The NCAA Rifle Committee designated safety as an area of emphasis during its annual meeting in Indianapolis.

The committee strengthened language in the rule book to emphasize just how seriously the sport views the safety of competitors and spectators, adding the statement “Safety is of paramount importance” to the first sentence of Rule 5.3.1.1. The committee also recommended adding another safety-related measure, Rule 5.3.1.9, which would prohibit the possession and use of electronic sound recording or playback devices such as iPods or cell phones on the firing line.

The emphasis comes on the heels of a mandate the committee put in place last year requiring each weapon to be fitted with an empty barrel indicator, said Paul Klimitas, committee chair and head coach at Philadelphia Sciences. “We had to show spectators that we take safety seriously and when they see the indicators they know there is no possible way a rifle can go off,” he said.

The issue of safety has rocketed up the list of priorities due to an uptick in spectator opportunities over the last couple of years rather than because of any negative incidents. In 2007, for the first time in the history of the rifle championships, host institution Alaska Fairbanks conducted the air rifle portion of the competition in a gymnasium, a trend that was repeated at this year’s event hosted by Army. Those championships combined drew about 1,200 spectators.

NCAA committee member Dan Jordan, president of the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association and head rifle coach at Alaska Fairbanks, said the focus on safety is just a reminder to the rifle community to be vigilant.

“The safety emphasis is simply being pushed now as a reminder to the athletes and coaches to keep doing what they have been over the years and continue to make shooting one of the safest sports in the NCAA and the world,” said Jordan.

In addition, the group agreed to survey the shooting community about modifying the number of shooters per team whose scores could count toward a team’s total. Currently, there are four shooters per team and all four shooters’ scores count. However, the committee is seeking feedback from the coaching community about moving to a “shoot five, count four” format, in which five student-athletes would shoot for each team and the top four scores would count.

Some of the benefits of the alternative method include getting a better ranking of the teams throughout the season, allowing the top four shooters to represent the team and increasing student-athlete participation. The drawbacks, said Jordan, could include stretching squads thin by trying to include too many people and not forcing every shot to count. He also noted that with just 3.6 scholarships, trying to recruit more than four student-athletes could be problematic.

Klimitas added that under the current format, coaches designate which four shooters will count, but, sometimes one of the undeclared shooters has a better match. The proposed format would allow more opportunity for the contest to be determined by the student-athletes rather than dictated on coaches’ decisions. However, another potential disadvantage, said Klimitas, could be that adopting the “shoot five, count four” concept would knock NCAA rifle out of alignment with international competition guidelines. “While we don’t have to go with everything international regulations dictate, it is important to the sport and the committee to be in line with those two groups.”

Klimitas acknowledged that the committee is squarely on the fence with this issue.

“We see both sides of this idea and we want to understand every angle of this issue,” he said. “The important part is trying to look globally and doing what is best for the sport.”

The survey is scheduled to be e-mailed to coaches this month requesting a response by mid-August. The committee will review feedback via a conference call in the fall. Klimitas said there is no timetable for a final decision and stressed that the 2009 championships will maintain the current format.

In other actions, the committee recommended a change in the date formula for the championships. Under the proposal, which will be forwarded to the Division I Championships Cabinet for review and approval, the championships would take place during the first week of March, one week earlier than currently scheduled. The move is precipitated by a streamlined score calculation process for qualifiers that is now handled within the national office and no longer requires the entire four weeks presently separating the last match of the season and the championships. If approved, the new schedule would take effect in 2010.

The committee also established that designated qualifiers will take place at multiple sites February 13-15, 2009. The group also reviewed the 2008 championships, commended last year’s host, Army, and reviewed potential sites for the 2009 championships.

The committee met April 28-29 in Indianapolis.