You've probably noticed that many shooting competitions for juniors are scheduled for the summertime, and the reasons are fairly obvious. One of the most prominent is that summertime matches are less likely to conflict with school and extracurricular schedules. However, there are some cool matches done entirely by mail that allow your young shooting competitor to compete on their own schedule ... no long car trips necessary! One of them is called the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) Junior Three-Position Air Rifle Postal Championship.
Shooting in the CMP’s Postal Championships fosters growth as a competitive athlete at a national level, while also promoting time spent at the range. This yearly match was created for junior shooters who are involved in 4-H, Scouts, American Legion, club or JROTC sporter and precision air rifle programs.
Here's how it works. Throughout the CMP Three-Position Air Rifle (3PAR) Postal Championship, competitors fire record shots at their home ranges in each of the three positions: kneeling, prone and standing. Interested competitors may sign up on the CMP website and compete upon mailed paper targets or fire locally on electronic targets. Paper targets should be submitted back to CMP Headquarters for official scoring by staff members.
This year’s Postal Competition will be open through Jan. 5, 2025. State CMP Championships are open Jan. 15 to April 15. Top scoring athletes of the CMP Postals will move on to the Regional Championships in Ohio, Alabama or Utah in April, with the culminating 2025 National Championships set to be held at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry, Ohio, June 19-21 (sporter), and July 7-9 (precision).
For registration and more information on the CMP Postal Competition or the CMP State Championships, click here!
