PatriotMRD Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 Has anyone heard dates and location for the 2015 Pro Am Shooting Championship that was in Frostproof, FL? I was told by a reliable source the match has been sold but, no indication who the new owners are? The new owners were advised to keep it on the same weekend and location, at least for this year. I'm need to get my vacation request in ASAP to have the best chance. Repeated searches turn up nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I'm local and I haven't heard anything. I'm hoping whoever is running it keeps the location (because Universal Shooting Academy is a great location and they really know how to run matches), but picks a better time of year. October would be nice as an early major match at USA before the Monster Match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotMRD Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 Early October would be great for me but, not for those who also shoot Handgun Nationals (October 4-10). Dates are not hearsay and rumor. They were posted in the latest issue of Front Sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 (edited) I'm fine with anything other than the middle of summer in Florida. I'd rather just concentrate on shooting rather than spending so much time doing hydration management. I'm debating on taking a pass on it this year if it's in July, for example. Spring isn't a bad time to schedule a match around here also. Maybe something after the Open. Edited December 6, 2014 by ericjhuber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B45C22 Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 The Florida facility is nice, but if you want to have a Nationals level match, it should be more centrally located. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 That hasn't stopped the Steel Challenge or the US Steel Nationals from being successful. Both are popular national level matches held at either side of the country. The Florida Open at USA is another good example. It's only early December and there are only 184 slots out of 450 left. Universal Shooting Academy is a great location for major matches because it's close to both Tampa and Orlando airports. Getting flights to Orlando isn't all that hard because there's lots of Disney driven demand that lends itself to lots of flights in and out. You can also bake a family vacation into the trip at the same time. What I'm hoping is that we'll see the Pro AM brand spreading to different clubs at different times during the year like what happened this past year with the match in Georgia that was after the Pro AM at USA. It's a fun game so I'm hoping the new owners have good fortune in spreading it around to other clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 the rumor i heard last year at the match that the new owners were going to hold it in Frostproof one last time in 2015 and then move it up the east coast a bit and setup some sort of series of regional matches around the country leading up to a national level event ... have not seen nor heard anything since that during the summer though ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 That sounds like a good plan. Establish a consistent time and location for a big final match and run a bunch of annual regional matches at different times leading up to it. It's a fun game so I wish whoever bought it well. What's not to like about mowing down a river of steel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotMRD Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 the rumor i heard last year at the match that the new owners were going to hold it in Frostproof one last time in 2015 and then move it up the east coast a bit and setup some sort of series of regional matches around the country leading up to a national level event ... have not seen nor heard anything since that during the summer though ... Any idea who those new owners are? I know Dave and Brooke Sevigny held a SE Regional Pro Am in Covington, GA in November. Being that I'm in MI I don't mind it moving a bit farther North. As long as it doesn't move to any of the anti-gun states or require travel through any those states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 ...and I'd be just fine with making the trip to Covington from Tampa to shoot a SE regional match. Brooke was actually on my Pro Am squad this year. She's very nice and it was helpful to watch someone at her skill level shoot the match since it was my first time doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B45C22 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 That hasn't stopped the Steel Challenge or the US Steel Nationals from being successful. Both are popular national level matches held at either side of the country. The Florida Open at USA is another good example. It's only early December and there are only 184 slots out of 450 left. Universal Shooting Academy is a great location for major matches because it's close to both Tampa and Orlando airports. Getting flights to Orlando isn't all that hard because there's lots of Disney driven demand that lends itself to lots of flights in and out. You can also bake a family vacation into the trip at the same time. What I'm hoping is that we'll see the Pro AM brand spreading to different clubs at different times during the year like what happened this past year with the match in Georgia that was after the Pro AM at USA. It's a fun game so I'm hoping the new owners have good fortune in spreading it around to other clubs. Says the guy from Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchy Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Phil Strader announced at this year's ProAm that he had sold the match. It would be in Frostproof in 2015, same weekend in July (3rd I believe). Then in 2016 it may move to North or South Carolina. I think that's where the new owners are located. They were also working on having multiple regional matches. Seiichi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Eddie Waggoner (may have spelled last name wrong) is the new owner and he's from the Spartanburg, SC area. He's hosted a couple of Pro-am matches at the range there. I will shoot every match I can make. They are great matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swhiteh3 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 (edited) I completely agree with B45C22s comments - It's a great facility, but whether it's an Area 6 or National level match, they should be more centrally located. Edited December 8, 2014 by swhiteh3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmittyFL Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Yep. It will be at USA the 3rd weekend in July. We don't have a contract but handshake agreement for at least 2015 here and I hope for a few years to come. We (USA) enjoy having the match. I spoke to Eddie at the SE Pro Am and he said he would be updating the website soon and was going to send me the stages to start vetting. I'm spoken to Scoutten and Shooting USA plans to be back covering the match. That's not in stone either but is the current plan. As far as I know the new owners do not plan to change anything on how the match runs or the basic format. Don't mess with success. Eddie and Robert are motivated and excited to be taking over the match. This is solely my opinion but I'd like to see regionals pop up around the country and the 'national' level pro am remain here. The only issue with running a large pro am style match is it is pretty steel intensive....not a ton of ranges have the resources. One idea for anyone interested in possible hosting one is consolidating the steel from clubs in an area or section to hold the match. Lot of work moving that much steel around but it sure is a fun match. The new owners or I will update on Enos as soon as we are firmed up on dates, scheduling, etc. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Says the guy from Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Seriously, though, I'm all about major matches at Universal Shooting Academy. The facilities are even better after the World Shoot build out and they were already good before. I've shot major USPSA, Steel Challenge and Pro AM events now and Smitty, Frank, Manny and the gang do a great job with these matches and have a great bunch of ROs who are very good at keeping things moving along well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotMRD Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Got the last available vacation slot for that week. Have to take an attendance point for a travel day that following Monday but, oh well. This will be my first MAJOR match. Will be making travel and accommodation arrangements as soon as the official match announcement is made. Bought some steel plates to practice with. Love the idea of an all steel match. Haven't taken a real vacation in 8 years. (Yes, this is my idea of a vacation) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I just finished watching Hot Shots on the sportsman channel and they had Max Michel shooting at the ProAm in USA. That looks amazing. I'm glad to hear its going to be here for 2015, however, not sure I'm up for running and gunning steel in 100 degree heat and 90% humidity... . On the other hand, I did shoot the steel challenge 2x a month since May of last year, the summer was pretty brutal tho...but I did survive....I'm going to be shooting my first Nationals here in march for the US Steel Nationals. I'm very excited about it. I may try the ProAm, it looks like too much fun...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 The Florida facility is nice, but if you want to have a Nationals level match, it should be more centrally located. 'cause it is so hard to fly into Orlando? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotMRD Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) The Florida facility is nice, but if you want to have a Nationals level match, it should be more centrally located. 'cause it is so hard to fly into Orlando? What are you all complaining about? I'm planning on DRIVING down from West Michigan and I'm still OK with Central Florida. Edited January 13, 2015 by PatriotMRD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Keep in mind that Frostproof is close to more than just Orlando. You've got a bunch of airports near there that can potentially have better prices or schedules depending on where you are coming in from and when. Orlando does offer a diverse amount of flight options (something about a mouse), but if you are exploring your options you should also be looking at flights to airports such as Tampa, Saint Petersburg-Clearwater, and Sarasota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Does anyone here in Florida know if there are any ranges that host Pro Am shoots, other than the championship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotMRD Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Yep. It will be at USA the 3rd weekend in July. We don't have a contract but handshake agreement for at least 2015 here and I hope for a few years to come. We (USA) enjoy having the match. I spoke to Eddie at the SE Pro Am and he said he would be updating the website soon and was going to send me the stages to start vetting. I'm spoken to Scoutten and Shooting USA plans to be back covering the match. That's not in stone either but is the current plan. As far as I know the new owners do not plan to change anything on how the match runs or the basic format. Don't mess with success. Eddie and Robert are motivated and excited to be taking over the match. This is solely my opinion but I'd like to see regionals pop up around the country and the 'national' level pro am remain here. The only issue with running a large pro am style match is it is pretty steel intensive....not a ton of ranges have the resources. One idea for anyone interested in possible hosting one is consolidating the steel from clubs in an area or section to hold the match. Lot of work moving that much steel around but it sure is a fun match. The new owners or I will update on Enos as soon as we are firmed up on dates, scheduling, etc. Thanks. Any idea when they are planning to finally make the official announcement? The wait is killing me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durtarg Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Official date is July 17-19 at Universal. 9 stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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