7th Annual Trap Tournament raises funds for United Way of Bemidji Area campaign

Sep. 29—BEMIDJI — For the seventh annual United Way Trap Tournament, dozens of participants came together on Thursday evening to give back to the community with a little bit of friendly competition.

Sponsored by Northwoods Lumber and located at the Bemidji Trap and Skeet Club, cars filled the parking lot as teams made their way to their stands. One by one as participants yelled "pull," clay pigeons flung into the air as family, friends and community members stood behind in support.

"Twenty-five teams of five are going out to shoot their targets," said Bemidji Trap and Skeet Owner David Smith. "Each shooter will shoot 50 targets and then they'll take the score of the top four shooters from each team to determine the winner."

There are four different categories based on experience including novice (inexperienced), intermediate (hunts and/or handles a gun), and experienced (seasoned trap shooter) along with a family division where at least one shooter has to be 18 or younger.

"No trap experience is needed to participate, some are at entry level and some have been trap shooting for years," said United Way Campaign and Events Coordinator Kari Kantack Miller. "And it's open for all ages, there was a team registered and everyone was under the age of 16."

First, second and third-place winners received gift cards from Stittsworth Meats and Lueken's Village Foods while the winner of each category got a whole slew of other prizes.

It's not just about the prizes, though.

All of the proceeds from the event go directly to the United Way of Bemidji Area, thanks to the hours put in by volunteers and sponsorships from local businesses that pay for the supplies and support the event.

"All of the proceeds here today help

fund this year's community campaign for 2023.

Our goal was $725,000," said Kantack Miller. "The proceeds from this tournament, the registration fees, the sponsorship fees and all of the other fundraising that went along with this all go toward that campaign goal and are dispersed back into the community to our partner agencies that apply for funding each year."

After the tournament, attendees headed over to Lazy Jacks for a big feast and wrapped the night up with a silent auction.

"A huge shout out to the Bemidji High School Trap Team for helping out today along with their parents," said Kantack Miller. "Without them, this could not have happened."

Kantack Miller also wanted to say a big thank you to the committee, volunteers, the community and everyone who came together to make this event possible.

"I might be a little biased, but I think this is probably one of the most fun fundraising events the United Way does," Smith added.