Port Clinton, Ohio– December 2024 – Mark your calendars! The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is thrilled to announce SGT Sagen Maddalena of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit as the 2025 National Matches First Shot Speaker. She will take her ceremonial first shot on July 14 at 4:30 p.m. on the Camp Perry National Guard Training Facility’s historic Rodriguez Range in Port Clinton, Ohio.
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Since 1907, the National Trophy Rifle and Pistol Matches have been held at Camp Perry – welcoming each generation’s most talented marksmen and women from around the country as well as those hoping to learn more about the sport. The First Shot Ceremony serves as the traditional opening to the month-long competition season, while the First Shot speaker is an honored distinction amongst the marksmanship community.
SGT Maddalena began her career as a junior on the California Grizzlies high power rifle team. As a Grizzly, she garnered several successes including the Freedom’s Fire Trophy as a member of the the highest-scoring team in the National Matches Junior Rifle Team Match in 2013. Maddalena went on to join the University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team before heading to the Army.
After several successes on a global level, she made her Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games before returning to Team USA for the 2024 Paris Games in both air rifle and smallbore – earning silver in the women’s three-position match.
The CMP is honored to have her back to kick off the 2025 National Matches!
About the National Matches:
The National Matches schedule is comprised of the Trophy Pistol and Rifle Matches, National Games Matches, National Smallbore Matches, National Air Gun Championships, and the National Mid-Range and Long Range Matches. Along with several competitive opportunities, the National Matches includes a variety of educational clinics for all experience levels as well as shopping selections from some of today’s leading industry vendors.
Plan your visit to the 2025 National Matches and view the schedule of events at https://thecmp.org/cmp-national-matches/.
– – Ashley Dugan, CMP Staff Writer
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
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