FRONT SIGHT - uspsa

iNSIDEUSPSAcontinued from page 3.matches each year to determine thenational champions and to select theteams to represent the United Statesin international IPSC competition.The Nationals will provide the verybest competitive opportunity forqualified shooters and guests. Whilethe Nationals are also an opportunityfor members to celebrate theyear's competitive opportunitiesand watch and learn from the topathletes in our sport, the primarypurpose of the event is to select thebest shooters in each class and category.Slots, or invitations to competein these events, will be distributedprimarily on the basis of competitiveexcellence." This wording is the preambleto the board's new policy onslots.We recognize that many of theslots sent to sections and clubs arenot used or are returned. In fact, in1996 and 1997 the slots sent to sectionshad a return or expiration rateof 28 percent for Limited and 39 percentfor Open; 235 Open slots andARMALITE .308 CALIBERAR-1 0(T)CARBINEV LifetimeWarranty4/ All New,All AmericanMadeSend S2 or FFL for catalog:V Superb Accuracy &Sighting FlexibilityV Match Barrel,Picatinny FrontSight BaseV TubularHandguardV AlsoAvailablein .223CaliberARMALITE,P.O. Box 299, Geneseo, IL 61254309-944-6939, Fax 309-944-6949Website: www.armalite.com167 Limited slots sent to sections orindependent clubs expired for lackof distribution or interest. Thesewere reissued after the expirationdate to shooters who did want them,but this late distribution meansshooters have very little time to planfor a trip.In 1999, the board will distribute50 percent of the available slotsthrough sections. The remainderwill be distributed by competition atarea championships, other tournaments,or to the top shooters at theprevious year's Nationals. The bylawswill be changed in January toreflect this change in the percentageof slots distributed to sections.Tournaments meeting specificcriteria will soon be awarding sixslots, one to the high overall shooterand one to the top shooter in fiveclasses (D through Master). Theseslots will, of course, be for both Lirnitedand Open Nationals so the totalnumber of slots available at a nonareatournaments will be 12. Therewill be a limit to the number of slotsthat can be passed out this way.Only the first 11 tournaments submittingthe tournament registrationform will be awarding slots to Nationals.Area championships willcontinue to award slots as they havein the past with the addition of a slotfor the top senior.Beginning next year, all awardedslots (those distributed throughtournaments and area championships)will be for the next calendaryear. For one time only, to initiatethis distribution policy, the 1998area championships and qualifiedtournament results will be used todistribute both the 1998 and 1999slots. This will not only let shootersplan their Nationals trip further inadvance, it will also allow areachampionships to be scheduledthroughout the year instead ofpacked into a few months.Tournament StandardsIn addition to passing out slots,host clubs for tournaments and areachampionships will have the opportunityto put on a half-price NROIclasses and will be sent medals toaward to winners. Upon the approvalby the director of NR01, thematch director will be sent USPSAPresident's Medals to give to thematch winner, each class winner(Master through D), and winners ofthe women's, junior's and senior'scategories. A total of 18 medals canbe awarded for a combined Openand Limited match (nine for anOpen- or Limited-only match).NROI will provide one standardLevel I or Level II class to the hostclub. Transportation of the instructorto the match site will be paid byNROI; room and board for the instructorwill be at host expense, andthere must be a minimum of 20 students(10 for Level II) registered forthe class.SponsorshipThe Series Sponsorship programhas been eliminated in favor of anew program that will give sponsorsrecognition for supporting theUSPSA Gold Teams and the JuniorProgram. Under the Series program,area championships shared in thesponsorship donations by receiving60 percent of the Series Sponsors'merchandise. Match directors andsponsors alike were disappointed inthe program because there seemedto be too little (or too much) on theprize tables or too little recognitionfor the donated merchandise.Sponsors will be identified asUSPSA Patrons, Sustaining Sponsors,USPSA Sponsors, and NationalMatch Sponsors at various levels.Ten percent of the donations fromUSPSA Patrons, Sustaining Sponsors,and USPSA Sponsors will go tosupport the Junior Shooter Program,and another 10 percent will supportGold Teams at World Shoot andAmerica's Cup competitions. (Merchandisecontributions will be convertedto cash from Nationals entryfees). The remaining 80 percent willbe placed on prize tables at the Nationals.National Match Sponsorsand Donors will have all their donationsplaced on Nationals' prize tables.'r, FRONT SIGHT • November/December 1998