Today marks the start of the 2023 National Air Rifle League. 131 high school aged teams in the Sporter League and Precision League start a 12 week competition towards their championship title games.
The National Air Rifle League is actually two leagues in one; one for Sporter class athletes, the second for Precision class athletes. Both Leagues feature an eight week regular season, followed by a three week post-season for the top-performing teams. Each week teams compete in one game against another team in the league. All games are virtual, meaning teams compete from their home range. Scores are then merged seamlessly on Scopos’ Rezults website to determine the winning team.
In the Precision class League teams shoot a 60-shot standing air rifle course of fire. This course of fire is practically identical to the men’s and women’s air rifle events competed in the Olympic games. In the Sporter class League teams shoot a 3x10 three-position air rifle course of fire. This event is a mixture of the air rifle and smallbore three-position events competed in the Olympic games with adaptations for high school youth.
During the regular season all members of a team may compete in each game. The top four scores from each team are summed to determine the team score. The high score determines the winning team.
Teams further compete within Conferences and Divisions. Teams are squadded into Conferences each season based on their historic performance. The prestigious Champions Conference is reserved for the best teams in the country, followed by the Distinguished and Elite Conferences. Teams included in the 2023 Champions Conference are listed below.
2023 Sporter Class Champions Division
American Legion Post 290, Stafford, VA
Bradley Central AJROTC, Cleveland, TN
C.T. Johnson AJROTC, San Antonio, TX
Jack C. Hays MCJROTC, Buda, TX
Kelly Walsh MCJROTC, Casper, WY
Kofa MCJROTC, Yuma, AZ
Mariner AJROTC, Cape Coral, FL
North Brunswick AJROTC, Leland, NC
Northridge MCJROTC, Greeley, CO
Norview NJROTC, Norfolk, VA
Pace NJROTC, Pace, FL
Pacific MCJROTC, Pacific, MO
Pascagoula NJROTC, Pascagoula, MS
Patuxent NJROTC, Lusby, MD
South Effingham NJROTC, Guyton, GA
South Panola AFJROTC, Batesville, MS
Trigger Time 4-H Shooting Education Club, Bristow, VA
Webb City AJROTC, Webb City, MO
West Valley MCJROTC, Fairbanks, AK
Zion Benton NJROTC, Zion, IL
2023 Precision Class Champions Division
American Legion Post 295, Green Springs, OH
C.T. Johnson AJROTC, San Antonio, TX
Camden County NJROTC, Kingsland, GA
Eldorado MCJROTC, Alburquerque, NM
Everett Sportsman Junior Rifle Club, Everett, PA
Fountain Fort Carson AJROTC, Fountain, CO
Georgia Competitive Shooters, Griffin, GA
Granbury MCJROTC, Granbury, TX
Lafayette Gun Club, Grafton, VA
Robinson Rifle Team, Burke, VA
Sutter Union High School, Sutter, CA
Teams are grouped into Divisions based on their organizational structure. In the Sporter League these are Air Force JROTC, Army JROTC, Marine Corps JROTC, Navy JROTC, and Junior Rifle Club. In the Precision League these are JROTC and Junior Rifle Clubs. The Junior Rifle League Divisions includes a mixture of teams from 4-H, varsity high school programs, American Legion teams, and traditional shooting clubs.
Division titles are earned based on only regular season results in the Champions Division. In the Distinguished and Elite Divisions, there is a single post-season conference title game to determine the winning team.
The League culminates in a three week, eight team, single elimination tournament to determine the League champion. To qualify, teams must be a member of the prestigious Champions Division and be one of the top eight performing teams from the regular season.
Last season, Lafayette Gun Club won the Precision class National Air Rifle League with a perfect 10 - 0 record. Lafayette Gun Club is from Grafton, VA and coached by Mark Teixeira. Lafayette Gun Club won the championship by defeating three-time defending league champion Granbury MCJROTC in the culminating title game.
In the 2022 Sporter class League, Pascagoula NJROTC won with a 9 - 1 record. Pascagoula NJROTC is from Pascagoula, MS and coached by Greg Goley. During the regular season they had wins over Zion Benton NJROTC, C. T. Johnson AJROTC, and South Panola AFJROTC. To win the championship, they had to outperform North Brunswick AJROTC in the semifinals and Webb City AJROTC in the finals.
The 2023 season has 131 teams total with an estimated 1240 athletes. 104 teams in the Sporter class League and 27 teams in the Precision class League. 33 states are represented in the League. Texas has the greatest number of teams with 18. North Carolina is second with 10, and Florida has 9. There are also 2 teams from Department of Defense high schools in Germany.
We wish the best of luck to all teams!
