One of the most exciting opportunities available to USPSA competitors is a chance to represent the U.S. in International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) events. By earning an invitation to participate in an IPSC competition, shooters can represent their division and their country on the international stage.
As an organization, USPSA serves as the USA Region for IPSC, allowing members to receive invitations to Level IV and Level V competitions internationally. Level IV matches, sometimes referred to as “intercontinentals,” are held in different parts of the world, such as the Pan-American Handgun Championship at the Wela Shooting Range in Savaneta, Aruba, this year and the 2024 Australasia Handgun/Pistol Caliber-Carbine (PCC) Championship in Bali, Indonesia.
Level V matches are IPSC World Shoot (WS) Championships, which are held in different locations around the world. These matches incorporate six disciplines: Shotgun, Rifle, PCC, Mini Rifle, Handgun, and Action Air. The WS cycles through the disciplines, with roughly four years between each WS Championship.
QUALIFICATION PROCESS
Members interested in participating in a WS must be in good standing within USPSA, be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and participate in the minimum number of “Qualifier Matches” outlined in the WS Policy Appendix, which is available on the IPSC-USA website. The USPSA Board of Directors designates specific matches as “Qualifiers.” Additionally, members must achieve a minimum threshold score of 60% at each qualifying match. All USPSA members are allowed to participate in matches designated as “Qualifying Matches,” regardless of their intent to apply for a possible WS slot.
SELECTION PROCESS
The USPSA/IPSC Selection Committee has developed a merit-based qualifying protocol to determine who will receive an invitation to participate in a WS Championship match. While the system for qualifying for each WS discipline uses a merit-based point system, USPSA Regional Director Leighton Oosthuisen—who also serves as the U.S. Region Director—manages the slot award and team selection components according to the discipline’s protocol. Selection policies can be viewed at ipsc-usa.com/policies.
The selection protocol is a two-part process. The first protocol covers the general policies applicable to all disciplines and serves as the first step in applying to participate in a WS match. Specific policy information is available on the IPSC-USA website. All interested parties must complete and submit this documentation to be considered. The next step is completing documentation specific to the members’ chosen discipline.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Policy stipulates that a series of matches is selected for each discipline. Applicants are required to earn scores in a minimum of three selected matches over a certain period (as stipulated by each match’s requirements); Mini Rifle WS competitions require only two matches. Selection takes the members’ three highest scores from qualifying matches, so participation in more matches improves the aggregate score pool, but does not guarantee a higher average score.
The scores are used to determine which interested members will be awarded a slot. Division Teams receive the first round of slots and take priority. Next, recipients of Category Teams are awarded slots out of the remaining pool. Finally, the remaining slots are available to individual participants and awarded based on the above-mentioned criteria and merit-based evaluation.
IPSC WORLD SHOOT APPLICATIONS
Competitors who are interested in participating in a WS competition must begin the application process by notifying USPSA and submitting a formal application.
For example, USPSA members interested in participating in the upcoming 2027 IPSC Rifle World Shoot in Mongolia are invited to apply for a slot on the IPSC-USA website. Early applications are strongly recommended, and many World Shoot events open applications a year in advance.
IPSC World Shoot Championships follow a four-year cycle. Qualifiers are generally held during the three years preceding the World Shoot competition year, with Division and Category Teams being announced approximately eight months before the event.
UPCOMING WORLD SHOOT MATCHES
2026 European Handgun Championships (Level IV)
May 30 – Jun. 13, 2026
Buzsák, Hungary
2026ehc.ipscmatches.org
2026 Pan-American Handgun Championship (Level IV)
Aug. 22 – 30, 2026
Savaneta, Aruba
2026pahc.ipscmatches.org
2026 IPSC Shotgun World Shoot (Level V)
Sept. 21 – Oct. 4, 2026
Corinth, Greece
2026sws.worldshoot.org
Article from the January/February 2026 issue of USPSA’s magazine.
