The NCAA Men's and Women's Rifle Committee is recommending a series of changes to championship-qualification procedures, including a multiple-qualifier format and setting a cap of five student-athletes per team permitted to compete in the championships.

Meeting April 10-11 in Indianapolis, the committee recommended to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet that beginning with the 2006 championships, institutions would qualify by selecting the three highest regular-season team scores before February 9, using an aggregate score (determined by taking the total smallbore plus air rifle event score) and then averaging those three regular-season team scores. The averaged score would then be added to the aggregate scores from the designated qualifier to determine a team's advancement to the NCAA championships.

Under the multiple-qualifier system, no more than one match may take place at any given site when determining the three regular-season scores; only aggregate scores would count unless the institution sponsors only one discipline (either smallbore or air rifle only). Teams with both a men's and a women's rifle team must declare their qualifying team before the beginning of the regular-season match.

"This system will make the regular season more meaningful, which is something that we haven't had in the past," said Valerie Boothe, head rifle coach at the University of Mississippi and chair of the rifle committee.

To provide an equal opportunity for all teams to participate in the championships, especially those institutions that sponsor only one discipline, the committee will forward a recommendation that the top seven teams in the aggregate scoring from their three highest regular-season scores (plus the score from the designated qualifier) be selected to the championships. The eighth team selected to the championships from each discipline will be selected from teams that have not qualified for the championships based on the average of their three highest regular-season scores plus the designated qualifier for that discipline.

The committee also recommended that for combined men's and women's teams, the number of student-athletes on the declared smallbore and air rifle teams per institution at the designated qualifier and the NCAA championships be capped at five. Currently, there are 48 berths at the championships, many of which are filled by team members. Student-athletes still may qualify as individuals, but setting a maximum number of participants will allow other institutions the opportunity to compete at the championship level.

"In the past, sometimes only one individual was invited outside of the team qualifying. Now as many as eight or more additional participants could be invited, allowing for more institutions to be represented," said Boothe.

With the multiple-qualifier system, the committee would permit waivers for institutions to shoot multiple meets at a single site for financial and geographic constraints and for institutions that sponsor only one discipline.

Regarding individual championships, the committee voted to allow the top eight competitors in both smallbore and air rifle to compete for the individual title in that discipline, regardless of whether they qualified for the championships as an individual or with a team.

Playing rules

During the rules portion of the meeting, the committee focused on fully integrate electronic targets into the rules book by adding electronic-target information into the challenges and protests area of scoring. The committee also proposed a new tie-breaker format in which ties will be broken by determining the highest score in the last 10-shot series working backward by 10-shot series until the tie is broken. If the tie still remains, the highest number of 10s, 9s, 8s, etc., will be reviewed, followed by the highest number of inner tens.

"The proposed changes will increase the chances of the best teams and individual shooters participating in the championships in the future," said Ed Etzel, the committee's secretary-rules editor and professor at West Virginia University. "Our changes will continue to make rifle an exciting, more spectator-oriented sport."

Regarding electronic protests, all results protests must be submitted within 20 minutes after the scores are posted. In the event a participant contests the value of a shot, a protest will be accepted only when the protest is made before the next shot is taken, or within three minutes of the last shot.

If a protest is made about the value of the shot, the shooter will fire an additional shot at the end of the competition. If the participants protest is upheld, the final shot will count.

To meet current manufacturer standards, the maximum thickness of the shooting trousers was increased from 10 millimeters in single thickness and 20 millimeters in double thickness to 10.5 millimeters in single thickness and 21 millimeters in double thickness. The thickness of the shooting jacket was altered last year to 10.5 millimeters in single thickness and 21 millimeters in double thickness.

All of the rules changes endorsed by the committee will be forwarded to the Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) for review. Rules changes that PROP approves will be included in the 2006 NCAA Men's and Women's Rifle Rules book, which will be mailed to all conference offices and head coaches in October.

Rules changes flagged by PROP because of financial implications greater than $1,000, safety issues or a rules proposal that affects the image of the sport will be reviewed through the NCAA's governance structure. These flagged rules will not be part of the 2006 rules book. After PROP's May 24 meeting, a mailing of rules changes and effective dates will be sent to head coaches and conference commissioners.

Other highlights

Men's and Women's Rifle Committee
April 10-11/Indianapolis

• Agreed to use the USA 50 target or equivalent for all smallbore competition beginning with the 2006-07 season.

• Determined that the qualifying weekend for the 2006 championships will be February 10-12.

• Determined that the shooting time allowed for smallbore will be reduced from two hours and 15 minutes to two hours.

• Implemented an online score-reporting process effective with the 2006 championships. Each institution will be responsible for submitting results from its matches within seven days after the event. Certified competition report forms must be sent to Donnie Wagner at the national office, and to committee Chair Valerie Boothe at the University of Mississippi.

• Recommended purchasing electronic targets for use at the championships.

• Agreed that if electronic targets are used for qualification matches, proof of calibration must be submitted along with the scoring tape.

• Noted that when using electronic targets, no portion of the shot clock/shot monitor may be covered during competition.

• Changed the block time for smallbore from 135 minutes to 120 minutes.