OFFICIAL PROGRAM
2008 U. S. ARMY JUNIOR AIR RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIP

Welcome to the 2008 U.S. Army Junior Open Air Rifle Championship!

Juniors who qualified for the U. S. Army Junior Open Championship began their Fort Benning experience by attending an advanced clinic taught by the U. S. Army International Rifle Team.

• Championship Objectives. The U. S. Army sponsors the Annual U. S. Army Open Air Rifle Championship to 1) promote rifle practice and firearm safety, 2) to foster junior participation in state and national rifle competition, 3) to connect with American youth by making U. S. Army marksmanship expertise available to them. Participation by as many teams and clubs as possible in the state championship postal competitions is encouraged.

• U. S. Army Sponsorship. The U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) and the U. S. Army Recruiting Command provide direct support for the state and national competitions. USAMU will conduct the national championship at its Pool Range Complex at Fort Benning, Georgia. The world-renowned Army International Rifle Team will provide an instructional clinic as part of the championship. The Army International Rifle Team currently includes one Olympic medalist and two individual World Champions. The U. S. Army Recruiting Command will assign Army Recruiters to travel to schools, JROTC units and clubs to present state championship team and individual awards.

• Civilian Marksmanship Program. The CMP supports the U. S. Army Junior Open Air Rifle Championship by providing funding assistance, promoting participation, issuing target sets to competing organizations, scoring postal targets and conducting results operations for the State Postal and National Championship competitions.

• Entry Fee. Entry fees for the 2008 competition remain at $5.00 per competitor, with no additional charge for team entries. The reduced entry fee is intended to encourage more junior clubs and teams to participate with larger numbers of shooters. This is a competition where you can give all junior shooters in your program a chance to experience the challenges of state and maybe even national competition.

• Open Junior Competition. The U. S. Army Junior Open Air Rifle Championship is open to all junior shooting organizations that have school-age juniors as members or enrollees (high school seniors or below). Participating organizations can be junior clubs, school teams, 4-H clubs, JROTC units (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps or Navy) or other organizations with eligible junior members.

Introduction 

The U. S. Army sponsors the annual U. S. Army Junior Open Air Rifle Championship to give sporter and precision class position junior air rifle shooters of all levels of ability an opportunity to test their marksmanship skills against other junior shooters in their home states during a nation-wide postal competition and, for the best state championship teams, against the top junior teams and shooters in the nation. The Championship has two phases, a State Championship postal phase and a National Championship shoulder-to-shoulder phase. Here are important dates for the championship:

The U. S. Army Junior Air Rifle Championship will be fired on the Army Marksmanship Unit’s Pool Range that is fully equipped with electronic targets.

• Entries. Entries or requests for official targets may be submitted anytime after 15 November 2007. Entries must be sent to CMP. No entries may be postmarked later than 22 February 2008.

• Competition Events. The 2008 US Army Open Championship features two separate events, a sporter class three-position air rifle event and a precision class air rifle standing event. Because these are different types of events, all competitors may fire the State Championship postal competition in either or both events. Teams may compete in the National Championship in only one class, however.

• State Championship Postal Competition. 15 November 2007 – 15 March 2008. Postal targets for all participating teams and individuals must be fired and forwarded to the CMP, postmarked not later than 15 March 2008.

• State Championship Scoring. All targets will be scored at CMP Headquarters. State Championship postal match scores will be posted not later than 24 March 2008. A one week challenge period will close on 31 March 2008, when results will be final. Teams that qualify for the National Championship will be notified as soon as possible after that date.

• National Championship. 7-9 August 2008 at the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit, Fort Benning, Georgia. The National Championship will offer a special training clinic taught by U. S. Army International Rifle Team coaches and shooters and a shoulder-to-shoulder competition for the 10 highest qualifying sporter and 10 highest qualifying precision state champion teams in the State Championship Postal Competition. The 2007 sporter and precision class team champions will also be invited to enter teams of eligible shooters.

Rules 

The 2006-2008 National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules (6th edition) and this Official Program govern the State and National Championship phases of this competition. Additional program details concerning the National Championship will be provided at the time qualifying teams are notified. Rulebooks may be ordered from the CMP, tel. 419-635-2141, ext. 1102, or downloaded from the CMP web site at http://www.odcmp.com/3P/Rules.pdf. 

Who May Compete 

Team Entries: Teams must represent any club, school or other organization that complies with Rule 3.2.1, School Age Teams, in the National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules. All team members must be members of or be enrolled in the club, team, school or other organization, reside in the geographic proximity of the city where the club, team, school or other organization is based and regularly participate in its activities. Teams may fire as many shooters as they wish in the State Championship postal phase in either the sporter three-position or precision standing events. The scores of each team's top four shooters in the sporter and/or precision classes (see Sec. 7 of this program for details) count as the official team score(s). Plus, the individual scores of every shooter who fires with each team will be listed in State Championship individual rankings.

