THE STORY BEHIND ZONE X
Zone X Skeet is a new organization formed in the Northwest to cater to the needs of Northwest shooters. The National Skeet Shooting Association formally recognizes 9 Zones in the United States. Zone 7 includes 13 states encompassing the entire Western United states. This is a large geographical area and the Zone shoot has typically required a person from the Northwest to fly in order to attend. Currently, there are no Skeet facilities anywhere in the Northwest that have enough fields to host the Zone 7 shoot so the shoot will never be held close to home for the majority of our shooters. The new Zone 10 is about providing our area shooters more opportunities to participate in a Zone shoot with their entire family at as reasonable cost as possible.
Shooters in the four affected states, at their official state meetings, voted 187 in favor with 17 opposed, to petition the National Skeet Shooting Association for the formation of the new zone. The petition was voted down by the National Executive Committee and was not allowed to be presented to the national board. Evidently an 87% majority of registered Skeet shooters in a 4 state region is too small a group for our National Organization to take seriously. The NSSA has been encouraging local clubs and organizations to promote Skeet at a grass roots level. The Zone 10 movement is about as grass roots as it gets so the refusal of the National Organization to even vote on the proposal is perplexing at best.
The formation of the Zone X shoot is our response. This will be a traveling shoot. In 2010 it will be in Spokane, Washington, 2011 will be in Missoula, Montana and we are currently seeking a club in Western Washington or Oregon for the 2012 shoot. Please come and participate in the inaugural Zone X event and help the NSSA understand the needs of the average shooter in our area. If you have questions or would like to be included on our email list you can email us at: ZoneX Questions
The voting results by state were:
| State |
In Favor |
Against |
| Washington |
34 |
0 |
| Oregon |
43 |
6 |
| Idaho |
18 |
2 |
| Montana |
40 |
9 |
| Total |
135 |
17 |
Zone X - A Shoot for Everyone
Zone 10 or Zone X as we like to call it is being developed to provide Northwest Shooters the opportunity to participate in a Zone Level shoot without having to purchase airplane tickets and travel excessive distances. Our goal is to make encourage everyone to bring their entire family and to make this a summer vacation event. The shoot will be held in various places around the Northwest and will be coming to a gun club near you. The Zone is still a large area but we encourage everyone to make it a family road trip and to come shoot with us. This year the shoot is in Spokane, Washington. There are many family friendly activities that can be planned in the area. There are a many local lakes, the Silverwood Theme park to mention just a few. Please come and join us for the fun. If you have questions please email us at: zonex@missoulatrapandskeet.com.