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More than 800 high schoolers were expected to participate in this year’s 2024 South Dakota High School Clay Target League State Tournament in Aberdeen June 8-9. They represent 49 high school teams from around the state.

This year’s spring league in South Dakota included 1,579 student athletes representing 76 teams. The organization is part of the USA Clay Target League, which offers trap, skeet, sporting clays and five-stand leagues to secondary and postsecondary schools across the country. Nationally, nearly 52,000 students participated in the league.

The program touts its availability to male and female shooters, who can compete on the same teams. And the sport is adaptive, allowing students with physical disabilities to all participate. Individuals participate in the novice, junior varsity and varsity categories. Teams use their top five individual scores in those categories to compete in the overall team competition.

The league touts its motto of safety, fun and marksmanship in that order of priorities. It also asserts itself as the safest sport in school, with no reported injuries since its start in 2001.

Former lawmaker, judge to head pro-abortion rights advocacy group