For Immediate Release:

Contact:

Ian Cheeseman
United States Long Range Rifle Teams
860-739-5598
ian@lva.com

KOWA SPORTING OPTICS COMMITS TO GOLD SPONSORSHIP OF THE UNITED STATES LONG RANGE RIFLE TEAMS
Kowa Also A Premier Sponsor of Spirit of America Matches

Niantic, CT—September 10, 2008 – The United States Long Range Rifle Teams are proud to announce that Kowa Optimed, Inc., a leading sporting optics company, has committed to be a Gold Level Sponsor of the Teams and a Premier Sponsor of  the Spirit of America Match with in-kind donations.

The U.S. Long Range Rifle Teams comprise the National Team (who include former members of the Palma® team), the Veterans’ team, and the USA Young Eagles Under 21 / Under 25 team. Kowa’s support will enable the teams to tour and compete internationally in the next three years leading up to the World Championships in Brisbane, Australia in 2011.
 
The Spirit of America Match, hosted by the Bald Eagles Rifle Club at Raton, NM, features one of long range shooting’s most prestigious international matches, the America Trophy Match.  This week, the Match will be held for the first time since 2005.  The national teams from Great Britain and Australia will compete against the U.S. National Team shooting at distances from 300 to 1,000 yards.  As part of its sponsorship Kowa has donated one of its TSN-821M spotting scopes to support the America Match.

“The spotting scope is a critical piece of equipment that can make the difference between winning and losing in our sport,” said Dennis Flaharty, Team Captain of the National / Palma® Team.  “Kowa spotting scopes are the go to products for the serious shooter.  That’s why you’ll see so many Kowas at important shooting matches.”

Kowa Optimed Inc. was founded in 1980 to provide a direct presence to the North and South American markets for Kowa's Electronics and Optics products.  Kowa Optimed is a part of Kowa Company Ltd., which was founded in 1894.

“Kowa Sporting Optics is proud to sponsor the United State Long Range Rifle Teams and we look forward to our products helping them in competition,” said Joshua Lazenby, Operations Manager at Kowa Optimed, Inc..

For additional information about the United States Long Range Rifle Teams and Kowa Optimed Inc., visit their Web sites at: http://www.usrifleteams.com and http://www.kowa-usa.com