US Army Specialist William H. Keever, in shooting competition at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. (Photo via Wikipedia)
COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) — A national championship in sporting clays shooting is expected to be an economic boost for southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri this week. The U.S. Open Sporting Clays Championship starts Monday and runs through Sunday at the Claythorne Lodge in Cherokee County. It is expected to draw shooters from 47 states and several countries. Labette County tourism director Jim Zaleski says the tournament will bring people to Parsons, Pittsburg, Joplin, Missouri and several smaller towns in the region. The Wichita Eagle reports sporting clays tournaments are set up on big courses that replicate hunting situations. Target throwers send out several sizes and colors of targets that duplicate such hunting scenarios as pheasants flying above treetops, quail being flushed from heavy growth or a rabbit running across the prairie.