05/14/2026
Hello from the Empire State of New York. I hope everyone is doing well and out shooting some registered targets now that the warmer weather has arrived.
The 2026 Empire Grand American, held from Tuesday, May 5, 2026, to Sunday, May 10, 2026, is now history. The tournament was up 13.04 percent compared to last year. A total of 176,800 targets were thrown.
For the singles championship, Herbert Lewis was the champion with the lone 200, and Samuel Leiendecke took runner-up honors with a 198. During the double’s championship on Sunday, James Flint was the champion with a 95 and Herbert Lewis took runner-up honors with a 94. In the handicap championship, Frank Morton was the winner with a 92, and Samuel Leiendecke was the runner-up with a 91. In the High-All-Around, Herbert Lewis was champion with 383 x 400 and finally, Anthony Fortino was the High-Over-All champion with a 935 x 1,000.
All trophy winners can be viewed on the New York State ATA web page, www.nysata.com and in Trap and Field Magazine. This was excellent shooting by all trophy winners. Well done!
During the Silver Bar shoot offs, on Friday Evening, Chris Pollichemi won the silver bar donated by SOS Clays. On Saturday Evening, John Ruggeri won the silver bar, provided by the New York State ATA.
On Friday Evening, there was a free steak dinner provided to all shooters and guests, along with free beer. There was even live music.
Saturday Evening, after shoot offs, there was a free beer tasting contest. Both events went very well.
The New York State ATA would like to thank all those shooters who participated during the tournament. Also, thanks go to all those who scored and loaded trap machines, the kitchen, cashiering personnel, Michelle Mcewen, Terri Oswald, and Mallory Backus for handling the trophy counter, Don Neilson who oversaw classification, and all those who also helped. Thank you.
The 2026 Grand American will be held from Wednesday, July 29, 2026, to Saturday, August 8, 2026. Anyone who plans on attending and wanting to view the program for information, the program has been posted on the ATA web page, www.shootata.com.
Congratulations to Randy Moeller for being named ATA Executive Director and Grand American Tournament Director. Randy will have tough shoes to fill after the passing of Lynn Gipson. We all wish Randy success.
If anyone wishes to have something placed in one of these articles, you can contact me at [email protected] or phone at 585-519-9543. Please stay safe and healthy.
May God Bless.
Dave Cichelli New York State ATA Delegate
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