USAMU to Host Pan-Am Selection Matches

 

By Paula J. Randall Pagán
U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Public Affairs Office
April 2003

FORT BENNING, Ga. - The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit will host the second and final selection match April 22 to May 3 and May 17 to 24 that will choose the members of the U.S. Shooting Team that will compete in the Pan-American Games, which will be conducted in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Aug. 2 to 9.

Approximately 200 shooters will compete here in International Rifle, International Pistol and Shotgun events; the Men's 10-Meter 30+30 Running Target competition will take place at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., April 24 to 26.

Soldiers of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit won more than two dozen medals at the first Pan-Am Team Selection Match, which the USAMU hosted Sept. 25 to Oct. 13. The selection matches are sponsored by USA Shooting, the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports in the United States.

The Pan-American Games, is an Olympic-style shooting championship for the Western Hemisphere, which is conducted every four years. Not only can shooters win medals and set world records at the Pan-American Games, but the Pan-Am Games will be the last chance for shooters from the Western Hemisphere to win quota slots for their countries to compete in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

The competition schedule for the final selection match is as follows; shooting starts at 9 a.m. each day and awards ceremonies will be held after the finals on the last day of competition:

* Men's and Women's Skeet, April 23 to 26, Hook Range
* Men's Rapid Fire Pistol, April 25 to 27, Phillips Range
* Men's and Women's Double Trap, April 27 to 29, Hook Range
* Men's and Women's Air Pistol, April 27 to 29, Pool Indoor Range
* Men's Free Pistol, April 30 to May 2, Pool Outdoor Range
* Women's Sport Pistol, April 30 to May 2, Phillips Range
* Men's and Women's Trap, April 30 to May 3, Hook Range
* Men's Air Rifle, May 17 to 19, Pool Indoor Range
* Women's Sport Rifle, May 17 to 19, Pool Outdoor Range
* Men's Prone Rifle, May 20 to 22, Pool Outdoor Range
* Women's Air Rifle, May 20 to 22, Pool Indoor Range
* Men's Three Position Rifle, May 21 to 24, Pool Outdoor Range

Media are invited to cover the matches and awards ceremonies but must coordinate with the Public Affairs Office before coming to post. Call (706) 545-5436 or e-mail paula.pagan@usarec.army.mil for more information. (Formed in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to raise the standards of marksmanship throughout the U.S. Army, the Army Marksmanship Unit is assigned to the Accessions Support Brigade, U.S. Army Accessions Command, of Fort Monroe, Va. The Marksmanship Unit trains its soldiers to win competitions and enhances combat readiness through train-the-trainer clinics, research and development. The world-class soldier-athletes of the USAMU also promote the Army and assist recruiters in attracting young Americans to enlist in the Army. For more information on the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, visit the USAMU website at http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/amu/.