Uniontown Area to host meeting for clay target team
The Uniontown Area Clay Target Team will have a meeting for those students who wish to join the team at Fayette Gun Club on Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. The address for the club is 1435 Gun Club Rd., Uniontown, PA 15401.
The team welcomes students in grades 6-12 who attend Uniontown Area School District, or neighboring schools in the area. Terry Dawson serves as the head coach.
The co-ed team is open to new and experienced shooters.
The Red Raiders have had success since Dawson pushed for a team to be established less than three years ago, as Aidan Hair and Holly Piovarchy have been some of the top shooters in the district, region and state.
Aden Brame, Gage Burnsworth, Ryder Burnsworth, Isaiah Currey, Aiden Davis, Rocco DelSignore, Austin King, Jacob Marva, Kenneth Meadows Jr., Ethan Nicholson, Leland Park, Lillian Sadler, Rocco Tom, Laurel Vogel and Bethany Wise competed at the state level last year in 5-stand shooting.
Dawson understands there could be cause for concern when it comes to shooting, but he ensures safety before anyone can compete.
“Safety is No. 1, No. 2 is to have fun, and No. 3 is marksmanship,” said Dawson in an article that appeared in the Herald-Standard on Nov. 25. “We belong to the USA Clay target entity, and every kid has to take a safety course or have a hunting license to participate. There has never been an incident. We stress to the kids to treat every firearm like it’s loaded, and there is no room for any kind of foolishness. The kids and parents understand this. The parents have been nothing but supportive.”
Dawson also stressed in the story on Nov. 25 that every member of the team will have any opportunity to compete.
In addition to students from the Uniontown Area School District, the squad welcomed in athletes from Albert Gallatin, Carmichaels, Laurel Highlands and Turkeyfoot Valley last season.
Hair attends Turkeyfoot Valley and Piovarchy is a student at Laurel Highlands.