LAKELAND, Fla. Rifle and shotgun competitors qualifying for the ESPN
Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge can expect world-class facilities
when competing at the Tenoroc Shooting Sports and Training Range during
the July 7-10 Games. Shooting industry officials list Tenoroc as their
first choice for firearms sporting events in central Florida because the
facility regularly accommodates a variety of competitions.
"We're excited to again be part of the Great Outdoor Games, and we look
forward to competing at Tenoroc," said Steve Wagner, Director of Public
Relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which sponsors
ESPN's rifle and shotgun events. "Tenoroc has a great reputation among
shooters, and that's important to the NSSF. This is a first-class
facility, and its staff is experienced in handling high-profile shooting
events."
The rifle and shotgun competitions will be the only events not held at
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, so Tenoroc's location, 30 miles
southwest of Disney, is a bonus. The Tenoroc shooting complex covers 170
acres and has several shooting ranges to accommodate rifles, shotguns,
handguns and archery shooting. It also features a fully stocked pro
shop, an ample parking lot and a covered rifle range. The property is
three miles northeast of Lakeland and is surrounded by the sprawling
7,300-acre Tenoroc Fish & Wildlife Management Area, which is owned by
the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The state of Florida leases the shooting-range property to Mark Smith,
president of Tenoroc Shooting Sports and Training. Smith has operated
the Tenoroc complex for five years. He said between 15,000 and 20,000
shooters use the facilities each year. These events include charity and
corporate shoots, monthly tournaments for the National Sporting Clays
Association, and hunter-education shooting instruction for all classes
from the surrounding five counties.
"We're looking forward to showcasing our facilities and - more
importantly - helping increase the awareness among non-shooters of the
fun they can have in shooting sports," Smith said. "Everyone in the
Lakeland area has been excited since first hearing ESPN chose Tenoroc to
host its Great Outdoor Games' shooting events."
Because of Tenoroc's diverse facilities, this will be the first time in
the Great Outdoor Games' six-year history that it won't require the
event's firearms ranges to be built from scratch to meet local safety
concerns. "We'll hold both of the ESPN events on our 100-yard rifle
range," Smith said. "ESPN will build bleachers and grandstands that
don't exist right now to accommodate spectators, but our ranges were
built to ensure safe shooting."
Nothing but praise
Among those who consider Tenoroc a wise choice is Jack Robertson,
special-events manager for the NSSF. "When ESPN started looking around
central Florida for a place to hold the firearms events, Tenoroc was my
first choice, so I'm glad we're going there," Robertson said. "We also
like the fact it's close to the Interstate and not far from Disney. But
Tenoroc's main attraction is that it lends itself perfectly to our
events, whether you're a shooter or spectator."
Another one of Tenoroc's fans is Kevin Howard, President of Howard
Communications in Elsberry, Mo. Howard's company handles public
relations for Winchester Ammunition, and Browning and Winchester
firearms. Howard and his associates chose Tenoroc for their outdoor
writers' and sales representatives' shooting events that preceded the
Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show at Orlando in February 2003.
Howard said his firm intends to use Tenoroc again when the SHOT Show
returns to Orlando in January 2007.
"When we looked around before the SHOT Show in 2003, we knew we needed a
place that could handle all three firearms we work with - rifle, pistol
and shotgun," Howard said. "Tenoroc accommodated us real well.
Everything worked out fine. Mark Smith and his staff made sure we had
what we needed, and that we had enough staff to run our events. We're
looking forward to our next trip to Tenoroc."
Additional information
The four-day ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge was held in
Lake Placid, N.Y., during its first three years, 2000-2002; and then
visited Reno, Nev., in 2003 and Madison, Wis., in 2004. The 2005 Games
will feature more than 200 athletes competing in more than 30 events. In
addition to the target sports, which include archery, the Great Outdoor
Games feature sporting dogs, timber events and, for the first time this
year, ATV competitions. The Games will be broadcast July 13-17, 2005, on
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports.
Since its inception in 2001, ESPN Outdoors has strived to inform and
entertain anglers, hunters, campers and people of all ages who enjoy the
outdoors. ESPN Outdoors is committed to increasing awareness of outdoor
activities, a direction best exemplified by daily television programming
totaling nearly 1,000 hours annually on ESPN and ESPN2.
Each year, ESPN Outdoors stages more than 30 marquee events including
the CITGO Bassmaster Classic and the ESPN Great Outdoor Games. ESPN
Outdoors comprises BASS, the worldwide authority on bass fishing that
sanctions more than 20,000 events through the BASS Federation. ESPN
Outdoors also features Bassmaster.com, ESPNOutdoors.com, a weekly
outdoors show on ESPN Radio as well as a growing array of promotions and
activities that deliver a clear message of conservation and ethical
sportsmanship.