RULES - Solon Trapshooting Guidelines

1.  PROTECT THE TEAM

A.  SAFETY! 

-   All Solon student athletes are required to participate in classroom training.   

• New student athletes are required to attend two classroom sessions (each ~1.5hours).  
  Classroom sessions will consist of "Shooting Sports Orientation and  Safety Overview" and the 2nd training is "Preparing for Competition"  

• Existing student athletes (who are returning from active membership from previous year) are required to attend one classroom session (~1.5 hrs).  Classroom training agenda is "Rule overview, Safety, Techniques for the different disciplines and Preparing for competition"

•  Reloads are NOT allowed to be used at practice or competition.  
  THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, SST TEAM WILL NOT ASSUME THE RISK FOR ANY RELOADS.

-  All new Student Athletes must have a parent or guardian present at practice. This individual will need to help assist with scoring and safety. 

-  All student athletes are required to remain active with practicing this sport. Six (6) practices are required to be completed for each student athlete prior to the 2nd Tuesday in April. Student athletes who are registered with the team and do not meet this requirement will forfeit their participation for the remainder the season.

B.  BE POSITIVE.  BE RESPECTFUL.  - Support each other as a team.   - Student athletes should talk to the Head Coach directly with questions.

C.  RANGE ETIQUETTE (see below section for details)

D.  Rules of the team, SSSF, SCTP and Iowa DNR shooting sports will be followed.  

If there is a failure to abide by any of the rules set-forth, disqualification from an event (or events), suspension from

events and/or expulsion from the team will occur.   In addition, if student athletes do not abide by the rules, they 

are not qualified to receive a varsity letter.
Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) is the national governing body for the Scholastic Clay Target

Program (SCTP). Click the following link for the SCTP Official Handbook.
Click here for the old 2015 Rulebook: Iowa High School Clay Target Association (IHSCTA) Trap Shooting Rule Book.

When student athletes register to be part of the team, they are required to read the rules.  

Through signature, you and your parent's signature, you confirm to your understanding of all rules.

E.  PRACTICE RULES:
Practice is at Otter Creek Sportman's Club in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday and Thursday, and some Sundays. An Otter Creek Membership is required (this allows you to shoot during open shoots at this location).  We will have access to possibly two trap houses.  Tentatively the team will plan to practice from 4:30PM to 6:00PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Sundays from 2:00PM to 3:30PM, Otter Creek closes at 4PM on Sunday.  Any child not picked up at end of practice will be charged an Uber Fee from Coaches. 

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2.  NO EXCUSES

A.  OWN YOUR OWN BEHAVIOR AND DECISIONS.   - Student athletes have ownership and responsibility of their actions.

B.  NO DRINKING alcohol, SMOKING, or CHEWING TOBACCO.  - Will follow the Solon High School discipline guidelines 

C.  BEHAVIOR

- Student Athletes will observe the Solon School District Transportation Rules:

+ SCSD Bus Rules Overview

+ SCSD Transportation Brochure

- No Swearing or negative comments will be tolorated by Students and or family members. Please be smart about your comments at practice, school and at home.

     - Failure to comply may result in disciplinary actions 

D.  SQUADING: Is the coach's discretion.

- All questions and concerns regarding squading should be directed to the head coach from the student athlete. 

Squading will be based on a variety of factors including:- practice attendance and average scores, match scores, attitude, and team cohesiveness.  

- Squading eligibility is based on school guidelines.  If student athletes are academically ineligible for 30 days at the beginning of the season, they can attend practice, but cannot compete. when returning to competition these athletes will be placed on the lowest squads or shooting as individuals until they have a minimum of 5 official scores to create an average.

E.  Criteria for Varsity Lettering for Solon Trapshooting Team:

• Good Academic Standing (academically eligible for majority of the trap season & athlete must not have served in-school suspension or out-of-school suspension)

• Performance (Varsity student athlete participates in greater than 60% of the scheduled tournaments)

• Behavioral Requirements:  Student Athlete does not violate the conduct rules during the season.  Student athlete supports his/her team and squad and respects the coaches and adult volunteers as well as other school student athletes.

• Participation is required at the State Trapshooting High school competitions

• Abide by team, SCTP, ATA, and IHSTSA rules.  If this does not occur, student athletes will not receive a varsity letter.

• Citizenship.  Represent yourself and your team in the community in a positive manner.

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3.  BE EARLY

A. BE RESPECTFUL OF OTHER PEOPLE'S TIME.

 - Missing school transportation will result in loss of entry fees for competition, and student athlete will not participate.

 - Don't be late for practice. 

 - Any students late for a bus will be left and squaded down for the next event.

B.  BE WELL ORGANIZED.

C.  SET PERSONAL GOALS.

D.  The Solon Trap team will accept new members during the month of January prior to the upcoming season, registrations are accepted until 5PM the 3nd Friday of February.  
- Communication of the registration is communicated in school announcements, Facebook and email (using addresses communicated by the student athlete and families from the previous year).  Registration due dates are firm and cannot be adjusted.  

- Starting in 2015, all new student athletes to the team are required to have a parent or adult supervision at each practice that they attend.  In addition, all student athletes that are Intermediate student athletes (7th and 8th grade), parents or guardians are required to come to all practices where their child is participating.  The team accepts student athletes in 7th thru 12th grade. 

Note: Maturity and upper body strength is a requirement in this sport, and if your child does not exhibit these qualities, they may not be able to participate in this sport (no matter what grade they may be in).

