Sports Show returns with archery, fastest retriever and trophy deer competitions
Since it was founded in 1940, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show has provided opportunities for attendees to go beyond the normal show-going experience and actually participate.
The 2022 show will continue that tradition with marquee competitions for archers, dogs and deer hunters, said show organizer Stephen Zonars.
Two of the events are familiar – the West Town Archery Tournament Series and the Vital Essentials Fastest Retriever Contest – and one will be held for the first time, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Trophy Deer Contest run by the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show is March 10-13 at Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center in West Allis.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was canceled in 2021 for the first time in its 81-year history.
Plans call for a hardy resumption of the Midwest's longest-running outdoor sports, travel and entertainment show.
A wide range of exhibitors will be on hand, including for outdoor products, vacation destinations and conservation organizations. Seminars, demonstrations and shows will also be held on various stages.
And show-goers will have the chance to earn titles in several competitions.
For devotees of the "stick-and-string," the West Town Archery Tournament Series includes the Badgerland Challenge and the Bowhunter Challenge.
The competitive archery events will be held in a pavilion inside the exhibition hall.
The Badgerland Pro-Am Shootout will separate archers into classes who will vie for cash prizes. Shooters in AA (the highest class) will compete for a payout of $4,000, including $1,500 for first place.
The Bowhunter Challenge for all cub, youth and adult amateur competitors; both individual and team events will be held. Prizes include gift certificates.
Participants must pre-register for the archery competitions at westtownarchery.com; the deadline is March 4.
This Vital Essentials Fastest Retriever Contest will once again provide a chance for our canine family members to show their speed.
All breeds are welcome, but no professionals, please. The contest is intended for family pets.
This year the Vital Essentials Fastest Retriever Competition will award cash prizes of $500, $250 and $100 to the first-, second- and third-place finishers, respectively.
Doug Janes of Donnybrook Kennel in Cedar Grove will once again oversee the contest. The deadline to enter is Feb. 27. Visit jssportsshow.com to enter.
Deer hunters are invited to bring their buck racks to the show and enter them in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Trophy Deer Contest.
The antlers will be scored by members of the Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club in booth No. 1720. No pre-registration is necessary but participants must purchase a ticket to enter the show and pay a $20 fee to enter the trophy deer contest.
All entries must have been legally killed in Wisconsin by a licensed hunter.
The contest will include divisions for deer taken by firearms, crossbow and archery as well as award prizes for judges choice, best of show by a youth hunter and best of show by a female hunter. Winners will receive a plaque or trophy.
The deer heads will remain on display at the show, and winners will be announced, during the afternoon of March 13.
In addition, WBBC will bring some top all-time Wisconsin deer heads for public viewing at their booth, including replicas of the Charles Bocook typical whitetail state record for archery (192 6/8") and the Jim Jordan buck, the 206 1/8" trophy shot in 1914 that once held the world record for typical whitetails taken with a rifle.
To purchase Sport Show tickets, view a schedule or other details, visit jssportsshow.com.
Free ice fishing clinics: The 29th annual Free Ice Fishing Clinics for Kids will be held Saturday at four Milwaukee County Park locations.
The instruction is geared for anglers age 15 and under and will be provided by volunteers with area clubs. The class portion will be held inside with fishing on lagoons to follow, conditions permitting. Tackle will be available for use but participants are also encouraged to bring their own.
The events will run from 9 a.m. to about 2 p.m.
The locations are Brown Deer Park, 7835 N. Green Bay Road, hosted by Okauchee Fishing Club; Greenfield Park, 2028 S. 124th Street, hosted by Great Lakes Sport Fishermen; McCarty Park, 8214 W. Cleveland Avenue, hosted by Southside Sportsmen Club; and Kosciuszko Park, 2201 S. 7th Street, hosted by Wisconsin Fishing Club.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The 2022 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show runs March 10-13
