Young Life Mississippi Gulf Coast is hosting their third annual Clay Shoot Classic this weekend in Vancleave. The event is a fundraiser for local Young Life groups and gives local outdoorsmen a unique way to enjoy the outdoors.
The Young Life Clay Shoot Classic will be held over two days, March 15 and 16, with the event offering three rounds. Two Saturday rounds can take 100 participants with 50 being able to shoot on Friday. The 10-station, 100-shot course is professionally set up and managed by Retriever Sporting Clays out of Fort Worth, Texas, on Lane Farm, which is owned by Susie and Jimmy Lane, in Vancleave.
The event began in 2017 with 70 shooters and grew to 170 shooters last year. They’re hoping to have at least 220 participate in this year’s event. The event is a fundraiser with 100 percent of the proceeds going into the operating budgets of the Young Life groups in Ocean Springs and Pascagoula, according to Michael Dees, area developer for Young Life South Mississippi. He said their fundraising goal for this year is $20,000. “We want as much of our time and energy as possible to be dedicated to direct ministry with adolescents, so we do the Clay Shoot in hopes that it’ll take the fundraiser pressure off our staff and local boards,” Dees said.
The secondary goal for the clay shoot is to inform the local community about the work that Young Life is doing in the Ocean Springs and Pascagoula communities. Clay shoot is often called “golf with a shotgun,” according to Dees. He said that many of the Young Life communities already have established golf tournaments, so the Young Life Clay Shoot looks to offer something a little different for the active outdoorsmen in the area. “… a lot of Young Life areas in the South have started switching from golf fundraisers to clay shoots … and have found great success with it,” he said. “It’s a really fun and really unique event on an incredibly beautiful property that everyone who participates in seems to love.” The Young Life Clay Shoot will be held March 15 and 16 with round at 3 p.m. on Friday and 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday. The cost is $125 per person. Participants play in teams of five and can register as a team. Individual registrants will be placed on a team.
The event is open to anyone over 18 or over 16 with adult consent. Register online at events.younglife.org/osclayshoot19 or find them on Facebook.