OWASCO - Children in Cayuga County got the opportunity to spend a sunny Saturday outside fishing, shooting and playing games at the Cayuga Sportsmen's Association Field Day.
The association wanted the field day to engage children more than anything else, Jack Cavanaugh, the event's chairman, said. The event introduces people to the club and gives some kids the chance to shoot or fish for the first time.
The morning started with a fishing competition in the small pond on the club's property. The day's activities also included a helicopter drop, where children scramble to collect numbered pellets that a helicopter has dropped on a field. Each number corresponds with a different prize, Cavanaugh said.
“I caught a fish,” Jaime Whitford, of Elbridge, said. “It was really small - a little bass.” Jaime learned to fish and shoot a gun earlier in the day. “I thought it was really fun,” she said.
Maureen Whitford, Jaime's mother, brought her two daughters to the field day to give them the experience of learning how to shoot and fish. “I thought it was a great day. There are a lot of families here,” she said.
Children were also given the opportunity to shoot a light 410 caliber gun at a pie plate. Each plate had a red dot on the back that wasn't visible to the shooter. After shooting at the plate, the child with the most holes in the red part of the plate won, he said.
The idea for the field day wasn't a new one for the Cayuga Sportsmen's Association. The group had an annual field day until the 80s when it was canceled. “It used to be a bigger event. You couldn't even park a car in here,” Cavanaugh said gesturing toward the clubs large fields. The event used to include horse shows, food and shooting sports.
Four years ago, Cavanaugh asked the association's board why they didn't bring the old event back.
The board agreed, and asked Cavanaugh to chair the event's planning committee, he said.
The field days now are considerably smaller than they used to be, but they are still very popular, he said.
“When someone shows up who used to go to them in the old days, the first thing out of their mouth is about how they remembered them.”
The club also provides year round weekly opportunities for its members to go shooting and hosts a yearly haunted hay ride through the woods. This year, the hay ride will be held during the two weekends before Halloween.
The morning started with a fishing competition in the small pond on the club's property. The day's activities also included a helicopter drop, where children scramble to collect numbered pellets that a helicopter has dropped on a field. Each number corresponds with a different prize, Cavanaugh said.
“I caught a fish,” Jaime Whitford, of Elbridge, said. “It was really small - a little bass.” Jaime learned to fish and shoot a gun earlier in the day. “I thought it was really fun,” she said.
Maureen Whitford, Jaime's mother, brought her two daughters to the field day to give them the experience of learning how to shoot and fish. “I thought it was a great day. There are a lot of families here,” she said.
Children were also given the opportunity to shoot a light 410 caliber gun at a pie plate. Each plate had a red dot on the back that wasn't visible to the shooter. After shooting at the plate, the child with the most holes in the red part of the plate won, he said.
The idea for the field day wasn't a new one for the Cayuga Sportsmen's Association. The group had an annual field day until the 80s when it was canceled. “It used to be a bigger event. You couldn't even park a car in here,” Cavanaugh said gesturing toward the clubs large fields. The event used to include horse shows, food and shooting sports.
Four years ago, Cavanaugh asked the association's board why they didn't bring the old event back.
The board agreed, and asked Cavanaugh to chair the event's planning committee, he said.
The field days now are considerably smaller than they used to be, but they are still very popular, he said.
“When someone shows up who used to go to them in the old days, the first thing out of their mouth is about how they remembered them.”
The club also provides year round weekly opportunities for its members to go shooting and hosts a yearly haunted hay ride through the woods. This year, the hay ride will be held during the two weekends before Halloween.
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