May 11, 2020
Daisy Outdoor Products has canceled the 54th Annual Daisy National BB Gun & Air Rifle Championship Match — aka Daisy Nationals — due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The youth shooting match, which awards national championships for teams and individuals, had been scheduled for July 2-6.
“This was not a decision we made lightly,” Daisy President and CEO Keith Higginbotham said in a news release. “The Daisy Nationals always has been about the kids, and we held out as long as we could before cancelling. In the end, with the restrictions placed on public gatherings there was just no way we could hold it this year.”
The Daisy National BB Gun Championship Match brings seven-member teams of youth ages 8 to 15 together each year in Rogers, Ark., for the most prestigious BB gun match in the country. The event attracts teams from as far away as Oregon.
Shooting teams qualify for the Nationals by placing in the top three in their state shooting matches, which typically occur in the first four months of the year. While a few teams did qualify before COVID-19 restrictions prevented public gatherings, many did not. Daisy officials still held out hope the match could be held for the lucky teams that had the opportunity to qualify, but the reopening restrictions recently announced prevent it.
“Please know that the safety of everyone is our most important concern,” Higginbotham said. “You have my word that we will resume the competition and that Daisy is committed to teaching young people the shooting sports.
“We feel for all the kids who worked so hard to qualify,” Higginbotham continued. “We look forward to seeing everyone at the Daisy National BB Gun & Air Rifle Championship Match in 2021.”
