Shelby Township, MI - The University of Vermont (UVM) Squad - A won the annual Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) Northeast Fall Regional Championships, hosted by Smith & Wesson, by a mere 9.98 seconds over the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. The UVM Squad - A took the championships with a time of 270.38. The visiting Aggies, placed 2nd, with a time of 280.36, over the US Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) Squad - A, who took 3rd Place with a time of 331.32.

The match was held at the Harvard Sportsmen's Club in Harvard, Mass. on October 28th with Paul Dandini serving as Match Director. Rounding out the match was UVM Squad - B - 338.61, Harvard - 414.77, USCGA Squad - B, 458.98 and UVM - Squad C - 386.44 (incomplete squad).

"We are extremely pleased with the first annual SPP Fall Northeast Regional Championships and are proud of the teams and their performance, especially with the impending inclement weather of Hurricane Sandy," said Paul Pluff, Director of Marketing Communications for Smith & Wesson. "Even with the incoming storm, these college students came out to shoot and have fun; this is the one of the reasons we support SPP. We're looking forward to future events and continued growth."

The logo on the sign at the Harvard Sportsmen's Club (HSC) states "Good Sportsmanship Through Conservation and Youth Training Programs" and as a member I think SPP is right on target to meet that goal," said Paul Dandini, match director and SPP co-stage designer. "That's why as a member I requested we host this match. The SPP shooters are great to work with and I recommend all clubs adopt the program."

On hand to assist Match Director Dandini, was Tom Yost, SPP liaison from host Smith & Wesson, Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) Board of Trustee member and Glock SPP liaison, Ed Fitzgerald and SPP scoring guru Mike Critser.

The SPP provides the opportunity for young adults to participate in the exciting and challenging family sport of "speed shooting" in a safe and supportive environment taught by trained and dedicated adult coaches who are focused on teaching the safe handling and firing of handguns.

SPP is organized based on age, Junior Division (ages 12-16), Senior Division (ages 17-20) and Collegiate Division (no age limit, must be full time student). SPP is based on production center fire handguns firing at steel plate targets and offers an introduction to a lifetime sport that family members can enjoy together.

For additional information on the new SPP program or to register your team, contact Director Scott Moore via e-mail at jsmoore357@yahoo.com.

The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is responsible for all aspects of the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) across the United States, including participant registration, coaches, state coordinators, state and national championships, promotion, communications, websites, public relations and growth strategies The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation exists to raise funding and other resources for Youth Development Programs in the shooting sports industry.


SCTP and SPP are youth development programs, originally developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), where adult coaches and volunteers model sportsmanship, responsibility, honesty, ethics, integrity, and teamwork while using shooting sports programs to teach these and other positive life skills to the athletes.

To learn more about SCTP or SPP call (586) 7397-SCTP (7287) or visit their website a www.shootsctp.org.