NRA-Beeman Tour a Leader in Diversity

At a time when popular competitive sports such as auto racing, archery, golf, and swimming, are looking to diversify their participant base, one shooting-sports tour has quietly emerged as a world leader. The NRA-Beeman Grand Prix Championship for marksmen with disabilities, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary season, has achieved a level of diversity that is remarkable in many ways.

When the 12-city precision airgun tour reached this season’s midway point in late April, it contained the most diverse group of marksmen in its top-ten national ranking of any shooting-sports event in the world. The extraordinary list included one Native American, two Hispanics, two African Americans, and five female competitors, which is a diversity that few sports enjoy.

It’s not enough to be content with participation; newcomers to a sport must be mentored to succeed, which is what the NRA-Beeman Tour has done so very well. Dave Baskin, manger of NRA Disabled Shooting Services, first developed the NRA-Beeman Tour as a marksmanship series that would appeal to all segments of the population. To that end, certain complicated competition rules were simplified to make the sport more accommodating and rewarding for novice marksmen with higher levels of disability.

Another key to diversification was to stage events where they would gain the greatest public exposure. NRA-Beeman events are routinely held in community recreation centers, educational institutions, rehabilitation hospitals, sporting-goods stores, and civic auditoriums, displaying the positive qualities of the shooting sports to new audiences. These convenient locations also have made it easier to obtain media coverage.

During the 2005 season, the NRA-Beeman Tour became the first shooting-sports competition in the U. S. to fully include visually impaired/blind marksmen in its events. This advancement was accomplished with an air-rifle and laser-sight combination designed by Dave Baskin and built by the Crosman Corporation. The NRA-Beeman Grand Prix Championship is proof that marksmanship events can truly be one of the most equal opportunity sporting activities in the world.

For more information, call NRA Disabled Shooting Services at