IDPA cancels 2020 National Championship

In a news update post on their Instagram and website, the International Defensive Pistol Association has announced the cancellation of the 2020 National Championship Match, which was scheduled for September 23-26th, 2020. The match was planned to take place in Colorado, however due to ongoing concerns stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, IDPA has decided to cancel the match.

The major reasons cited for the cancellation are the economic effects on the shooters and the match sponsors. The match can’t be held without sponsors, whose donations pay for the bulk of the expenses involved in putting a national championship on. In her message, Executive Director Joyce Wilson also cited the economic impact to shooters – with many people, including IDPA members, out of work it may be quite an economic hardship to travel to the match just to compete. This is also true for match staff, who are all unpaid volunteers.

IDPA said that there will be a Nationals match in September 2021, and that they will extend the eligibility requirements for this match to allow the maximum number of shooters to participate. By canceling and announcing the new date so far in advance, IDPA appears to be attempting to avoid causing a major disruption to their membership’s lives. While it may seem premature to some, the concerns about putting on a poor quality match thanks to second and third order effects from COVID-19 are legitimate. By canceling far in advance, shooters won’t have booked plane tickets, travel, and serious competitors can re-arrange their training schedules accordingly.

You can read the full text of the release here.