior Pan Am team. Therefore, Visitors were not allowed in the finals, but they would still receive medals based on their rankings within their age groups (U15, U18, Open), just like U.S. athletes. That seemed reasonable to us.

However, on the second day of the match, a U.S. coach approached the Match Director and argued that Visitors should not receive medals because it was an American competition. Suddenly, the rules changed. Without notifying us, some of our rifle athletes were added to the final list. By the time we discovered this, it was already reporting time. Our athletes had already left the range and had to rush back—carrying their rifles and gear, completely out of breath. Unfortunately, their heart rates were too high to settle into a proper match rhythm, and they ended up finishing with less-than-ideal results. One of them finished in fifth place.

Learning from the rifle experience, all our pistol athletes stayed close to the range after their event to check for finals announcements. But then we discovered that none of them had been allowed into the finals. When we inquired, we were told again that Visitors weren’t eligible. We pointed out that rifle athletes had been allowed, to which they responded, “Pistol is different.” This explanation wasn’t convincing, and after more back-and-forth, they agreed to check with the Match Director.

Eventually, around 10:30 p.m., we were told that five Canadian athletes were indeed eligible for the finals. But after so much back-and-forth, Norman Seth decided to withdraw. The remaining athletes were mentally drained. Ultimately, we managed to secure just one bronze medal. Three others finished fourth, fifth, and seventh respectively.

After the match, the bronze medalist stayed for the award ceremony. The others had already left due to the late hour. Around midnight, I received an email from the Match Director stating that Zack had also won the overall Visitor gold medal. I replied immediately, saying we would pick it up the next morning.

However, despite waiting until 2 p.m. the next day, no one was available to give us the medal. Zack and I had to leave for the airport. We left our mailing address with the organizers, and after three months, the medal finally arrived. The Winter Games medal was quite beautiful—but with international shipping and import duties, it ended up costing us CAD $57 to receive it.

Despite all the drama, over half of our athletes reached the qualifying scores for Junior Team 2026, making it a valuable and meaningful experience.