Camp Perry Archives -

COVID-19 Causes 2020 National Matches To Be Canceled

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused another major event to be canceled. The 2020 National Matches at Camp Perry have been canceled according to an alert from the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

After thoughtful consideration and reflection, the Board of Directors of the Civilian Marksmanship Program announces the cancellation of the 2020 National Matches at Camp Perry.
“This decision was not arrived at lightly, but was prompted by restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.  These matches date back to 1903 and have been held at Camp Perry since 1906,” said Judith Legerski, CMP Board Chairman.
“The health and safety of our competitors, participants, vendors, military support, volunteers and staff members is of the upmost importance — overriding even the historical imperative of maintaining the continuity of the Matches,” agreed Legerski, with Chief Operating Officer Mark Johnson and Programs Chief Christie Sewell.
“We were unable to come up with a manner in which we could safely produce the Matches.  Housing and pit duty were amongst the many insurmountable problems faced by the CMP Board,” Legerski explained.   The CMP looks forward to the 2021 National Matches at Camp Perry as the best marksmanship celebration ever!  In the meantime, please stay safe and healthy at home, as we prepare for the new normal ahead of us.
All CMP operations have been shut down since mid-March and a full resumption of business remains undetermined.  Full refunds will be made to those who have already registered.

The last time the National Matches were canceled was in 1950 due to the start of the Korean War. They resumed in 1951 and returned to Camp Perry in 1953.

Congratulations To Iain!

From a release sent out by Crimson Trace tonight:

Crimson Trace Wins At NRA’s Inaugural National Defense Match

(Camp Perry, OH) Crimson Trace’s media relations manager, Iain Harrison took top honors at the new National Defense Match at Camp Perry this weekend. In a neck and neck race with Team FNH’s Tommy Thacker, the two shot almost identical times during the first half of the match, until Thacker made a procedural error which cost him dearly. Marking a departure from the usual Camp Perry matches, the National Defense Match introduces a more practical aspect to the discipline and stresses speed as well as accuracy at ranges from 7 to 500 yards.

Match Director and ex-SEAL Trey Tuggle masterminded the event and brought in Swiss-manufactured electronic targets from Shot Response . Although new technology played an important role in the national match, the course of fire is designed to be adaptable to the club level. “We wanted to remove barriers to people enjoying competitive shooting and get more folks involved in the sport,” said Tuggle. “This match is designed to be challenging, but not so overwhelming that the average guy with an off the shelf semi-auto rifle can’t come out and play. We hope that clubs across the country will adopt the new format as a way of getting new shooters involved in competitions.”

The Camp Perry event received wide support from the firearms industry, not only from title sponsors FNH, but also from key players such as DPMS, JP Enterprises, Geisselle Triggers, Bladetech and Sinclair. Also joining Harrison for the event was fellow Top Shot finalist and Ohio native Chris Cerino.