Rising To The Challenge

Story and photos by Kerrin Brinkman
NRA Media Relations

2010's Youth Hunter Education Challenge

A sea of blaze orange at the YHEC Opening Ceremonies.

With his bow in his hand and his quiver at his hip, 13-year-old Elijah Dupre smiled at his father as he had done many times before. But this time, the father and son from Jeanerette, La., weren't hunting—they were competing in the 2010 NRA International Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC).

Over 350 young hunters from across the country traveled to Mansfield, Pa., to put their hunting skills and knowledge to the ultimate test. Held July 26-30, the International YHEC saw participants and their coaches compete in different hunting and outdoor-related events at the national level.

After competing in Louisiana at the state level, Elijah was glad to have the chance to train and compete with his coach and father, Scott, and to use the skills he has learned through both the YHEC program and his father.

"I get to see how he does at Nationals," said Elijah of competing alongside his father. "He helped teach me safety and all about hunting."

But this is not Scott's first experience with YHEC.

Firestarting without a match? Can do!

In fact, YHEC has been an activity in the Dupre family now for two generations. Scott participated in the YHEC program and competed four times as a young man. As a father, he encouraged Elijah to get involved and now coaches his son's team, the Bayou Bandits.

"I'm very proud, for sure. It brings back a lot of memories," said Scott of returning to YHEC with his son.

YHEC is a family tradition for the Dupres, but it can just as easily lead to quality time for all families. "YHEC keeps the future of hunting alive and it's good family time with the kids," continued Scott.

Bob Davis, Manager of NRA's Hunter Services Department, echoed this sentiment as he addressed the crowd during YHEC's Opening Ceremonies. To Davis, the participants, coaches, parents and volunteers involved in YHEC are part of the reason why the sport of hunting still exists despite threats from legislators and animal-rights activists.

If you’re going to be spending time in the outdoors, orienteering skills are critical.

"You are the backbone of hunting. You make hunting possible, and you are the future of hunting," said Davis.

For this year's competition, these words were especially meaningful. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the YHEC program, celebrating the past, present and future success of hunting and the shooting sports. Since YHEC began in 1985, more than 1.3 million young people have benefited from the program, known as North America's most comprehensive hunter education program for youth.

Local, state and regional YHEC competitions are held every year, with the most skilled competitors advancing to the International YHEC to see how they measure up against their peers. Participants can compete in teams of five and as individuals, divided into the junior (14 and under) or senior (15 to 18) age categories, with coaches competing alongside their teams. Over the course of four days, participants compete in eight different events in a true test of mind and marksmanship. Each event is worth a total of 300 points, for a maximum total of 2,400 points for an individual, or 12,000 for a team.

Four events are designed to test the competitors' hunting and outdoor knowledge. Known as the "Responsibility Events," these four challenges focus on a variety of skills used in the field such as orienteering and wildlife identification. The other Responsibility Events are the Hunter Safety Trail (which covers safety, ethics and decision making), and the Hunter Responsibility Exam, which is a multiple-choice test covering all areas of hunting and outdoor knowledge. The remaining four events are all about marksmanship and are aptly known as the "Shooting Events." The Shotgun, Muzzleloading, .22-Caliber Rifle and Archery events have participants literally setting their sights on the prize. While all the events are fun and challenging, each participant has his or her favorite.

"I like Wildlife Identification the most," said 11-year-old Jarrod Rathbun of Troy, Pa. "I studied a lot and I'm good at identifying most wildlife."

Others are big fans of the shooting events, like 14-year-old Garrett Matthews and 11-year-old Chace Lagle from Davie County, N.C.

"I like what I'm best at—shotgun!" said Matthews.

"It's so fun," chimed in Lagle. "I love shooting the clays in the air."

But some competitors just can't pick a favorite event. Jeremiah Martin, a 14-year-old from Canton, Pa., was at the International YHEC for the first time and couldn't decide which event he liked best.

