Safari Club International (SCI) Sponsors USA Shooting Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics
Today, Safari Club International (SCI) is announcing its exclusive sponsorship agreement with USA Shooting, the National Governing Body for the Olympic and Paralympic Shooting Sports Teams, in preparation for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. SCI will become the Official Sponsor of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Shooting Teams Athlete Development and Sports Performance Program, a Gold Level Partner for USA Shooting, while gaining a Board of Directors seat as a Trustee of this esteemed organization.
SCI’s sponsorship of USA Shooting is a welcome development for both organizations, given their shared commitment to safeguarding high-level shooting sports in the United States. What’s more, USA Shooting’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes and SCI members possess an abiding appreciation and deeply rooted heritage in hunting, with many USA Shooting athletes beginning their careers in this ancient and noble sport.
Given the immense visibility of USA Shooting athletes, SCI is proud to announce that its logo will be prominently featured on all USA Shooting uniforms worn during all competitions globally, including major international competitions. SCI’s sponsorship of USA Shooting also includes a comprehensive, partnered marketing and communications campaign to enhance the profile of both organizations and their members/athletes. As part of this agreement, USA Shooting will donate a USA Shooting Olympic experience in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for SCI’s fundraiser at its Annual Hunter’s Convention. Convention attendees wil also have opportunities to meet USA Shooting athletes.
As SCI and USA Shooting approach the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, the athletes have been preparing intensely since the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. USA Shooting athletes earned six Olympic medals in Tokyo, bringing the total number of Olympic and Paralympic medal count to 121: 58 gold, 32 silver, and 31 bronze. USA Shooting holds the most shooting sports Olympic gold medals out of any participating nation.
In 2022, athletes won 44 medals at the Championship of the Americas Games (CAT), 19 medals at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championship, and over 30 ISSF World Cup medals. In 2023, USA Shooting’s shotgun athletes secured more than 30 medals at the ISSF World Cups, while the Paralympic team won two bronze medals at the Changwon World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) World Cup.
USA Shooting has secured 15 quotas for the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. When an athlete earns a quota for the U.S. in a specific event, the U.S. becomes eligible to have an athlete compete in that event during the Olympic Games. Athletes are eligible to earn one event quota every four-year Olympic cycle.
The opening ceremony for the Olympics Games will be on July 26, 2024, and the Paralympic Games ceremony takes place on August 28, 2024.
“It’s a great privilege to be sponsored by a storied, world class organization like Safari Club International. The shared values and interests in shooting excellence from hunting to competitions in arms, to preserving and advocating responsibility and accountability, makes this partnership a natural winner. SCI’s passion and advocacy for the Team USA Shooting Teams’ Athlete Development and Sports Performance Programs is truly noteworthy and will significantly contribute to USA Shooting’s Olympic Team trials, preparations, and participation in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.” -Craig Kozeniesky, CEO, USA Shooting, Colonel USMC (Ret.)
“SCI is proud to sponsor USA Shooting athletes ahead of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris,” says SCI CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “This excellent sponsorship opportunity represents a convergence of interests for two prestigious organizations that shape the shooting, hunting, and outdoor life communities, and we look forward to a productive partnership.”