Individual Entries: Individual junior shooters who are not members of a team, but who comply with Rule 3.1.1, School Age Competitors, are eligible to compete in the State Championship postal competition. Individual shooters’ results will be ranked in the State Championship individual rankings, but only teams will be invited to the National Championship. This will give individual juniors who do not have a full four-person team to compete with an opportunity to participate in the State Championship postal.

Age Limits: All participants in the state championship postal competition must be enrolled in high school or middle school or the equivalent (i.e. home school). The School-Age eligibility rule in the National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules (Rule 3.1.1) applies.  There is no minimum age.

Courses of Fire 

Members of the Army International Rifle Team will provide clinic instruction and coaching for teams that qualify for the National Championship competition at Fort Benning in August. Team member SFC Jason Parker, shown here shooting standing, is a World Champion in air rifle and has set two individual World Records.

State Championship Postal Phase: In the postal phase, each shooter in the sporter class event will fire a 3x10 course of fire (10 shots in each position, prone, standing, and kneeling, fired in that order). Each shooter in the precision air rifle event will fire 40 shots standing (4x10 or 2x20 standing).

National Championship Phase: The National Championship competition is a shoulder-to-shoulder match with one full day of instruction and training followed by two days of competition and an impressive awards banquet. In individual sporter class competition, competitors will fire two 3x20 courses of fire (one each day), with the top eight individual scorers each day firing a 10-shot final (one each day). Team scores will be the totals of the two 3x20 scores for each day fired by the four team members. In individual precision class competition, competitors will fire two 40-shot standing courses of fire (one each day), with the top eight individual scorers each day firing a 10-shot final (one each day). Team scores will be the totals of the two 40-shot standing scores fired by the four team members. Final round scores do not count in team totals. The average of the two finals will be added to competitors’ individual scores (If a shooter is in only one final, that score is his/her average) for all competitors who qualify for one or more finals (top eight individual scores each day).

Shooting Positions: The prone, standing and kneeling positions as described in Rules 5.1.1, 5.1.2 and 5.1.3 must be used. Position firing must be done in that order.

Shooting Tables: During the National Championship at Fort Benning the targets are fixed at the ISSF approved height of 1.4 m (55 inches, Rule 5.5.4). Firing at these targets in the prone and kneeling positions in the sporter class event is done from tables that are 28 inches high. They are standard 6’ x 2’ folding tables normally found at local office stores.

Postal Targets

Official 12 bulls-eye 10-meter air rifle targets, designated as 10-meter Air Rifle VIS targets will be used for the postal phase. These targets are designed to be scored electronically with Orion Visual Image Scoring (VIS) software. Official State Championship target sets with 2008 U. S. Army Open Championship target seals printed on the backs of the targets will be forwarded to participating individuals/teams as soon as entry forms are received by the CMP. Any State Championship postal scores fired on targets other than targets with official target seals printed on them will be disqualified. 

Rifles, Clothing and Equipment

Sporter class participants must use air rifles and equipment as defined in Rule 4.2 (Sporter Air Rifle) and Rule 4.3 (Sporter Clothing and Accessories) in the National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules. Only Daisy M853/753/953/888/887, Avanti XSV40, Crossman M2000, Air Arms S200/T200 (without adjustable cheek-piece or butt-plate) and AirForce Air Guns “Edge” air rifles may be used in the sporter class. Teams or individuals that use any other air rifles or that use shooting jackets must compete in the precision class. Precision class participants must use air rifles and equipment as defined in Rules 4.4 and 4.5 (Precision Air Rifle) and Rule 4.6 (Precision Clothing and Accessories). Shooting jackets, pants or special shooting boots may be used only in the precision class. A sporter class air rifle may be used in the precision standing event, but no precision air rifle may be used in the sporter 3x20 event. Shooters in both sporter and precision classes can use shooting gloves. Anyone with questions about equipment for the sporter or precision classes is encouraged to contact the National Three-Position Air Rifle Council Rules Hotline, 419-635-2141, ext. 1102 or competitions@odcmp.com. The air rifles, clothing and equipment used by all competitors in the National Championship must pass equipment control before the competition.

Team Competition 

Sporter and Precision Team Entries: Each participating organization may enter as many individuals as they wish in the State Championship postal phase. Shooters in the U. S. Army Junior Open Championship can shoot in both the sporter three-position and precision standing events. Participating organizations may have four or more individual shooters fire in the sporter class and may also have the same or other individual shooters fire in the precision class. Participating organizations thus may have team scores in either the sporter or precision classes or in both classes. The organization's team score for the sporter and/or precision classes will be the total of the four highest scores fired by individuals representing that organization in that class. If your team qualifies for the National Championship, the four team members who represent your organization in the National Championship do not have to be the four high scoring members on your team in the State Championship, but they must be selected from shooters who participated in the State Championship in either sporter or precision class.

