THE HIGH COTTON CLASSIC
Never have so many had so much fun, doing so much good!
Every summer since 1989,enthusiastic shotgunners have gathered on a beautiful farm in Chester County, South Carolina to have fun busting clay birds (or trying to) to raise money for worthy causes.
The one-day event is always the last Saturday before Labor Day weekend and includes sporting clays and other shotgun games, lunch and supper, and terrific prizes. In recent years we have averaged 200-plus shooters and 150-plus volunteers and guests from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina. Since its beginning, The High Cotton Classic has generated over one half million dollars in charitable contributions to various educational, extracurricular, and community youth programs.
Thanks to our volunteers and sponsors, over 97 percent of the funds generated go directly to the programs we support, and those they serve. A partial list of the programs we support:
• Westminster Catawba Christian School
• Athletic, academic, and music programs for Northwestern HS, Rock Hill HS, South Pointe HS, Fort Mill HS
• Young Life • Boy Scouts of America
• Crisis Pregnancy Center • Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• Westminster Presbyterian Church Youth Mission scholarships
• Children’s Attention Home • A Place for Hope
• Rocky Creek Clay Dusters • SC DNR Fishing Rodeo
Sporting clays: like golf with a shotgun
Unlike the rigid structures of trap and skeet, sporting clays attempts to mimic actual field conditions with a series of natural and unique shooting stations connected along a course trail.
At each station, shooters attempt to shoot clay targets simulating game bird wing shooting, with a couple of bouncing rabbit targets tossed in for variety (it’s not as easy as it looks).
Groups of four to six persons tour the course, and at each station take turns shooting at a set number of targets, usually eight or ten targets per person per station. Scoring is easy–each target equals one point, the shooter with the most points wins. Pull!
The trapper program: more than just throwing targets
One of the shining successes of our event is our trapper program. We enlist the aid of young men and ladies 14 to18 years of age to operate the stations and provide work on the course. But it's more than just operating a thrower; we teach these young people gun safety, trap safety, southern sporting traditions, and the importance of greeting each of our shooters with a firm handshake and direct eye contact.
We want to make a positive impact on these young folks, we want them to be true Southern gentlemen and ladies, who enjoy times in the field, who treat people with respect, and who pass on positive traits learned to their friends and family. Their work is hard and long. Their pay is slight. They get a much-coveted High Cotton Trapper hat, supper, and a chance to shoot the course the next day with the adults trapping for them. We have mothers who call and ask how their son can get into the High Cotton trapper program. It has exceeded our most ambitious imaginings.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Our event – born in the minds of a small group of men who enjoy shooting sports and wanted to turn that interest into a fundraising opportunity–has not stayed local. Through relationships developed with like-minded folks, several similar events have been created throughout the southeast and enhanced through the use our equipment and experiences. We are humbled by the fact that others like what we do enough to make it their own.
Sponsors make it all happen
The welcome and needed support of our terrific sponsors (all sponsors are officially labeled terrific) is a key ingredient of our success.
There are many sponsorship opportunities, from being a designated key sponsor to providing prize and gift items for our shooters and trappers. See our current High Cotton Sponsorship Opportunities sheet for more specific information.
Past sponsors for whom we are very grateful:
Aarons AgSouth SW Baldwin Benson-Morgan Blade-Pro Burns Chevrolet
Burns Ford Carolina Orthopedic Surgery Carolina Urology Center
Carolina Farms & Estates Comporium Cope Construction
Family Trust Federal Credit Union First Citizens Bank Founders Federal Credit Union
Logoworks Nelson-Mulllins Piedmont Medical Center
Pure Gold Choke Tubes Regal Graphics
Rock Hill Animal Hospital Ken & Sharon Roddey Sportmans Inc.
Southern Electric of the Carolinas Whitefish Studio