About TSSA
TSSA is the official governing body for skeet shooting in Texas, fostering growth and community.
Dedicated to supporting the skeet shooting community, TSSA organizes events, recognizes top talent, and ensures fair competition throughout the state. Join us!
Our Journey
The Evolution of TSSA
The TEXAS SKEET SHOOTERS ASSOCIATION was founded in Dallas, Texas, during the 1947-48-skeet year and was one of the first viable State Associations in the nation. The bylaws for the Association were written by Joe McCracken, a Dallas attorney, and have been used as a benchmark for almost all other State Associations as well as the National Association (NSSA). In the beginning, there was no official State office. The wife of the President usually kept the records for the Association. In 1969, it was decided to move the office of the Association to Dallas and employ a secretary on a part time arrangement. Ruby Welch was the person employed to keep the records and handle all of the administrative functions of the Association serving as the Secretary to the Association as well as to the Board. She played a vital part during the growth of the Association, serving it for twenty years. Today, the Association has over 800 active members that participate regularly in competitive skeet through out the State. We, who are members of the Association, want you to know that we welcome you as a new member and through this brochure will attempt to give you a brief overview of the functions and activities of the Association. Should you have any questions regarding the Association, please do not hesitate to ask your local skeet club president or contact the State office. You will find that skeet shooters are always willing to visit with you about anything relating to their sport.
TSSA Purpose
The TEXAS SKEET SHOOTER’S ASSOCIATION was organized to promote the sport of skeet shooting. The Association is the vehicle that is used as the focal point to accomplish this mission. It is accomplished through organization, service to the membership, and oversight of the competitive shooting activities. The Association will assist and encourage the establishing of new clubs throughout the State.
The Association provides the following services now that you are a member:
1. Provides shooters the opportunity to compete in skeet tournaments. These tournaments or shoots are conducted using the NSSA rules for shooting with some changes that are normally given in the shoot program provided by the shoot management. All competitive shoots in Texas are normally registered with NSSA. Only targets registered with NSSA will be considered in determining All State Teams.
2. You will be advised through the newsletter of the activities of the Association as well as any pertinent information regarding the National or State organization.
3. You will be provided a shoot schedule that will give you the location of all of the registered shoots to be held during a given shoot year. The fiscal year for skeet shooting begins on January 1 and ends on December 31. We follow the same fiscal year as NSSA.
General Information
The Board of Directors maintains the oversight of the Association. There are three scheduled meetings each year with one being in the spring, the second meeting being at the State Shoot, which is normally held on the fourth weekend of June and the third, is held during the mini World in October. All meetings of the Board and Executive Committee are open to the membership and can be attended, as space will allow.
The State is divided into three zones for organizational purposes. Zone II is the Northeast and Northwest parts of the State, Zone III is the South Central section of the State, and Zone IV is the Southeast part of the State. This organization is used to assure proportional representation on the Board from each area Each Zone has an Executive Director and a Vice President. The Executive Director coordinates the scheduling of shoots within the Zone to insure no shoots are held on the same weekend within a 150-mile radius of a host club. They also assist the President in resolving problems within their Zone. The Vice President assists the Executive Director and is responsible for encouraging qualified people to serve on the Board of Directors from the Zone. The Directors elect these officers from the Zone.
Each year All State Teams are selected following the NSSA criteria except that TSSA does not require shooting any doubles to be eligible for a team. These teams are selected based on their shooting ability. There are two open teams, the first and second team, consisting of a Captain and ten team members. These are the shooters in the State that have the highest number of points, which are obtained by wins in registered shoots. There are other All State Teams such as the Juniors, Ladies, Seniors, etc. and are defined in the NSSA rule book. These teams are called Concurrent Teams meaning that the events are shot concurrent with the other events at a registered shoot. A person is only eligible for one team in any given year. To be eligible for an All State team, you must be living in the State and a TSSA member prior to May 1 of any shoot year.
The Association provides a Chief Referee for the State. He is responsible for the training of the referees as well as for scheduling the referees requested by the clubs for their shoots. The TSSA Referees enjoy a reputation of being among the best in skeet shooting. They are always well qualified and exhibit professionalism in performing their duties.
As previously stated, TSSA is responsible for hosting the annual State Championships. The bylaws direct that the First Vice President/President Elect is the Shoot Chairman and it is his responsibility to conduct the shoot. The Board determines each year at the meeting held at the State Shoot where the shoot will be held the next year.
The Association is funded from three sources. The first source is the annual dues that are paid. At the present time this is $25.00 per year. There is also available a life membership that costs $250.00. Once you have purchased a life membership you will no longer be required to pay annual dues. The second source comes from the shoots. There is a two-cent assessment per target on all registered targets shot in the State. These are called daily fees and are paid at the time of registration. The third source comes from the profit of the State Shoot.
*** The Board of Directors wishes to thank Al Topham, Jim Leer, and Ed Youngblood for taking the time to write this brochure for our new members. New members will appreciate the time that they volunteered to make this available for many years to come.