One organization may enter an unlimited number of competitors in the State Championship postal phase in either the sporter three-position or precision standing events. Individual juniors who represent organizations that do not enter a full team of four shooters may also fire in the State Championships in either class. Individual competitors may not represent more than one organization, however. Each individual competitor may fire only one set of “official match targets” during the State Championship sporter class phase and one set of targets during the State Championship precision phase. Individual champions in a State Championship do not advance to the National Championship unless they are members of a state champion team that qualifies for the National Championship.

Entry forms for this competition must be completed and sent to the CMP, postmarked not later than 29 February 2008. Use the Target Order Form for the 2008 U. S. Army Junior Open Air Rifle Championship. The entry fee for this Championship is $5.00 per individual competitor for each set of targets for the sporter class competition and $5.00 per individual for each set of targets for the precision class competition. There are no additional team entry fees. Entry fees may be paid by check (payable to the Civilian Marksmanship Program) or credit card. Do not send cash or purchase orders. All entry fees will be used to provide funding assistance for team travel to the National Championship.

Targets will be officially scored at CMP Headquarters. Scoring will be done electronically with Orion Visual Image Scoring (VIS) software. Scoring will be verified by CMP scoring officials.

Forward all fired targets, postmarked not later than 15 March 2008, to: 

Civilian Marksmanship Program 
CMP/US Army Postal Match Coordinator 
Camp Perry Training Site, Bldg. 3 
P.O. Box 576 
Port Clinton, OH 43452 

At the conclusion of the State Championship postal phase, a Preliminary Results Bulletin will be posted on the CMP website (http://clubs.odcmp.com/results) not later than 22 March 2008. A challenge period will be open for one week after the bulletin is posted; scoring challenges may be submitted to CMP Competitions via email, fax, regular mail or telephone NLT 31 March 08. Results posted on the CMP website for the State Championship postal phase become final on 31 March 08. Qualifiers for the National Championship will be officially notified as soon as possible after that date.

National Championship results also will be posted on the CMP website (http://clubs.odcmp.com/results) during the days of that competition on 7-9 August 2008.

State Championship Awards and National Championship Qualifying 

State Championships: U. S. Army Air Rifle Championship Medals will be awarded to members of State Championship Teams (4 medals) and State Individual Champions in both sporter and precision classes if there are at least three participating teams/individuals in that class from that state. If there are more than 7 participating teams/individuals in a state, second place medals will be given; if there are more than 11 teams/individuals participating, third place medals will be given. When three individual awards are given and competitors from one organization place first, second and third in the state, the third place award will be passed down to the highest ranking competitor from another organiztion. All entries from states with two or fewer participating organizations will be combined into one At-Large state category. Teams and individuals in the At-Large category will be treated as one state for awards purposes.

National Championship Invitations: The 10 highest scoring teams that win sporter class state championships (only one per state or At-Large category) and the 10 highest scoring organizations that win precision class state championships (only one per state or At-Large category) will be invited to send a four-person team and a team coach to the National Championship. If a participating organization has both a sporter team and a precision team qualify for the National Championship, that organization must choose whether to accept a sporter or precision team invitation. The other invitation will be passed down to the next eligible team. The winning sporter team and precision team from the previous year will receive an automatic invitation for this year’s National Championship. These teams must bring four shooters who are eligible to compete in the 2008 Championship. Teams that accept National Championship invitations will receive a financial grant from CMP to assist with travel expenses. Additional information regarding arrangements for National Championship housing and food service arrangements will be available when invitations are issued to qualifying teams.

6 August: Arrival of teams, team registration, open practice at USAMU Pool Complex Range.

7 August: Precision and sporter clinics presented by the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit International Rifle Team, practice on USAMU range. 

8 August: Day one of competition; there will be one precision standing relay and one 3x20 sporter relay. Finals for each event will follow.

9 August: Day two of competition; there will be one precision standing relay and one 3x20 sporter relay. Finals for each event will follow. The awards banquet takes place that evening.

10 August: Departure day

National Championship Awards: The U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit will provide award plaques and medallions to the winners of the National Championship individual and team competitions in the sporter and precision classes. The winner of the Precision Class National Team Championship will receive the U. S. Army Precision Rifle trophy. The winner of the Sporter Class National Team Championship will receive the U. S. Army Sporter Rifle trophy.

If you require information, assistance, or advice concerning this championship, contact: 

Mike Behnke                                     or        SFC Frances Raphael 
Phone (706) 545 7841                                 Phone (706) 545 7174 
FAX (706) 545 6252                                    FAX (706) 545 6703 
Email michael.behnke@usaac.army.mil    Email frances.raphael@usaac.army.mil 

CMP Postal Match Coordinator
Phone (419) 635-2141 ext. 1113
FAX (419) 635-2573
Email postals@odcmp.com