SO YOU WANT TO MAKE A TEAM
By Lester L. Greevy, Jr.
This is my first anniversary
column. It has been a year that I
have been
writing Trapshooting The
Olympic Way. My first two columns
talked about the how
a young shooter could become
involved in the Junior Olympic program and
described the various teams
operated by USA Shooting.
Recently, National Olympic
Coach Lloyd Woodhouse and Asst. National Coach B. J.
McDaniel, in an article
published in USA Shooting News discussed all the US
teams and how a shooter can
try out for them. I have their
permission to share
that column with you.
SO YOU WANT TO MAKE A TEAM?
By BJ McDaniel and Lloyd
Woodhouse
One of the questions we are
frequently asked by shooters and parents alike is
Òhow does one go about making
one of USA ShootingÕs Shotgun Teams?Ó
This is an
important question, whether
they are setting future goals, or are just curious
as to what is available in
USA ShootingÕs clay target programs.
You can find
the most complete answer by
reading through USA Shooting Policies and
Procedures. It describes in detail the various
Teams and their required
eligibility. I will try to summarize those policies
into a comprehensive form
below.
What are the Teams that you
can make?
United States Shooting Team -
(USST). This is the official U.S.
Shooting Team
for the elite male and female
shooters who will represent the United States in
international
competition. It consists of the
athletes who have earned their
way onto the Teams by their
performance during one or more qualifying matches.
These matches are usually
designated ÒtryoutsÓ in advance of the international
competition and are open to
all shooters with U.S. citizenship.
Juniors may
also qualify for these Teams
based on their performance during these designated
matches. The USST teams will represent the
United States in the following
competitions.
Olympic Team - (OT). This team is chosen in the spring or
early summer of the
Olympic year and is based on
the total score from the Fall and Spring Selection
matches plus finals. The Quota spots available to our
country for the Olympic
Games determine the number of
athletes included on this Team.
These Quota spots
must be won in the 3 years
preceding the Olympic Games. Each
individual athlete
must also have shot a
personal Minimum Qualifying Score (MQS) in the four years
prior to the Games. The maximum number of athletes allowed
on this Team is, two
men and one woman for each of
the trap, skeet, and double trap events.
For the
2008 Olympic games the
WomenÕs double trap event has been removed from the
Olympic program. Athletes will remain on the U.S.
National Team until the
beginning of the next
National Championship after the Olympics.
Pan American Games -
(PAG). The Pan American Games are
held in the year prior
to the Olympic year. This team is chosen as early as
possible during that year
and is based on the total
score from the Fall and Spring Selection matches plus
final. The number of male athletes carried on
this Team is two men for each of
the trap, skeet, and double
trap events. And one female
athlete for the womenÕs
trap and skeet events. Athletes will remain as members of the
U.S. National
Team until the beginning of
the next National Championship after the Pan
American Games.
World Clay Target Championship
Team and World Shooting Championships Team -
(WCT). During the four-year Olympic cycle, the
World Clay Target (Shotgun)
Championships are held in the
first and third years following the Olympic year.
During the second year
following the Olympic games the World Shooting
Championships are held which
includes all of the shooting disciplines. Teams
are chosen in the spring or
early summer prior to the World Championships and
are based on the total score
from the Fall and Spring Selection matches plus
final. Each individual athlete must have shot
a Performance Standard Score, PSI
(Performance Score
Individual) or PSA (Performance Score Average) in the year
prior to the World
Championships to be allowed to travel to this competition.
The number of athletes on
this team is three men for each of the trap, skeet,
and double trap events. And three women for each of the Trap
and Skeet events.
There are also events for
juniors at the World Championships.
However, USA
Shooting will not fund
juniors to the World Clay Target Championships starting
in 2005. Juniors may travel and compete at their
own expense provided they are
selected following the
procedures stated above for senior athletes. Athletes
will remain on the National
Team (seniors) and National Development Team
(juniors) until the beginning
of the next National Championship after the World
Championships. Championship
of the Americas - (CAT). During
the four-year
Olympic cycle, the
Championship of the Americas is held in the year after the
Olympic year. This team is chosen in the spring or
early summer prior to the
CAT games and is based on the
total score from the Fall and Spring Selection
matches plus final. Each individual athlete must have shot
a Performance
Standard Score PSI (Performance
Score Individual) or PSA (Performance Score
Average) during the year
prior to the CAT games. The number
of athletes
selected to this team is two
men in the trap, skeet and double trap events, (six
men total) and two women in
each for the trap and skeet events (four women
total). Athletes will remain on the National
Team (seniors) and National
Development Team (juniors)
until the beginning of the next National Championship
after the Championship of the
Americas.
