President message - August 2007

It’s your choice - sign up a junior or our sport will vanish

It’s a strong headline I know, but the truth is the anti-gun lobby are revelling in the fact that the average age of recreational shooters is getting older. The SSAA is the same as other gun clubs and associations - we are made up of an ageing membership that while enthusiastic and passionate about our loved sport, is facing an uphill battle for survival. In 20 years time, our membership will have been reduced through natural attrition and unless we do something about it now, we will have lost the battle. Sports shooting and recreational hunting could well be things of the past. The skills and knowledge acquired through lifetimes will be down the gurgler and there will be no-one to counter the spin of the anti-gunners.

At SSAA National we will put the processes in place to make it easier for you, our members, to safeguard our sport and your Association. But at the end of the day, it is up to you to do something now if you want to see your sport continue.

Next month the SSAA is launching the ‘Sign up a Junior’ campaign to help introduce youngsters to the recreational shooting sports. You will notice a slight change in your SSAA renewal notices included with the Australian Shooter magazine, which will now include a separate form to sign up a junior, be it son or daughter, grandchild, nephew or niece or any child you would like to sponsor.

Each junior member signed up to the SSAA for the subsidised rate of just $21 will receive 11 issues of the Australian Shooter, a membership card and public liability insurance, plus other member discounts and benefits.

Juniors, defined as aged under 18, are critical to the ongoing strength and vitality of SSAA membership and we are seeking your support to protect your sport into the future.

It’s important to realise that a junior does not have to have a gun license to be a member of the SSAA. The whole point is to introduce them into the world of shooting at an early age, even if it’s just reading about it or having the facts of sports shooting and hunting explained to them, so that if they choose they can enter the sport at a later stage. It really doesn’t matter if they are five or 15 and for the sake of just $21 a year, less than a steak at a hotel, there really is no excuse not to give them that opportunity.

At SSAA National we already subsidise the cost of junior membership to encourage youth into our sport and now you can do your part when you renew your SSAA membership. Simply fill in the ‘Add a Junior’ membership form with the junior’s name, address and age and of course your details as ‘sponsor’. You can also add more than one junior by photocopying the form and adding an extra $21 per junior. Mail the complete form back to SSAA Membership at PO Box 906, St Marys, NSW 1790. Of course, you don’t have to wait until your renewal is due to sign up a junior - each issue of the Australian Shooter will also include the ‘Add a Junior’ form as of the September issue.

As the SSAA National President I call on all member parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts to sign up their youngsters and introduce them to the many benefits of recreational shooting. By becoming a member of the SSAA, juniors will gain a sense of ownership of the Association. When the Australian Shooter turns up in the mailbox it is theirs to read - they aren’t borrowing mum or dad’s copy. They get their own SSAA membership card and I know from past experience myself, they gain pride in knowing they are a member of a worthy association that has so many positives.

To kickstart the campaign we have put a $3500 prize up for grabs to each junior signed up between August 2007 and June 2008. Next year the new junior members will go in the draw to win a Polaris Predator 90 Youth all-terrain vehicle. So don’t delay, sign up your young one, save the sport you love and wipe the smile off the anti-gun lobby’s face.

Bob Green
SSAA National President