2010 YHEC Results Junior Individual Overall Winners NAME TEAM SCORE Hunter Efird North Carolina Park Ridge Sharpshooters 1945 Bryce Bason Pennsylvania Junior Blue 1770 Lea Efird North Carolina Park Ridge Sharpshooters 1767 Senior Individual Overall Winners Levi Epps North Carolina Park Ridge Sharpshooters 2015 Jason LeVan Pennsylvania Senior Gold 1929 Billy Janos North Carolina Forbush Red 1899 Junior Team Overall Winners Hunter Efird Lea Efird Shannon Efird David Singletary Dalton Huneycutt Heath Erifd – Coach North Carolina Park Ridge Sharpshooters 8479 Bryce Bason Jacob Dinger Ryan Haller Nicholas Paroda Clint Reichert Beth Bason – Coach Pennsylvania Junior Blue 7629 Reed Koozer David Leavitt Dustin Harrold Kayla Pieren Brian Staebler-Siewell Terry Leavitt – Coach Oregon Junior Team 7528 Senior Team Overall Winners Zachary Bixby Jason LeVan Garrett Rathbun Samuel Antes Cody Wolfe Jeff Castle – Coach Pennsylvania Senior Gold 8637 Austin Barnhart Vincent DiSante Travis Forrest Bradley Huber Timothy Unverdorben James DiSante – Coach Pennsylvania Senior Blue 8605 Nicholas Doub Anthony McClelland II Billy Janos Nick Kiter Caleb Reavis Dink Reavis – Coach North Carolina Forbush High School Senior Red 8581

"Shotgun was definitely a challenge, but it's all just a blast," said Martin with a smile. "You have to study more, a lot more. I knew it would be tough, but it's been really fun."

Jeremiah's father Jerry is happy that his son has found an activity to improve his hunting and that gives him a sense of belonging.

"He's a much better hunter than I ever was at his age," said Jerry proudly. "He's found something that he really likes, it's his niche."

Although the focus of the participants and their coaches was on the competition, everyone still found time to let loose and relax during special events held in the evenings. From the Flu-Flu Arrow Shoot, to the Swap Meet and the Turkey Shoot, there was plenty of fun to be had when the competition wasn't being held. On the final night, after the competition had drawn to a close, everyone gathered for the most anticipated event of the year: the infamous Tug of War. Last year, heavy rains in New Mexico made for one muddy battle, but this year the teams had dry ground with plenty of traction to pull themselves to victory.

Once the fun was over, the young hunters, coaches and families waited anxiously to find out who would be crowned as champions in 2010. Last year, participants from North Carolina Forbush teams captured top honors in both team and junior individual categories, but the crew from Pennsylvania was hoping that a home-turf advantage would pay off with a win.

As it turned out, Pennsylvania was able to secure some top spots on the leaderboard, but North Carolina's Park Ridge Sharpshooters dominated in both categories. Hunter Efird of the Park Ridge team took first in the junior category with an impressive score of 1945, placing in the top three in six out of eight events. Pennsylvania's Bryce Bason captured a second-place finish in the junior category with a score of 1770, and a top finish in the Archery Event. Hunter's cousin and teammate Lea Efird took third place with a score of 1767 after winning the Muzzleloading Event and scoring a perfect score of 300 on the Hunter Responsibility Exam.

After a third-place finish in 2009, Hunter and Lea's high scores this year helped earn their team, the North Carolina Park Ridge Sharpshooters, a first-place finish with a score of 8479. Led by Bryce Bason, the Pennsylvania Junior Blue team scored 7629 to take home a second-place finish, and the Oregon Junior Team rounded out the category in third with a score of 7528.

"It was fun, and I'm proud of the team," said Hunter Efird, who spoke of his team's dedication. "We've practiced for months, 24/7, and have been getting up at 6:00 a.m. all week to compete."

Coach Eric Efird knew his team was hungry for first place after 2009's third-place finish. "These kids set their sights on this after last year and they've been training for months," said Eric.

In the senior category, Levi Epps with the North Carolina Park Ridge Sharpshooters came in first with an incredible score of 2015 after top-three finishes in five events. Jason LeVan of the Pennsylvania Senior Gold took second place for the third year in a row after scoring a 1929 and winning the Wildlife Identification Event. Wrapping up the senior category was Billy Janos of the North Carolina Forbush Red team, who won the Shotgun Event and scored 1899. As for the senior teams, Pennsylvania Senior Gold rose to first place with a score of 8637 after coming in third in 2009, and sister team Pennsylvania Senior Blue took a close second after scoring an 8605. Billy Janos' high score helped the North Carolina Forbush Red team earn a score of 8561 for third place.

"It's awesome!" said an elated Epps of his win, who couldn't find words following the announcement.

The International YHEC will return to the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, N.M., in 2011.

To learn about YHEC programs in your area, or to get one started, contact NRA's Hunter Services Department at (703) 267-1524 or visit www.nrahq.org/hunting/yhec/index.asp. And remember, it's never too late to start a tradition of your own!