PPP National Championships
By: Lauren Phillips Media Intern
Athletes Unite Across the Country for Progressive-Position Pistol Nationals
Air Pistol athletes from all
walks of life became friends and enjoyed both individual and team success at this year’s Progressive Position Air Pistol (PPP) National Championship, August 1-2. This year’s championship
brought a record 150 com- petitors to one of two region- al venues, USA Shooting’s In-
rica, who visited the Olympic Training Center and were able to get training time at the facility before the PPP Nationals began. This was South Africa’s fi rst time at- tending the PPP National Championships, and USA Shooting hopes to welcome them back for future compe- titions.
ships. In return, the SANSSU team signed a South African fl ag and presented it to USA Shooting.
Although the National
Championships were fi lled with many smiles and great celebration, during the awards ceremony there was a moment where many people believed National As-
prior to the start of PPP. Fel- low competitors and coach- es alike began organizing a small present to give the well-respected coach dur- ing the awards ceremony. This present, a tee shirt signed by fellow volunteers, coaches, and athletes gave Doucette a keepsake for all the memories from his last PPP National Champion- ships.
Assistant National Coaches Steve Faught (left) and Russ Doucette (right) with the hand-beaded rhino statue the South African Schools Shooting Union presented to be used as the perpetual PPP International Team Trophy.
National Pistol Coach Ser-
ternational Shooting Center in Colorado Springs(which held 85 competitors) or the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) in Fort Ben- ning, Georgia (which held 65). As athletes competed at the two locations, volun- teer staff from both sides of the country totaled the match scores and combined them for regional and over- all National titles. The West- ern regional also welcomed competitors from South Af-
The South African team
from the South African Schools Shooting Union (SANSSU) gave a hand- beaded rhino statue as a perpetual PPP International team trophy which will be on display in USA Shooting lob- by. A USA Shooting fl ag was signed by USA PPP competi- tors and coaches and was given to the SANSSU team as a memento of their visit to Colorado and the 2015 PPP National Champion-
48 USA Shooting News | September 2015
sistant Coach Steve Faught might shed a tear. This over- whelmed emotion came from Faught announcing Massachusetts coach and Assistant National Team coach Russ Doucette’s re- tirement. Doucette, both a dedicated volunteer and pistol coach for the Massa- chusetts Junior Pistol Team and an important advocate for the growth of Olympic pistol shooting nationwide, announced his retirement
gey Luzov announced that there was no way Doucette “could offi cially retire” due to all of his helpful wisdom and coaching to the sport. Doucette was able to lead his 2014 National Cham- pionship team of Isabel Macaulay (Concord, Massa- chusetts), Vladlen Vronsky (Brighton, Massachusetts) and Kevin Bennett (Bel- mont, Massachusetts) to an overall silver medal this year. Both of this year’s Inter- national Standing National Champions came from the Colorado Springs venue,
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