National Team - (NT): This is
the National Training Team for the leading male
and female shooters in the
country. It consists of athletes
who have qualified
for the team by their
performance at the National Championships, the Fall
Selection Match, or as a
member of the USST. In
addition, the National Coach,
with the approval of the
Director of Operations, may select individuals based on
their performance in the
qualifying matches. Athletes will
remain as members of
the National Team until the
beginning of the next National Championship.
National Development Team -
(NDT): This is the National Development Training
Team for the leading male and
female (normally juniors) shooters in the country.
It consists of athletes who have qualified for the
Team by their performance
during one or more matches. These matches include the National
Championship and
the Junior Olympic Shotgun
National Championships or as a member of the USST.
Collegians may qualify for
this team by their performance in the International
portion of the ACU-I
Championship. In addition, the
National Coach, with the
approval of the Director of
Operations, may select individuals based on their
performance in the qualifying
matches. Athletes will remain as
members of the
National Development Team
until the beginning of the next National Championship.
World Cup Teams: The National
Coach selects athletes for World Cup teams with
the approval of the Director
of Operations from the current NT and/or NDT based
on the athleteÕs scores and
Performance Standards achieved for overseas travel.
Availability of funds plays a
role in how many athletes are taken to each event.
World Cup Teams usually include three athletes entered in
each event who
compete for medals and can
obtain a personal MQS, and possibly an Olympic Quota
place. Additional two athletes may be entered
in each event to obtain personal
MQS scores and
experience. There are four World
Cups for men each year, and two
for women. There are no junior events at World
Cups. Olympic quota spots are
available to the winners of
the World Cups held in the two years prior to the
Olympic Games.
Junior Olympic Shotgun
Shooting Team - (JOST): Every year this Team is selected
from those applications
submitted to the National Coach after the Fall Selection
match, normally in
November/December. To be eligible
they must NOT have reached
the year of their
twenty-first birthday, or can be currently in college and
under the age of 24. Applicants are selected by the National
Coach and his
staff based on the
applicantÕs past shooting performance, future potential,
school grades, and
citizenship. The Team usually
consists of junior men and
junior women for each of the
trap, skeet, and double trap events.
Athletes will
remain as members of the
Junior Olympic Shotgun Shooting Team until the
beginning of the next Junior
Olympic Shotgun Championship.
What matches are used to
select those Teams?
National Championships: Each
year in the June/July time frame the National
Championships for Shotgun are
held at the Olympic range on Fort Carson in
Colorado Springs. The course of fire is 300 targets plus
a final of 25 targets,
shot 100 targets per day, for
trap and skeet, and 300 targets plus a final of 50
targets for double trap, shot
150 targets per day. The top three
male and
female open shooters in each
discipline are selected to the National Team (NT).
The top two male and female
junior shooters in each event are selected to the
National Development Team
(NDT).
Spring and Fall Selection
Matches: These two matches currently alternate between
Colorado Springs and Ft.
Benning, GA. They are usually
designated as specific
USST selection matches. The course of fire for each match is
250 targets for
trap and skeet shot
(100-100-50 targets per day), and 300 targets for double
trap shooting 150 targets per
day. The scores from the first
match (without
final) are added to those of
the second match, with the top six athletes
shooting a final for Team
placement. In addition at the Fall
match, the highest
scoring male and female
athlete in each event, who is not already on the NT,
will be added to the Team.
National Junior Olympic
Shotgun Championships: The Junior Olympic Shooting
Championship is held each
year in mid-August in Colorado Springs.
Its focus is
the development of new and
promising junior shooters in the Shotgun sports.
Participants will compete in
the championship to determine the top winners in
the junior shotgun
events. The two top male and
female athletes in each event
will be selected to the
NDT. The course of fire for the
match is 125 targets
for trap and skeet shot with
75-50 targets per day plus a 25 target final, and
150 targets for double trap
plus a 50 shot final shot in one day.
ACUI Intercollegiate Clay
Target Championships: This match is held in the April
time frame each year and recently
has been held at the National Gun Club in San
Antonio, Texas. The match is run by the Association of
College Unions
International (ACUI) with the
help of USA Shooting. It consists
of 100 targets
each for International Skeet,
International Trap, American Skeet, American Trap,
and 50 Five-Stand targets for
a total of 450 targets. The high
over all male
and female collegiate in the
two International events will earn a spot on the
National Development Team.
What Teams can I make?
Use the table below to
determine which team you are eligible for based upon your
age and sex.
**** = Must Compete in Senior Class.
** = Must be 23 yrs Old or Less and currently a
college student
*** = Must be on the National Team (NT) for the first time.