Club Sport Highlight: Meet Stephanie Tremé

Posted: July 2, 2019 at 10:37 am

The skills that this Patriot has in Trap and Skeet took her to great heights!

Meet Stephanie Tremé, a Mason alumni class of 2019. She started Trap and Skeet in September of her freshman year. She developed a passion for it from the very start with encouragement from her team and coach, Gary Olin. She states that “They were all very good shooters and had a lot to teach me. They were also very willing to support and help a new shooter grow. It is a unique sport and has a very long and decorated history at George Mason”. Her teammates and coach were all her mentor but she made sure to take the time to practice outside of practices with the team president. She also shot with an instructor at the range nearby and received help from the coaches at Maryland University. Stephanie is proud to say that, “This community is very encouraging and almost anyone you meet will be willing to give some advice and support no matter where you go”.

Through her tremendous efforts and dedication to the sport this past year Stephanie has recently qualified for the US Open Sporting Clays in Pennsville. It took several different competitions. One was at the Big Seafood Blast in Pennsville NJ, another was Shenandale in Swoope VA, and the third was Flying Rabbit in Mt. Crawford VA). She felt proud to be part of what was he largest competition (nearly 1200 entrants) with competitors from around the nation as well as some from other countries. She also felt nervous when she considered the skills of her competitors and the raised level of difficulty compared to collegiate competitions. “I trained by working harder at practices to build up strength and stamina,” she said, “I also went to other ranges I would not normally visit, so I could see more competition targets and different presentations and backgrounds than I was used to. Instead of making sure it was a nice weather day I also made sure I practiced in bad weather like wind and rain as well as all different temperatures to prepare myself for whatever may be in store at the US Open”.

She enjoyed her experiences at the US open and describes M&M Hunting Preserve (the location of the competition) as “a great place to compete; they are well run, targets are always well set, the grounds and clubhouses are clean, and staff and trappers are polite and competent”. Registration went smoothly despite the rainy weather and she met and formed a squad with some people friends who were at the competition as well. The people she did not know were friendly and encouraging and were all having as much fun as she was. She really enjoyed the variety of courses they had set up and the extensive use of terrain. Despite the friendly atmosphere she was still nervous going into the competition as the targets would be more difficult that what she practiced and completed with on the collegiate level. Although she was also excited for the new experiences and ready to learn as much as she could from it all.

 

 

Stephanie encourages others to try this sport and hopes they have as much fun as she did. She says the sport is different from what most people expect and that it is an enjoyable and interesting learning experience anyone can benefit from. For those already interested she advises people to start with a good instructor who really knows what he/she is doing, and to make sure you start with the proper gun fit and form so you are not uncomfortable and can improve quickly. “When done correctly it is a lot of fun and there is no feeling like watching a target turn completely to smoke when you hit it dead center,” says Stephanie, “There is a lot to this sport and many different disciplines and shotguns to try if one does not seem to be the right fit initially”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The most memorable part of this experience at the US Open was the 28 gauge event I competed in. I was really impressed with the targets that were thrown. There was a good variety of presentations and different types of clay targets used. It was the most enjoyable event I participated in and was by far my best score. I used my friend’s gun and managed to tie my best score ever obtained with a 12 gauge in sporting clays and end up one bird lower than my best score ever with an 85/100. I shot with a lovely squad that were all very impressed by my shooting and very supportive. I ended up taking 2nd in B class and Lady Champion for the event.”