Guns aren’t always discouraged, you  know.

The District 7 School Board approved the proposal for an EHS Trap Team at the Feb. 10 board meeting.

The group will be recognized as an EHS club and will be hosted by the Edwardsville Gun Club. However, Trap Club will still abide by the guidelines of the EHS Athletic Department.

The intent of the club is to recognize an already existing group at the Edwardsville Gun Club and to give those students the opportunity to compete and be recognized through EHS.

“Parents approached us a couple of months ago requesting the District to endorse a group of students who were currently involved in the Trap Club,” Principal Dennis Cramsey said.

Trap Club will be a member of the School Clay Target Program and will be competing with surrounding schools. They will practice twice weekly and compete at 10 weekly meets, with a season running from September through March. All practices and meets will be held off school grounds.

All coaches will be NRA certified. In order to be a member of the club, participants will need to attend a mandatory orientation prior to each season and will need to successfully complete the Illinois Hunter Safety Program.

Firearms and ammunition will be stored at the Edwardsville Police Department. Participants are responsible for the transportation of these items from their homes to the Gun Club. Absolutely no firearms will be allowed on school grounds.

For competitions, groups of five, or squads, are formed. The five competitors with the highest averages are assigned to this squad for meets. The squad of five varies depending on performance from the members in weekly practices and meets.

At the meets, each squad member shoots two rounds of trap, each round consisting of 25 clay targets. A perfect individual score is 50 points, and 250 for a squad.

The club will kick off its first season in the 2014-2015 school year.