NU rifle team struggles with budget

By Josh Creighton
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Every year the Norwich Rifle Team struggles with a limited budget. This year is no exception.
According to the head coach Paul Mansfield, it is hard to maintain a strong team with outdated equipment and minimum support.

The rifle team has a budget of $12,000. This money pays for transportation, registration fees, lodging, equipment and meals.

"We have a minimal budget used to buy necessary needs to keep the team running," stated Joanna Mitchell, 19, a sports medicine major.

With five returning shooters and five freshmen vying for spots on the team, it is tough to accept players without the proper equipment or experience.

"It's not that the school doesn't support us very well; because we are not a spectator sport, we don't draw in money or get money back," stated captain Todd Mansfield, 21, a communications major. "We spend a lot of money on ammunition and targets."

These little expenditures cost a lot of money. For example, practice and game ammunition costs the team about $4,000 a year, and targets need to be constantly purchased for meets.

Norwich University has a tuition driven budget; the more money that is received through tuition, the more money there is to operate. It is tough to disperse the money out to all the teams equally.

Rifle team is the longest active running sport at Norwich University. Although they are a Division I varsity sports team, the budget given to the team is relatively small.

"What we have for equipment is outdated very badly," stated head coach Paul Mansfield. "Most of our better shooters will use their own money to buy their own equipment." It is this sort of action that shows a true dedication to the sport.

There are two types of guns used by the rifle team: the air rifle and the small bore .22.

"We are in the process of purchasing two new rifles," stated head athletic director Tony Mariano. "It is very tough to get everything the team needs."

With a rifle costing between $2,200-$2,300, it is difficult to make new purchases for the team.

Guns, ammo, targets, shoes, pants, jackets, sweaters, scopes, kneeling rolls, scope stands, and mats, are just a few of the items necessary for the team to compete. Decent equipment could cost one shooter $10-15,000.

"Certainly, I don't think any of our budgets are adequate," prompted Mariano, "I believe there are some that really need to be bolstered. The budget is adequate for what the team needs now."

The rifle team is one of the few nationally-ranked teams at Norwich, but the team does not get as much support as they would like. The team brings a good name to Norwich University when it does well, but it is not a spectator sport.

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