USA Clay Target League Kicks Off Fall Season With 16,913 Student Athletes Nationwide

Posted on: Sep 21, 2026

For Immediate Release

September 22nd, 2026

USA Clay Target League Kicks Off Fall Season With 16,913 Student Athletes Nationwide

Eagan, Minnesota – The fall season is underway for 16,913 student athletes participating in USA Clay Target League (USACTL) programs. Those athletes are competing on 1,163 high school, college, and homeschool teams across the country, supported by thousands of coaches, team staff, and other volunteers.

"The Fall Season continues to grow as more and more schools join the League to provide safe, outdoor participation opportunities to their students. Just this fall we're welcoming 32 new schools to the League, along with with established school teams that have expanded to add our fall season." said John Nelson, President of the USA Clay Target League. "Fall is the perfect time for teams to recruit new students, it's also a great opportunity for existing athletes to continue to continue to have fun representing their school in a sport they love."

For high school athletes, the fall season is already underway and will conclude at the end of October. For college athletes, the League's Fall Season culminates in the USA College Clay Target League National Championship over Halloween weekend.

About the USA Clay Target League

The non-profit USA Clay Target League provides clay target shooting sports opportunities to over 57,000 students on nearly 2,200 school-approved teams across America each year. Including trap, skeet, sporting clays, and 5-stand programs, the League is the leading provider of clay target shooting sports to secondary and post-secondary schools across the country.

The USA High School Clay Target League is the only 100% school-approved clay target shooting sport program in America. Every team must have school approval to participate. Most participating schools have lettering programs as well as yearbook inclusion for the teams. In addition, tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships are provided to qualifying seniors by the League and post-secondary institutions each year.

The League's co-ed and adaptive nature are key attractions to schools nationwide: it's fully Title IX compliant with both male and female athletes competing on the same team, and it's an 'adaptive' sport, which allows students with physical disabilities to take part.

The League's priorities are safety, fun, and marksmanship – in that order.
The League is the safest sport in school, with not one reported injury since the inception of the League in 2001. Each athlete must complete firearm safety certification before participation.

Visit http://usaclaytarget.com for more information.

Media Contact: Drew Tri | Email: dtri@usaclaytarget.com