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Are there cash prizes in HFT and FT?

In Sanctioned AAFTA events ... No there is not.

FT in it typical format is a gentleman's sport with well established rules by class's. FT has to this point NOT BEEN a promotion Event for manufactures as these high profile "Cash Reward" events of these past several years.

Darn good thing IMO as it would change the sport forever and not convinced it would be for the better .... huh ?
 
I agree with Motorhead and qball. Let's have something that does not get consumed by the consumer ,money culture. Having said that, I don't think I would refuse to participate in a match where there were cash prizes. I like the descripton of "competitive social event". Hope it stays that way.

Chas
 
While I'm not the match director nor do I have any decision making authority over the Xtreme Field Target matches, I am somewhat close to the situation, being involved since the beginning, and writing the match reports.

The XFT matches in PHX have usually had some sort of prize money, since the earliest matches. Typically Robert Buchanan of AOA would show up and donate a crisp $100 to the MD to be awarded however the MD saw fit. Ben would defer to the shooters and votes of how to award it were taken at the prematch meetings. We usually have more pellet shooters than slug shooters so of course the pellet shooters vote to give it to the highest score from a pellet shooter.

More recently AOA donated LARGE amounts of prizes and prize money for the XFT Grand Prix matches, the inaugural match here in AZ as well as the GPs that have thus far happened in TX and OR and soon to be UT.

From what I've seen, AOA has wisely decided to continue to let the respective match directors run the matches and make the rules for the GP series, while "sponsoring" the matches through the donations. I read through the dissenting comments above and I fully recognize how those fears could come true if a sponsor were to try to "steer the ship" too much. That isn't happening with the fledgling Xtreme Field Target matches and I hope it stays that way.

The prize money is never about getting rich or making a living shooting field target, but it has ALWAYS infused even more excitement for the competition, before, during and after. Enthusiasm and excitement, and even bluntly speaking, a LURE, to attract attention and new shooters is something that all areas of field target that I've been involved in, are in serious need of.

Now, to answer the OPs question: no, in regular (sub 20fpe) field target matches there are not big cash payouts like the RMAC, EBR, PA Cup benchrest matches. BUT if Xtreme Field Target continues to grow and attract the interest that it has so far (that interest is driven at least partly by the prize money, in my opinion), it might get there.
 
In Sanctioned AAFTA events ... No there is not.

FT in it typical format is a gentleman's sport with well established rules by class's. FT has to this point NOT BEEN a promotion Event for manufactures as these high profile "Cash Reward" events of these past several years.

Darn good thing IMO as it would change the sport forever and not convinced it would be for the better .... huh ?


I didn't realize you almost quoted something out of the AAFTA rulebook. I guess I need to be more failure with the rules. that's pretty neat.

"
A definition of Field Target is that it is a freestyle shooting sport that is a viable alternative to the other existing disciplines such as Ten Meter, Silhouette and Benchrest. However, the foundation the sport of Field Target is based on is gentlemanly conduct and good sportsmanship without which our shooting sport would become at the very best unpleasant."