E.  ATTENDANCE

The following are attendance requirements to retain membership in the team: 

- Attendance at Registration Meeting is required and completion of appropriate documentation that distributed by adult volunteers 
(if scheduled dates do not work, the student athletes should contact the head coach prior to the meeting to arrange an alternate time)

- Attendance at Orientation training is required for all new student athletes (if scheduled dates do not work, student athletes should work with the head coach prior to the meeting to arrange an alternate time)

- Attendance in Classroom Training session is required for ALL student athletes after registration requirement is met  (if scheduled dates do not work student athletes should work with the head coach prior to the meeting to arrange an alternate time)

- Team members must attend a minimum of SIX (6) practice sessions prior to the 2nd Tuesday in April, and remain active by attending a minimum of one practice per week the remainder of the season. (Competition Shoots are not to be counted as practice sessions)

F.  COMMUNICATION  
- Should come directly from a student athlete to the head coach, verbally and face to face.  
- Facebook and Email are primary methods of communication used from the Coaches or Board to the team.  Email addresses provided by student athlete and family at the registration and orientation meeting will be used during the season.

- Once competitions begin, "Remind" texting may occur as it is a method that teachers in the SCSD use to remind students of important events.

G. SIGNING UP TO ATTEND COMPETITIONS

- There will be a signup sheet the week before a competition that each student athlete MUST use to indicate their participation in upcoming events.  The due date listed on the sign-up sheet is FIRM due to coaches needing to squad online 4 days before an event. 

- For High School student athletes, indicate the discipline you are going to compete in.  

- If student athletes fail to sign up at practice, you may text or email Bev Birky before 7PM on the date indicated for registration. 

- No verbal, facebook or word out mouth messages will be accepted for registry for an event.  

H. CLUB AND EVENT PAYMENTS 

- Payments for competitions are to be paid prior to an event.  

- As student athletes register for the team, they will be requested to place funds into an account that will be managed by the Solon Trap's Treasurer

- NEW MEMBERS: Collection of Club fee $100

- ALL MEMBERS: Collection of $200 Preloaded Team Account (Preloaded account will pay for the following: SSSF/SCTP fee $20, Otter Creek membership $40, Iowa Trap Association Fee $5, ATA Fee $10) will be used throughout the season the Club's treasurer will notify families when account is near $50.  If funds fall below $50 and registration for an event exhausts funds below amount in account, student athlete will not participate in said event.

I.  RECRUITING  - The board shall assist with recruiting youth on an annual basis.  The coaches will assist with this as their time allows while their primary purpose is coaching.  

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RANGE ETIQUETTE 

Trap shooting, is a "quiet" sport which requires a lot of concentration for competitors to consistently shoot high scores. Distractions to the student athletes and disruption of the squad’s rhythm need to be minimized. Trap student athletes like everything to be orderly, and to follow an established protocol. Adhering to this protocol, or etiquette, also contributes to the safe conduct of the event. Accordingly, the following conventions are observed: 

Guns are ALWAYS carried with the action OPEN and with NO shells in the gun. This includes carrying your gun from your vehicle to the range, from the gun rack to the firing line, and when changing stations during a round of trap. 

Guns should remain in the gun rack and out of your hands until your squad is called. The closing of actions and racking of slides is dangerous and distracting to officials, spectators and other student athletes. If you absolutely need to check your gun or demonstrate something to someone, please do so well away from the spectator area and be sure your gun is unloaded and always pointed in a safe direction. 

Always ask permission before handling another person’s firearm. 

The squad leader is the person who shoots first from station 1. To start a squad, the squad leader will wait until he/she observes that all 5 student athletes are on their stations. The squad leader will then ask the other student athletes and puller if they are ready to begin. 
This is done by the squad leader asking, "squad ready?" and ask the scorer - "scorer ready?" 
The squad leader should make eye contact with the other student athletes and puller to confirm that all are ready to begin. The squad leader may then also ask to see one "free" target, traditionally by saying "let’s see one". 

Do not put a shell in your gun or close the action until it is your turn to shoot. Only one shell may be loaded. 

After the squad leader has fired his/her fifth shell at each station, the scorer shall read off scores of each student athlete for that station.  Once that is complete the scorer will announce "CHANGE" to the squad, or "squad out" at the end of the round.  If a student athlete does not agree with the score, do not change stations.  Raise your hand until the issue is resolved.  If the scorer and your squad do not agree with a dispute, the student athlete should show proper sportsmanship and agree with the final decision, then shift stations.  This entire process is then followed at the next station until all 25 rounds are shot with 5 rounds at each station. 

When changing stations, guns must be OPEN and UNLOADED. This means that no live shell or empty shell is allowed in the gun during a station change. Care should also be taken to assure that your muzzle does not swing past or point at any other student athletes and follow the rules set form from the SCTP.

At a station change, the student athletes on station 5 will walk behind the other student athletes to station 1. When ready at station 1, the student athletes will announce to the squad leader “ready on one”. 

The squad leader is always the first person to shoot after each station change. This means that after the first station change, the shooting begins with the squad leader who is now on station 2. After the next station change, the squad leader will be on station 3, and so on. The squad leader should not begin until he/she has observed that all student athletes are on their stations and ready. 

It is a requirement that all semi-automatic shotguns should be equipped with a shell-catcher.   

Do not raise your gun or move around until the student athlete ahead of you has fired. Also, do not distract other student athletes with unnecessary talk on the firing line. Unnecessary chatter or movement is also distracting to the puller and scorer and can cause slow or fast pulls or incorrectly scored targets. 

If a delay occurs on the line due to a malfunction or any other reason, any student athlete can call a "cease fire" which will halt all shooting.  Guns should be unloaded and actions open. 

Guns must be opened, unloaded and placed in the gun rack anytime student athletes are directed to do so by the Scorer/puller. 

Safety is everyone’s full-time responsibility at the range. Should you observe an unsafe act, you should always feel comfortable in immediately bringing it to the attention of the individual involved. Be firm and polite and no one will find fault with you for speaking-up.