The 2018 Daisy National BB Gun Championship, a 5-meter, 4-position BB Gun match is a wrap. At the conclusion of the match, the Wyandotte County 4-H team out of Kansas City, KS, brought home the traveling first place trophy. In a tense competition, Wyandotte County 4-H won by a single point over the Pierre Junior Shooters out of Pierre, SD. Pierre was shooting for the threepeat, after winning back-to-back National Championships in 2017 and 2018.
Erica Berger, shooting for the Gallatin Valley Sharpshooters from Bozeman, MT, won the individual shooter National Championship, winning by one-tenth of a point over Allee Smith (Pierre Junior Shooters). The score gap in the individual division was separated by just .4 points from first through third places.
Over 50 teams from across the U.S. competed in this year’s National Championship. Teams came from as far as Georgia, Oregon, Virginia, Wisconsin and Texas. The Daisy Nationals are held annually at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center is Rogers, AR, The event brings together the best BB Gun shooters in the country, ages 8-15. Teams must qualify for the event by coming in first, second or third in a state NRA-sanctioned match.
This year’s championship, which was conducted June 30-July 3, attracted approximately 2,000 shooters, former champions, coaches and parents. Any community or educational organization can form a team as long as it follows the curriculum outlined by Daisy. Prior to the match, every competitor takes a test covering gun safety and match rules. Test scores comprise 20 percent of the final score.
Jim Eberwein, who has been a coach in Kansas for more than 30 years, and is responsible for expanding and growing the BB gun program throughout the Sunflower State, was inducted into this Daisy Hall of Fame.
A final highlight of the event was an appropriate send off for a Daisy employee who has planned, organized and administered the event for the past 15 years, Denise Johnson. Known by competition BB gun shooters and coaches as the “BB Gun Lady,” she’s become a well-known figure in the industry and is much-loved by the community. She retires after 39 years with Daisy.
For more information on the event and instructions on how to create a team to compete at the Daisy BB Gun Nationals, go to www.daisy.com
