Fishing
Freshwater Doubles Fishing Tournament (combined bass and walleye tournament)
Twelve competitors will be invited using the following criteria:
Both members of the gold medal winning team from the 2003 Great Outdoor Games
2003 Bassmaster Classic Champion
2003 Bassmaster Angler of the Year
The top three B.A.S.S. all-time money leaders as of May 31, 2004.
2003 PWT Angler of the Year
2003 PWT Championship Winner
The top four PWT all-time money leaders as of March 31, 2004.
Should an angler simultaneously hold more than one of the qualifying titles the invitation for the resulting opening will be extended at the discretion of the sport organizer.
Fly Fishing
Automatic invitations will be extended to the three medal winners from the 2003 Great Outdoor Games. The remaining nine competitors will qualify as follows:
The top four anglers from the eastern ESPN Fly Fishing Challenge, Islamorada, Florida Keys, April 6-8, 2004.
The top four anglers from the western ESPN Fly Fishing Challenge, Vail, Colo., May 4-6, 2004.
One competitor will be selected at the discretion of the sport organizer.
Target sports
Archery
16 invitations will be extended as follows:
The top four competitors from the 2003 Great Outdoor Games
The top five competitors from each of the following two Archery Eliminator events: 1. Las Vegas, Nev., Feb 19-22, 2004; 2. Oak Ridge, Tenn., May 28-30, 2004
If the top five competitors from each of the above events does not include a female competitor, the highest-ranking female at the respective event(s) will earn an invitation. If the top five does include a female competitor, the remaining invitation(s) will be left to the discretion of the sport organizer.
Shotgun
16 invitations will be extended as follows:
The top four competitors from the 2003 Great Outdoor Games will be invited.
Up to eight competitors will be selected from the overall rankings of the following events:
Desert Lake Sporting Clays event, Las Vegas, Nev., Feb 20-21, 2004
Angleport Open, Elm Fork Shooting Park, Dallas, Texas, March 20-21, 2004
Big Seafood Blast, M&M Hunting Preserve & SC, Pennsville, N.J., April 16-18, 2004
ACUI 2004 Collegiate Clay Target Championships, National Shooting Complex, San Antonio, Texas, April 3-4, 2004
The remaining competitors will be selected at the discretion of the Sport Organizer.
Rifle
16 invitations will be extended as follows:
The top four competitors from the 2003 Great Outdoor Games will be invited.
Up to eight competitors will be selected from the overall rankings of the following events:
Desert Lake Sporting Clays event, Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 20-21, 2004
Bianchi Cup, Green Valley Rifle and Pistol, Hallsville, Mo., May 26-28, 2004
Sportsman's Team Challenge Regional, Topton Fish and Game Association, Topton, Pa., June 12-13, 2004
The remaining competitors will be selected at the discretion of the Sport Organizer.
Timber events
The top three winners from each of last year's timber events will receive automatic invitations, with the exception of the Team Relay and the Mixed Doubles Boom Run.
Timber athletes are ranked by the Lumberjack Sports World Ranking Association. Rankings are determined by the average of points assigned by regional committee representatives for final placement(s) in major timber competitions.
Sporting Dogs
Agility
16 Large dog/handler teams and 8 Small dog/handler teams are invited as follows:
The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medalists from the Agility Standard final and the Gold Medalist from Large SuperWeave receive automatic invitations.
Sport organizers evaluate combinations of qualifications in making their selections for the remaining invitations and do so on a case-by-case basis. Primary considerations:
Competitor's sportsmanship and dog's temperament.
USDAA® ADCH title. Demonstrates versatility in dog's skills and handler's strategizing ability, diligence and established commitment in a challenging titling program, performance of USDAA-spec equipment.
USDAA® MAD title with major USDAA tournament placements. Demonstrates the ability to defeat a substantial number of dogs in the 16" or 26" class, which in turn demonstrates the ability to handle pressure. Dogs are well road-tested in this environment of large spectator crowds and long queues of dogs waiting to enter the ring. Dogs and handlers frequently gain experience with television crews at these venues, as well.
USDAA® Top Ten Rankings. Demonstrates consistency of performance at the highest level of competition.
Yards per second in clean rounds at the USDAA® Masters level. Documented and consistent speeds of 3.95 to 4.25 yards per second or greater for dogs jumping 26" and 3.60 to 3.80 yards per second or greater for dogs jumping 16" on Masters Standard courses demonstrate the kind of performance demanded by the Standard Course Times of typical GOG courses.
IFCS Ranking for 2003 (with geographic weighting). The top rankings for dogs jumping 26" and 16" serve as one distilled measurement of competitors' skill and zeal.
Secondary and tertiary considerations:
AKCSM World Team selection for 2003.
FCI Ranking for 2003.
AKCSM MACH title in addition to USDAA® MAD title.
Big Air
Twelve teams be invited based on the following criteria:
The three medalists from the 2003 Great Outdoor Games will receive an automatic invitation to compete again in 2004.
The overall Big Air winner of the ESPN2 Super Retriever Series (SRS) will be invited to compete in the GOG, provided that dog consistently jumps at least 22 feet. (Should the SRS winner be one of the 2003 Great Outdoor Games medalists, the next highest placing SRS finisher will earn the invitation.)
DockDogs will maintain a database of all official competition jumps of all entered dogs from all DockDogs events taking place between August 1st, 2003 and May 30th, 2004. Consult www.dockdogs.com for a listing of events.
Each dog's five longest jumps will be averaged and this average will be ranked against all other competitors. All teams who average a jump distance over more than 18 feet will have the opportunity to compete in either one or both of the 2004 DockDogs Championship Series Semi-final tournament to be held as follows:
Championship Series Midwest/Eastern tournament, date and location TBD
Championship Series Western tournament, date and location TBD
The first and second place finishers in each of the Championship Series tournaments will earn an invitation to the 2004 Great Outdoor Games.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers in each of the two Championship Series tournaments will be ranked by their best jump in the Medal Round for their respective event(s). The teams holding the top four ranking jumps between both events will each earn an invitation to the 2004 Great Outdoor Games.
In the event that a team qualifying at a Championship Series tournament declines an invitation, the next highest ranking team from the Medal Round rankings will receive an invitation.
Consult DockDogs.com for additional details.
Retriever Trials
The three medal winners from the 2003 GOG will be extended automatic invitations. The remaining competitors qualify as follows:
The first and second place dog-and-handler teams from each of the following Super Retriever Series (SRS) events:
SRS Middleburg, Va., Nov. 13-15, 2003
SRS New Orleans, La., Dec, 4-6, 2003
SRS Stuttgart, Ark., April 1-3, 2004
The three remaining invitations will be issued at the discretion of the sport organizer based on overall SRS standings as well as the results of other national retriever events.
Disc Drive
Twelve invitations will be extended as follows:
The winner from each of the International Disc Dog Handlers' Association (IDDHA) Canine Disc Distance Trials listed below will receive an invitation, provided they have a long throw of at least 55 meters.
April 2, 2004, Atlanta Dogworks; Ball Ground, Ga.
April 3, 2004, Bezirkssportanlage Neuss-Holzheim, Reuschenberger Straße
May 21, 2004, La Mirada, Calif.
DATE TBA, Japan location TBA
The next eight competitors in the 2004 IDDHA Distance Ranking with the longest catch from any round of any of the above qualifying events will receive invitations.
Handlers may compete in the qualifiers with more than one dog but may only compete in the 2004 ESPN Great Outdoor Games with one dog.
Consult www.iddha.com for additional details and registration information for the qualifying events.
