February 14, 2018
New Requirement for Kansas 4-H Shooting Sports Training
Spring 4-H Shooting Sports Training registration will be available soon! Fees will be announced at a later date. Please note - beginning this year, the Volunteer Screening process must be completed prior to attending training. Rock Springs 4-H Center is again the site scheduled for this in-depth, hands-on training, guided by nationally certified instructors. All disciplines are to be offered provided five participants enroll in the individual specialty areas. Disciplines planned are:
- Archery
- Coordinator
- Hunting Skills
- Muzzleloading
- Pistol
- Rifle (BB gun, air rifle, etc.)
- Shotgun
- Western Heritage/Cowboy Action
The dates for 4-H Shooting Sports Training is April 6 – 8, however if interested in Western Heritage/Cowboy Action an additional day is required therefore dates are April 5 – 8.
Coordinators and agents are responsible for signing up the county/district trainees and will be provided a link to complete this task before Monday, April 2, 5 p.m. As a reminder, selection of trainees for the local program is by invitation by the coordinator and agent, assuring that the attendee has the appropriate skill set for the discipline as well as skills in working with youth. Not all adults or youth that show an interest are an appropriate fit for becoming a certified 4-H instructor. It is recommended that each local program develop and follow policies on how the current instructors will mentor new instructors to provide sustainability for the local program while reaching additional youth in the community.
New for this year, the Volunteer Screening process must be completed prior to the training for both teen and adult volunteers depending on discipline selected either April 5 or 6. The steps include:
- Registered with volunteer profile on 4HOnline
- Background checks, criminal and Child abuse and neglect completed
- Kansas 4-H Volunteer Orientation completed
- Approval by Extension Executive/Governing Board
To assist agents in recruiting teen and adult volunteers the 4-H Shooting Sports Task Force has clarified the volunteer positions as follows:
Coordinator – Responsible under the guidance of the local Extension Agent for the overall coordination and management of the county/district 4-H Shooting Sports Program; must be 21 years old or older, serve as a registered volunteer and must have completed the Kansas 4-H Shooting Sports certification training.
Instructor – Responsible under the guidance of the local 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator and Extension Agent for the teaching of knowledge and skills related to a specific discipline to 4-H members ages 8 – 18; must be 21 years old or older and serve as a registered volunteer and must have completed the Kansas 4-H Shooting Sports certification training.
Junior Apprentice - Shall perform all duties of an instructor under the direct supervision of a certified discipline instructor; must be ages 14 -18 by training date, serve as a registered volunteer and completed the Kansas 4-H Shooting Sports certification training. To become a discipline instructor, the junior apprentice will need to complete the instructor discipline training previously attended again when age 21.
Apprentice – Upon becoming age 18, a Junior Apprentice’s title becomes Apprentice. This position shall perform all duties of an instructor under the direct supervision of a certified discipline instructor; must be ages 18 – 20 by training date, and serve as a registered volunteer and must have completed the discipline training as a Junior Apprentice. To become a discipline instructor, the apprentice will need to complete the instructor discipline training previously attended again when age 21.
Helper – An adult volunteer, 18 years of age and older, and not a previous Junior Apprentice, must serve as a registered volunteer that has participated in local 4-H Shooting Sports Trainings given by the local 4-H Shooting Sports Coordinator and/or Instructor. Live fire activities must be under the direct supervision of the discipline specific certified instructor (i.e. if the session is a shotgun activity, then a certified shotgun instructor must be present for live fire).
Finally, occasionally we have inquiries about transfers from other state 4-H certifications to become Kansas 4-H Shooting Sports instructors. Kansas 4-H Shooting Sports has a long time standing policy that we will not accept certifications from other states. The issue of transferring certifications from one state to another was discussed a few years ago at a National Coordinators Meeting. At that time very few of the states accepted transfers from other states. This is basically because of the risk management and the liability assumed by the state program. Another is that extension service delivery of programs varies from state to state therefore it’s important to know state policies.