North vs South Explained

Teams of shooters are selected for North Island and South Island teams based on Championship scores shot between April and June each year.  For North Islanders this is based on the average out of 100 of their FOUR best scores, while for South Islanders it is from their THREE best scores.

The RANKING LIST from the TSNZ Office gives the current ranking for all shooters who have nominated for North/South.

TEAMS:
OPEN - 20 members plus 2 emergencies
WOMEN - 15 members plus 2 emergencies
MEN - 15 members plus 2 emergencies (for the first time in 2019)
JUNIOR - 10 members plus 2 emergencies
VETERAN - 10 members plus 2 emergencies

SELECTION:

Some places in each team are awarded automatically based on the Ranking List.  These are 15 for the Open team, 11 for the Women's and Men's Teams, 7 for the Juniors and Veterans Teams.

An Island Selection Panel of three (who have been appointed at the previous TSNZ AGM) confirm the automatic selections and then select the remaining members from the full list of nominees.  They can consider nominees who have not shot 3 Championships for South Island and 4 Championships for North Island if they feel this is warranted.

Shooters who have been selected for the Teams are advised of their success by early July, and will then receive full information on the match and what is expected of them.

THE MATCH:

Each Team and Island has a Manager who makes sure their teams know all they need to in advance of the match, and are present during the weekend.  On the Friday night the Manager will introduce his/her team along with their years of representation and will present the Island datebars. During the Saturday match the Manager will make sure everyone is ready on time, will check targets and be the liaison for any protests, and at the Dinner will make sure everyone is present (and well presented) at the team photos.

On the Saturday all teams shoot shoulder to shoulder and will shoot one ten-shot, one twenty-shot, and then one ten-shot match.   Separate matches are shot for each team a shooter has qualified for - for example a shooter in both the Junior and Open teams will have to shoot eveything twice.  Those who rank in the top of each team qualify for their respective New Zealand Team(s), and then shoot on the Sunday in a Postal Match against the UK Home Counties.  Shooters who do not make the NZ teams also shoot on the Sunday in the Derby Match, where teams have been drawn from their ranking on the previous day.  There is often a Manager's match too, where the team managers have to borrow all the gear they need.

The event concludes with an Awards Dinner, which is a formal event and includes presentation of trophies and NZ pockets and datebars, and photographs of all teams.  The dress code for all team members is black trousers/skirt, white shirt/top, and black blazer/jacket.