Chase Dobrinski, All-American trapshooter

SPARTA, Illinois—Chase Dobrinski of Silver City, NM, has been selected to the 2025 Sub-Junior (under the age of 15) All-American Trapshooting First Team, according to the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA), which determines the teams. More than 100 years old, trapshooting is a competitive sport of shooting at clay targets with a shotgun.

The ATA hosts both the Grand American (the 11-day world tournament which in August drew more than 4,000 contestants to the World Shooting & Recreational Complex, in Sparta, Ill.) and a series of "satellite" Grands (smaller, regional tournaments providing Grand American-style trophies and competition). The association also sponsors five zone shoots.

To be considered for the All-American team, Dobrinski had to meet a minimum target requirement, and he had to have competed in at least three states. Selection was made based on All-American points accumulated while winning trophies and posting high scores at tournaments throughout the country during the 2024 ATA target year.

Some highlights of Dobrinski's excellent performance included his wins at the Autumn Satellite Grand in Tucson, AZ where he accumulated 15 sub-junior category trophies, plus one D Class award over the field. During the Spring Satellite Grand in Tucson, he earned 13 category awards. At his state tournament in New Mexico, Dobrinski tallied eight wins including the sub-junior champion trophy in the Doubles Championship. He earned points at the Arizona State Shoot taking seven prizes. He ended his target year competing at the Grand American World Trapshooting Tournament winning three prestigious Grand awards.

Dobrinski's shooting skill enabled him to reach the 27-yard line at age 13 in the handicap game. He has also shot 100x100 perfect straights (with no misses) 13 times.

He is an eighth-grade student at Calvary Christian Academy. Chase is actively involved in volleyball and basketball, and he also enjoys making knives, hunting and fishing.

Established in 1923, the ATA promotes and governs the sport of trapshooting, primarily in the United States and Canada. In the 2024 target year more than 30,000 members participated in the sport, competing in one or more of the 6,500-plus sanctioned tournaments (shoots registered by the ATA organization) on the local, regional, state, zone and world championship levels.

Trapshooters fire at clay targets (approximately 4-1/4 inches in diameter and 1-1/8 inch in height) launched at varying angles. In singles events, all entrants stand at the 16-yard line and fire at one target at a time; in handicap, participants are assigned a yardage from 18 to 27 yards (according to averages and known ability) and fire at one target at a time; in doubles, two targets are released at the same time and each contestant, standing at the 16-yard line, is allowed one shot for each.

Trapshooting celebrities have included Annie Oakley, John Philip Sousa and Roy Rogers. The sport's stats and records are chronicled and maintained by Trap & Field, the official magazine of the ATA.

If you are interested in trying trapshooting, please call the ATA at 618-449-2224 Ext. 136 or visit the association's website www.shootata.com to find a local club near you. The ATA was headquartered in Vandalia, Ohio, for more than 80 years and in 2012 relocated offices to Sparta, Ill.