FC youth competes in world shooting championship

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Franklin County’s Camron Burks finished 22nd in the world in the FITASC World Cup shooting competition in Providence Hill Farm, Mississippi, earlier this month.

FITASC Sporting is a shooting discipline that forms part of the Federation Internationale de Tir Aux Sportives de Chasse, based in Paris. FITASC, as it is most commonly known, is an international form of sporting clays. It has been referred to as the ultimate challenge in shooting.

The competition combines speed, agility and accuracy and drew more than 800 participants.

“It was a style of shooting unlike anything I have ever shot,” said Burks, a senior at Red Bay High School. “It was a variety of targets differentiating in speed and angle in all different directions. You also had to start with your gun down instead of it already mounted. It was the first time for this competition to be ever held in the United States, which is a great step for shooting sports, especially being a World Championship.”

Burks has been shooting competitively for five years. He started shooting amateur trap and skeet before moving onto international styles of shooting.

“I like the competitiveness between everyone and how hard everyone works at the sport to be the best,” Burks explained.

Burks said shooting sports have opened many doors to him he wouldn’t have otherwise known about. He hopes to take advantage of that in the future.

“This sport has led me to where I am today,” he said. “It opened many doors to my future and gave me great friendships and memories. This sport isn’t just a hobby; it’s a lifestyle, and I plan to do it for life as long as God gives me the strength to do it.”