The most popular junior rifle and pistol program in the USA is Three-Position Air Rifle (3PAR). 3PAR competitions are governed by a rulebook titled 14th Edition 2022-2024 National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules. As the date on the current rulebook indicates, 3PAR’s current rulebook is due for review and revision this year. A 15th Edition 2024-2026 National Standard Three-Position Air Rifle Rules is due for release in September 2024, in time for the new shooting season to begin at the start of the school year. The CMP and National Three-Position Air Rifle Council are seeking input from coaches, athletes, and match officials regarding any
3PAR competitions feature two categories, one for athletes shooting sporter class air rifles, where costs and equipment are strictly limited. This is the most popular 3PAR category. The other competition category is for precision class air rifles, where the same air rifles, clothing and equipment that are used by all athletes in international competitions like the Olympics are used. Girls and boys compete on an equal basis in 3PAR.
These competitions are governed by the National Three-Position Air Rifle Council, which is composed of national youth-serving organizations and industry representatives that are actively involved in promoting this dynamic form of youth air rifle training and competition. The Civilian Marksmanship Program handles the production of National Council Rules as well as the administration of 3PAR match sanctioning.
Council member organizations conduct both training and competition programs for school-age youths. The CMP administers the popular Junior Distinguished Badge program where athletes earn credit points that count towards the awarding of the badge in national championships and approximately 350 Cup Matches each year. The Scopos “Rezults” system now provides scoring and match administration services for 2,500 or more 3PAR competitions annually. The CMP, American Legion, Army Marksmanship Unit, 4-H Shooting Sports and the four JROTC Commands all conduct major national 3PAR championships every year. Scopos administers a National Air Rifle League in the fall and National New Shooter Air Rifle League in the winter. The 3PAR program is national and comprehensive in scope and involves the participation of hundreds of thousands of youths.
The CMP and National Council would like to invite anyone who is actively involved in 3PAR competition, whether as a coach, instructor, junior program leader, athlete or match official, to provide their input for the new rulebook. Any recommendations or comments they have to improve 3PAR competitions will be welcomed and considered in preparing the 2024-2026 rules.
Recommendations, questions or comments regarding 3PAR rules should be sent to Vicki Donoho, CMP Program Coordinator, at 3PAR@thecmp.org.
Rules for the 3PAR competition program have stabilized in recent years. There were only a few changes in the current 2022-2024 Rules. Very few changes are expected in the new 2024-2026 Rules. One change that is being seriously considered is to apply the international position firing order, kneeling-prone-standing in all competitions. The present rules give match sponsors the option of using the old order, prone-standing-kneeling, but almost all matches today use the newer international firing order, kneeling-prone-standing.
Several minor changes have been identified in the current ISSF Rules that need to be incorporated into the new 3PAR Rules. The Council has always tried to keep its rules as closely coordinated with ISSF Rules as possible. This ensures that athletes who also compete in matches governed by ISSF Rules can use equipment and clothing that complies with both National Standard precision category and ISSF Rifle Rules.
One change being discussed won’t require a rule change, but it does involve a change in how precision category events are scored. 3PAR Rules already state that scoring may be done with whole numbers (Integer) or decimals. Decimal scoring, of course, requires either electronic targets or Orion VIS scoring, but the overwhelming majority of 3PAR match sponsors now have that capability. When several of the leading athletes in a match are separated by only two or three integer points, decimal scoring becomes the fairest and most accurate way to determine which athletes had the better performances. Several match sponsors are already using decimal scoring, and the CMP is now considering using decimal scoring, at least for the precision category, in all or most of its championship competitions in the 2024-2025 competition year.
Updating the National Standard 3PAR Rules also requires updating the regulations for conducting 3PAR EIC Matches and awarding Junior Distinguished Badges. During the height of the covid epidemic, travel restrictions led the Council to approve the conduct of virtual EIC matches where competitors in multiple locations could compete on separate ranges. Now that travel to matches is possible for virtually all junior programs, allowing virtual EIC matches will probably be eliminated.
A draft of the new rulebook is being prepared this summer. This draft will be presented to National Council members for their review and final approval. An electronic version of the new rulebook will be posted on the CMP website at: https://thecmp.org/youth/air/national-standard-three-position-air-rifle-rules/. Traditional printed versions of this rulebook will also be available in September 2024.
– – Gary Anderson, CMP Director Emeritus
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
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