The wait is over. On January 14, 2026, IPSC-USA Regional Director Leighton Oosthuisen and qualifier series coordinator Adam Maxwell went live to announce the shooters who earned their spots on Team USA for the 2026 IPSC Shotgun World Shoot.
The destination: Corinth, Greece. The date: September 2026.
If you have been following our coverage of the qualification process, you know this has been a year in the making. Six qualifier matches across the country. Nearly 300 competitors putting in the work. And a selection process built entirely on merit. Your top three scores determined your fate.
For those who need a refresher on how the selection system works, we covered the full breakdown in our original guide: How to Qualify for the 2026 IPSC Shotgun World Shoot with Team USA.
The primary slots go to division teams first. Four shooters per team, with scoring based on each competitor’s best three qualifier performances out of six possible matches. If you won your division at a qualifier, you earned 100 points. Everyone else got points based on their percentage of the winner’s score.
Open Division Team
Modified Division Team
Standard Division Team
Standard Manual Division Team
That covers slots 1 through 16. Division teams form first, always.
Category teams come next, but there is a catch. To qualify for a category team, you need to shoot at least 60% of the overall score. Not everyone cleared that bar. Two category teams made the cut with all four members meeting the threshold.
Standard Ladies Team
Open Senior Team
Leighton noted during the stream that the Open Senior team competition was particularly stacked, with 15 to 16 shooters vying for those four spots.
Two alternates per division team have been named. These are not just backups on paper. Historical data shows significant turnover between announcement and match day. Life happens. Travel complications arise. Sponsors change. At the Handgun World Shoot, Leighton mentioned dealing with 15 to 20 roster changes.
Open Alternates: Joe Farewell, Reuben Aleckson
Modified Alternates: Shaun Muller, Adam Maxwell
Standard Alternates: Matthew Martini, Jonathan Khan
Standard Manual Alternates: Tennille Chidester, Katrina Reed, Andy Heppeard
A note on the Standard Manual alternates: if enough slots come through in the second allocation, Tennille Chidester and Katrina Reed would form a Standard Manual Ladies team. Andy Heppeard would then become the sole alternate.
Here is how this works. IPSC allocates slots to each region in two rounds.
The first allocation is based on the total competitor count at the World Shoot. USPSA expects around 25 slots in this initial round. Those 25 slots cover the division teams and the two category teams announced above.
The second allocation comes after other regions return unused slots. Based on past experience with Handgun, PCC, and Rifle World Shoots, USPSA expects somewhere between 35 and 55 additional slots. That second batch opens up spots for more category teams and individual competitors.
Individual slots will be distributed proportionally based on division participation across the qualifier series:
Pre-match slots are also likely. In South Africa, USPSA received up to 100 pre-match slots. Pre-match is now being called “Main Match One” and there is talk of it eventually becoming an individuals-focused competition. One restriction: top-tier shooters who have podium potential cannot shoot pre-match. IPSC does not want a situation where someone wins pre-match in good weather and leaves before the main event.
The announcement focused on shooters, but the foundation was built by match directors who took a risk on shotgun. Six qualifier matches ran between September 2024 and September 2025:
Adam Maxwell deserves particular recognition here. He coordinated the qualifier series, built the scoring infrastructure with help from spreadsheet wizard Jim Boone, and worked with Leighton on the protocols that will carry forward to future World Shoot selections. This was not a small undertaking.
As Adam put it during the stream: “They told us it couldn’t be done. They said nobody cares about shotgun. Well, we got at least 120 applications.”
Nearly 300 people shot the qualifier matches. 119 applied for World Shoot attendance. That is roughly three times what organizers expected.
If you made a team or alternate list, here is what is coming:
ESS Portal: Complete your IPSC registration through the ESS portal if you have not already. Leighton cannot issue slots without this completed. Think of it as your IPSC equivalent of a USPSA number.
Form 4457: Get your CBP Form 4457 done. If your shotgun is still being built, you can take the serialized receiver to Customs and Border Protection to get the form processed. Then send the receiver back to your gunsmith. Having this paperwork ready matters because permit processing will begin soon.
Letter of Intent: Once IPSC issues the first slot allocation, Leighton will contact selected shooters. You will have seven days to accept your slot and pay.
Team Dinner: Mark your calendar for September 25, 2026, at 7 PM. That is also the last day of pre-match, so plan accordingly.
Opening Ceremony: September 27, 2026. Uniforms required.
Main Match: September 28 through October 4, 2026, with shoot-offs and awards on the final day.
A few practical points Leighton and Adam covered:
Call your airline before booking and confirm they will transport firearms. Code-share flights are particularly risky. The PCC World Shoot saw one top shooter nearly miss the match entirely due to airline complications.
Do not fly through London. Some people have done it successfully. Others have been arrested. Not worth the risk.
Greece drives on the right side of the road. Speed cameras are everywhere and they time you between points. Tickets are cheap but annoying. No right turn on red.
When dealing with customs anywhere, use the term “sporting firearms” or “toys.” Do not joke. Do not film customs agents. Do not invoke the Second Amendment outside the United States.
Keep your paperwork in three places: in your gun case, on your person, and on your phone.
257 competitors shot the qualifier series. 119 applied for World Shoot slots. Roughly 31 slots have been allocated in this first announcement, with potentially 50 or more coming in the second round.
If you made a team, congratulations. If you are an alternate, stay ready. If you are still in the running for individual slots, watch for the second allocation announcement in February.
This qualifier series proved something important: American shotgun competitors showed up when given the opportunity. The match directors who took the risk of hosting qualifiers had their faith rewarded. And the infrastructure Adam Maxwell and team built will serve as a template for future World Shoot selections.
Greece awaits.
This article accompanies our live simulcast with GT3Sports and ActionStreaming.live. Full qualifier scores are available at ipsc-usa.com.
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