February 7, 2020 

Every three years, the United States Practical Shooting Association sends the best competitors to compete in the International Practical Shooting Confederation Handgun World Shoot.  World Shoot XIX will take place in Pattaya, Thailand November 28, 2020 through December 5, 2020.   

IPSC is a confederation of over 100 regions.  Each of those regions is awarded a limited number of slots for World Shoot events.  In 2020, the US Region was awarded 52 slots to IPSC World Shoot XIX.  This is on par with what was awarded in 2017, and equal to all of the largest regions. Over 150 USPSA Members completed applications for slots, and over 100 of them completed the necessary steps to qualify.  The Regional Director will request additional slots for the second round of slot allocation.  In 2017, the US Region was awarded 2 additional slots. 

In 2017, there were 5 IPSC Divisions, and athletes from the US won 3 of the 5 gold medals as World Champions in those divisions.  In Division Team competition, the US won 4 of the 5 divisions, and placed second in the fifth.  It is the goal of USPSA to field individuals and division teams to compete and win in this prestigious event. 

In 2020, there are 7 IPSC Divisions, and USPSA will field competitive teams in all 7.  To ensure teams are comprised of the best athletes, the Regional Director will award the first 28 slots to the first 4 competitors in each division from the qualifying matches set forth in the 2020 World Shoot Team Selection and Individual Slot Policy, as approved by the USPSA Board of Directors in 2017.   

While the data is automated, the process of getting confirmation from humans makes this process slower than anticipated.  It simply takes time contacting slot earners and garnering their commitments, whether that is by email or phone.  Here is how it works: 

1. The first 28 slots will be offered to the highest 4 slot earners in each of the 7 IPSC Divisions.  If anyone declines their slot, then the slot is offered to the next highest points earner in that division.  These slot earners will have until Friday, February 14, 2020 to claim their slots.

2. Once the Division Teams are selected, the team members will be required to sign the team agreement.  If anyone declines to sign the team agreement, then the slot is offered to the next highest points earner in that division.

3. The remaining slots, with the exception of any Regional Director’s discretionary slots awarded, will be offered to those with the highest points totals without regard for division or category.  If anyone declines their slot, the slot is offered to the next highest points earner.  These slot earners will have until Friday, February 21, 2020 to claim and pay for their slots.  These slots are $500USD.

4. The Regional Director has 10 discretionary slots per the policy.  He has used only 1 for the purpose of promoting an IPSC World Shoot bid to the IPSC General Assembly for hosting the next World Shoot in the United States.  The Regional Director returned the additional 9 slots back to the pool to be used by individuals in order of finish.

5. The Regional Director may also choose to field Category Teams if there are enough qualified athletes in a Category and Division.  Category Teams will not be formed with less than 4 members.  Category Teams will not be formed with anyone who did not complete at least 3 of the 4 qualifiers.  At the point of initial slot distribution, it is unlikely that any Category Teams will be formed.  The most likely Category Team to be formed, if more than 7 individuals decline slots, is a Senior Open Team.  However, there is no guarantee this will happen.  The Regional Director has to balance individual performance of those in categories, the number in each category, the likelihood of there being teams in other regions in each category, and the likelihood of our category teams being competitive against other regions.  There are several ladies, seniors, and juniors in the top 50,  which means that we will field individuals in multiple categories even though there are not enough slots and slot earners to field competitive category teams.

There will be over 100 USPSA Members who applied who will not make the cutoff to compete.  This decision is always a very difficult one to make, and it remains the primary goal of this region to send the best of the best to represent USPSA, and win individual and team medals.  The policy awards performance ahead of all else.  There are many places and times where participation is awarded alongside performance each year in USPSA.  The World Championship has simply evolved into one that is about pure performance.  If you did not make the initial cut, you may have another chance.  Applicants will be contacted as slots become available from dropouts or additional allocation.