MIT Sport Pistol Club

December 2013

 

A successful start

The 2013-2014 pistol season got off to its usual roaring start in September. The returning students help with recruiting and training new shooters, and then everyone has to get ready for when the matches start up, usually in October. Our first match this Fall wasn't until mid-November, but then we had 3 matches in less than a month.

We lost only a few of our top shots to graduation last Spring, with 19 seasoned shooters returning. As usual, there is plenty of interest in shooting at the 'Tute, and after a hectic training and screening process, the team now has about 35 students total. The beginners start off shooting air pistol to learn safety and the basics of marksmanship. Many have already qualified to move up to the better air pistols, and several are already shooting .22's.

Our first and third matches were both against Coast Guard, one at home, and then away. At the home match in early November, we took the overall win, as well as every team event except Free Pistol. These results were duplicated at the away match the weekend after Thanksgiving. Our second match was against Army and Yale at West Point, the weekend before Thanksgiving. We outshot Yale in all their events, and beat Army in Women's Sport Pistol by a wide enough margin to take the Women's Team aggregate. Although Army took the overall match, their winning margin was a good bit smaller than last year.

Three of our top shots in Free Pistol graduated, and that is now our weakest event. The coaches and students will be working hard to address that in January to be ready for the Sectionals and Nationals. Although it is traditionally a men's event, we had one woman who shot it last year, and three shooting it this year. We should be able to pick up quite a few points in this discipline, which will make us quite competitive in the team events. Our first chance to really test our prowess will be a match against Navy the 1st of February.

How can you help the team?

Since losing its Varsity status, the pistol team is heavily dependent on donations to cover expenses. The only way the team continues to succeed is through the generosity of people like yourself. There are 2 ways you can give:

  1. Contribute directly to the MIT Sport Pistol Club account at MIT: This account is used for general operating expenses of the team. Any amount is greatly appreciated. To donate to the MIT account, click here or copy & paste the following link to your browser:

    https://giving.mit.edu/givenow/start.dyn?designationId=2721334

    Please make sure that under "Designate My Gift To" it says "Sport Pistol Club (2721334)."

  2. Contribute to the MIT Sport Pistol Club account at the Scholastic Shooting Trust (SST), which is part of the MidwayUSA Foundation. This is an external (non-MIT) endowment for the team that helps to enhance and stabilize our long-term financial needs. Any amount can be added towards the endowment.

    For 2013, the Trust's founders are offering a very generous matching deal, with all private donations being matched 2:1. As an example, for a tax deductible gift of $100, the founders will add $200, so the Team gets a total of $300.

NOTE: The Scholastic Shooting Trust is NOT affiliated with MIT, and contributing to the Trust is not endorsed in any way by MIT. The Trust supports school shooting teams across the country, and has an account specifically to provide grants to the MIT Sport Pistol Club. The matching offer applies ONLY to donations to the SST, and NOT to donations to the team's MIT account.

To donate to the SST account, click here or copy & paste the following link to your browser:

http://www.midwayusafoundation.org/pages/profile-display-donor-list?reid=IphNA6%2bNGXE%3d&bbsys=0&bbrt=0

Then click on the "Donate Now" button at the middle right of the screen. This will lead you to a page where you can donate by credit card. If you prefer to donate by check, click here, or paste the following link into your browser:

http://www.midwayusafoundation.org/file/documents/Check-Donation-Form.pdf

This will take you to a PDF form to send in with your donation. Make sure you designate the "MIT Sport Pistol Club" as the recipient.

Thank you for your continued support!

- MIT Sport Pistol Club

 

pistol.mit.edu | 617-253-3296 (range) | pistol-exec@mit.edu

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