‘I Shoot for the Girls’ Takes Down Breast Cancer One Shot at a Time

Strong. Brave. Empowered. These three words are the driver behind “I Shoot for the Girls,” a national fundraising event for breast cancer, and an encouragement for women to fight.
“I Shoot for the Girls” national tournament raises money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation through the sport of archery, and new this year, firearms. It was started in conjunction with Shoot Like a Girl, a company with the mission of growing the number of women who participate in shooting sports by empowering them with confidence. “I Shoot for the Girls” not only raises funds to help those affected by breast cancer, but also promotes awareness and education about breast cancer prevention, treatment and research.
This event uses a special target for participants to shoot – three pink breast cancer ribbons. The white in the center of the ribbon’s loop is worth 10 points, and anywhere on the pink is five points; this includes a very small breast cancer ribbon in the “I Shoot for the Girls™” logo across the bottom of the target. The tournament is open to recurve and compound archery shooters, and now firearms shooters. With a $20 donation per person, 100 percent of the proceeds from the tournament go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
For a second year, Atlantic Cape Archery will host an “I Shoot for the Girls” tournament on Saturday, December 3 at Atlantic Cape Community College (ACCC), Building E – Gym, 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, with lines at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. This particular tournament is strictly archery due to facility constraints. This year, the tournament seeks to attract archers from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware to participate in the event.
Chad Ryan Affrunti, Atlantic Cape archery coach, shared that Atlantic Cape Community College became involved in the event when they learned that the event organizer for New Jersey, Jennifer Dean, sought out a new, larger venue to host the event. “Each of us [who is involved in the event] has been impacted by a family member, friend or co-worker who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and in partnering with Atlantic Cape Community College, we hope to be a part of the cure,” Jennifer said. As she is currently undergoing treatment for early-stage breast cancer, this year’s tournament is particularly close to her heart.
Last year, Atlantic Cape Archery hosted 55 shooters and raised nearly $1,200 for breast cancer research during the first ever “I Shoot for the Girls” event at ACCC. On a national level, Karen Butler, president and founder of Shoot Like a Girl, stated that last year’s “I Shoot for the Girls” archery tournament raised a total of $8,317, and this year there is a new goal of $20,000. The new firearms tournament will help reach this national goal in addition to the already successful archery tournament. To date, Shoot Like a Girl has raised over $40,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation since the “Shoot for the Girls” archery tournament started in 2010.
Both the firearms and the archery tournaments have divisions for adult men and women (ages 18 & older), young adult (ages 15-17), youth (ages 12-14) and cubs (ages 12 & under). The archery tournament may be shot with a compound, recurve or traditional bow, and the firearms tournament may be shot with a pistol or rifle. Top scores in each division will receive a certificate from Shoot Like a Girl, and national winners for both tournaments will receive a prize pack.
If you’re interested in participating in this year’s “I Shoot for the Girls” archery tournament at Atlantic Cape Community College, visit atlanticcapearchery.club for more information and to register. Walk-ins will be accepted for all lines, however, space is limited and priority will be given those who are pre-registered.