Haley Stevens: “I am pleased to report the 2007 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships will be held in Fairbanks, AK…”

“I am pleased to report the 2007 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships will be held in Fairbanks, AK on March 9 and 10. Forty-eight student-athletes will participate in this exciting competition. Although rifle is relatively new as an NCAA sport, 44 colleges and universities now sponsor rifle teams. Nationwide, hundreds of student-athletes compete in this sport. These young men and women are tremendously skilled--to score a bull's-eye in the smallbore competition, for instance, shooters must strike a target the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Remarkably, they are able to consistently hit this mark from a distance of 50 feet. Like more traditional sports, rifle has a positive impact on its participants. Marsha Beasley, the former head coach of West Virginia University's team, once observed: ``Rifle provides a wonderful opportunity to learn many life skills such as self-discipline, concentration, the ability to relax under pressure, goal-setting, sportsmanship and teamwork.'' Just as important, rifle teaches participants how to handle guns in a safe, responsible manner. It is also one of the few sports where men and women compete against each other as equals. Rifle competition has a great history in our State, and Alaskans are honored the NCAA has chosen Fairbanks as this year's host. The timing of this event is particularly fitting--2007 marks the 70th anniversary of the University of Alaska Fairbanks' first rifle team.”