It has long since been established that we NRA Women are forces to be reckoned with. History reflects the undeniable fact that any physical differences between men and women evaporate the moment we pick up a firearm. So it’s always been something of a puzzle that there aren’t more female competitive shooters than there are, and that’s a puzzle that Winchester Ammunition set out to solve with the introduction of the Winchester Ladies Cup in 2021. It’s been a (clays) smashing success … and the reasons why aren’t mysterious at all.
As we’ve pointed out in this space before, one of the possible reasons why is that while the playing field is absolutely level, the paying field wasn’t —until now. The Winchester Ladies Cup comes with serious money. The top three shooters at each regional event split $5,000 (with $2,500 going to the champion, $1,500 to the runner-up and $1,000 to the third-place winner) paid out by Winchester. Then, during the grand finale, a $10,000 prize was split among the top three female competitors who headlined the full-season point race.
Over the last year, the Winchester Ladies Cup has run alongside the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) Championship Tour, Powered by Winchester. If you aren't familiar with the annual NSCA tour, it is composed of seven major sporting clays regional championships and a championship finale in San Antonio, Texas. It represents the very best in sporting clays, with the world’s top sport shooters gathering at the finest gun clubs to compete for top honors. As soon as those top honors included serious prize money, the Championship Tour saw more female competitors than ever before.
It shouldn’t come as a mystery that Winchester led this charge to include more women in competitive shooting sports, either. After all, the company’s first move was to simply ask its women pro shooters for suggestions. Team Winchester’s Desirae Edmunds helped shape the structure of the Winchester Ladies Cup (and yes, she finished third in the final competition).
“I have been amazed at the excitement from people, not only female competitors but also sporting clays competitors all across the board, who are following along with the Winchester Ladies Cup this year,” said Edmunds. “The Winchester Ladies Cup has succeeded in drawing attention and excitement to the continually growing group of female clay target shooters. These types of opportunities and rewards have never been available for female shooters in this sport before. I am grateful and proud to stand by Winchester and their continued support of our industry.”
The 2021 Winchester Ladies Cup events all featured legendary Winchester AA shotshells, the choice of champions, with its groundbreaking, time-tested, shot-protecting and felt-recoil-reducing AA wad and high-strength extruded-plastic hull. The newcomer to the range, AA Diamond Grade, quickly became a favorite among the field of competition, featuring a higher antimony, copper-plated, harder and rounder shot for true clay-crushing results.
Congratulations to all who participated in the Winchester Ladies Cup season!
2021 Winchester Ladies Cup Overall Results:
- Overall Winchester Ladies Cup Champion: Karen Shedd
- Second Place: Madison Sharpe
- Third Place: Desirae Edmunds
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