The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) offers an annual competition is designed for junior athletes involved in 4-H, Scouts, American Legion, club, or JROTC sporter and precision air rifle programs. Called the CMP Three-Position Air Rifle (3PAR) Postal Championship, it promotes growth and experience in competition at a national level, and offers the chance to meet like-minded people and potential new friends on the range. As the name suggests, there's no travel involved for the CMP Three-Position Air Rifle (3PAR) Postal Championship. Here's how it works.
Interested competitors may sign up on the CMP website and compete upon mailed paper targets, or they can fire locally on electronic targets. Competitors fire record shots at their home ranges in each of the three positions: kneeling, prone, and standing. If they're using paper targets, they would then submit them back to CMP Headquarters for official scoring by CMP staff.
Participating athletes may also choose to compete in the CMP 3PAR Postal Championship and/or their local CMP State Championship. State Championships are conducted by CMP State Directors or specially-appointed Match Directors.
This year’s Postal Competition will be open through Jan. 30, 2026. State CMP Championships are open Jan. 15 to April 15.
Top scoring athletes of the CMP Postals will move on to the Regional Championships in Ohio, Alabama, or Utah in April 2026, with the culminating 2026 National Championships set to be held at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center at Camp Perry, Ohio, June 18-20 (sporter), and July 9-11 (precision).
For registration and more information on the CMP Postal Competition or the CMP State Championships, click here.
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