Here in the Southeast, field trials have come to a close with the hot weather upon us. Kudos to all the youth handlers who competed in regional youth trials this past season; congrats to those whose dogs won!

Spring News

Here in the Southeast, field trials have come to a close with the hot weather upon us. Kudos to all the youth handlers who competed in regional youth trials this past season; congrats to those whose dogs won! We hope you all had a blast, learned lots about training and handling your bird dogs and helped new youth handlers get into the game.

In other parts of the country, spring trials are just beginning. Youth stakes, unless they are part of a club, organization or region’s point system, do not need to be included in your field trial ad and your club can conduct them in whatever way works best based on the number and ages of the kids. Even if you have only a handful of youngsters at your trial, please take time to help get them started in our great sport!

Ambassador Program

Our biggest goal this year is the expansion of youth field trials and other opportunities for kids to get involved with bird dogs to many more areas of the country. With that goal in mind, YFTA is looking for field trialers to act as ambassadors helping to promote youth trials and training days in their regions. We believe that having representatives throughout the country will help us build a network of organizations, clubs and individuals committed to this endeavor.

Contact us today to find out how you can help make youth stakes and trials a permanent part of your region’s field trial offerings.

Watching youngsters get involved in field trials is incredibly rewarding. Giving them opportunities to get hooked is vital to the health and longevity of our sport.

YFTA does not host youth field trials; we help facilitate them through promotion, sponsorship, connecting individuals, as well as providing financial and other help to field trial clubs with limited budgets. Our ability to help financialy is directly tied to the donations we receive.

YFTA is a registered Georgia not-for-profit corporation and filed for 501(c)(3) status in November of 2022. We are currently “Not-for-Profit Pending” meaning that financial donations will be retroactively tax-exempt as soon as our status is approved by the IRS.

We rely on our sponsors and donations to promote youth field trials. To help, you can send a check payable to: Youth Field Trial Alliance, Inc. and mail to YFTA, 12410 County Line Road, Pavo, GA 31778 or you can make an online DONATION

For information on becoming a Sponsor and other ways you can support youth field trials, please email. Thank you!

Youth Field Trial Alliance, Inc.
Directors:
Chris Mathan
Patty Ewer
Claudia McNamee

Irwin Greenstein

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.

www.shotgunlife.com