The Bianchi Cup
The Bianchi Cup is the NRA National Action Pistol Championship, a major action pistol tournament usually held over three days in late May,[lower-alpha 1] in Columbia, Missouri, at the Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club. It has the largest purse of any tournament on the action pistol calendar and is the premier action pistol championship tournament in the world. The Bianchi Cup is the only major shooting tournament that has retained its original course of fire since its inception.
Official Site | |
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Tournament Information | |
Location | Columbia, MO USA |
Established | 1979 |
Format | Multi-day, multi-stage Tournament |
Purse | $500,000 in 2010 |
Course | Green Valley Rifle & Pistol Club |
Month Shot | May |
Current Champion | |
USA Bruce Piatt | |
National Rifle Association | |
It is one of the most prestigious events in shooting,[2] with the best shooters in the world in competition each May in Missouri.[3] Due to the high accuracy required in each stage,[4] the tournament is widely considered one of the most difficult championships in all of the shooting sports.[5][6]
NRA Bianchi Cup
The Bianchi Cup is traditionally held the week before Memorial Day weekend (i.e. the week before the last Monday in May) every year since its inception in 1979. It is the first tournament that turns the sport of competition shooting as a whole from amateur to professional status by offering the winner a large cash prize in addition to trophies. Before NRA took control in 1984 the overall winner took home the entire cash purse of $30,000 in addition to the Bianchi Cup itself. It has its origins in the law enforcement shooting community. Recently, with the creation of the Production Division, it has become one of the fastest growing disciplines in the action shooting community.
The Bianchi Cup is one of the three championships of action shooting's triple crown, along with the IPSC U.S. Nationals, and the Steel Challenge.[7]
Since its inception in 1979, 1985 championship year being the exception, the Bianchi Cup has retained its original courses of fire, consisting of four matches known as the "Events": Practical, Barricade, Moving Target and Falling Plates. Speed, accuracy, and precision, all three are equally important factors and are considered fundamentals that form the core of the match, but most importantly, strong mental discipline on match days is the ultimate key to winning the Championship. Such is the case in the open division, where the top finishers are known to shoot perfect scores of 1920 separated by x-counts and one bad shot out of 192 can easily put a potential winner down 10–15 places in the rankings. Each event is timed and is worth 480 points, equaling a total of 1920 possible points plus 192 tie-breaking x's. In 1985 Practical Event was temporarily replaced by the 60-shot, 600 points International Rapid Fire Event, almost identical to that of the ISSF 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol Match. The main differences for the Bianchi Cup/NRA Action Pistol version was that it must be fired from a standing, hands-over-shoulder starting position, gun holstered, on five Bianchi D-1 "Tombstone" cardboard targets placed 25 yards downrange, using center fire handguns, with the option of using the ground as support if one can make the time limit without incurring any late shot penalties. The total possible score for that year was 2040 points plus 204 x's. This sudden deviation from the original format proved unpopular so the organizers dropped it and re-instated the Practical Event the following year since.
Action pistol competitors are permitted to use a two-handed grip (except for the 8 second 10-yard weak-hand series in the Practical Event), and in most cases competitors must start from standing position with their guns holstered and hands above the shoulders. One exception being the Barricade Event, where competitors start with gun in holster and both hands on the barricade. During the course of the match, participants fire at turning or moving cardboard silhouette targets – known as the D-1 (or AP-1 as of 2007) "Tombstones", and steel plates that must be knocked down to count as hits.
The NRA National Action Shooting Tournament is a money-winning event. For his victory in 2008, Doug Koenig took home the 2008 Bianchi Cup trophy, plus total cash awards of over $8,000. Robert Vadasz Metallic Sight win netted him over $5000. For 2009, total prize money awarded increased over 30% from the previous year. NRA continues to improve the Cup in the original spirit of John Bianchi's vision. The already generous awards schedule has added additional prizes over the years for Newcomers, Juniors, & new for 2010 the Grand Senior category. Sponsorship from major corporations such as MidwayUSA, Safariland, Smith & Wesson, Colt, & SIG Sauer have helped make this possible.
From 2009 30th Anniversary onwards, the NRA Bianchi Cup offers an Open Division, Metallic Division and the new Production Division to bring more shooters to the sport. Recent years have also introduced a Celebrity Pro-Am as a Saturday Event. This fan favorite spectacle has included participants from the music, film, and television branches of the entertainment industry including Mark Wills, Michael Peterson, Marshall Teague and Michael Talbott. Cowboy Mounted Shooting sensation Kenda Lenseigne made her first appearance at the Celebrity Pro-AM in 2010 and won.
This event draws shooters from all over the world. In 2008, international competitors hailed from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
The Bianchi Cup is unique in that a newcomer's orientation is always held at the Competitor's meeting. Former & current Champions as well as the Match Staff are usually in attendance to help new shooters in their first attempt at the National Action Pistol Championship.
Class awards are awarded to various categories to include High Law Enforcement, High Woman, High Junior, High International, High Newcomer, High Senior, High Service, High Semi-Auto, High Revolver, and Aggregate.
NRA has re-instituted a few measures to lower entry fee cost. One was to "bring a buddy". If a competitor were to bring a friend who had never competed at the NRA Bianchi Cup, both competitors would have a reduced entry fee. NRA also offers reduced fees for Juniors, Production Firearms, Active Duty Military and those that register early.
History
- The event originated in 1979; by former police officer John Bianchi of holster maker Bianchi International, as a Law Enforcement Training Match. In conjunction with the help of 1975 IPSC World Champion, Ray Chapman, he got exactly what he wanted.[9][10] Richard Nichols, John Bianchi's right-hand man, was singularly responsible for launching the first Bianchi Cup competitions in 1979.[11]
- In 1984, the National Rifle Association re-designated the event the NRA Bianchi Cup, National Action Pistol Championship.
- The competition has four stages, which make up the match aggregate. Each of these stages consists of 48 rounds for a total possible score of 480 for each stage and 1920 for a perfect overall score.
The four shooting events are:
The Practical Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits.
The Barricade Event: From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets on either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits.
The Falling Plate Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at 8-inch round, steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits.
The Moving Target Event: From within shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds.
• Competitors shoot all these events from both standing and prone positions and are also required to shoot with both strong and weak hands at various stages. On top of these events, the championship also features many side events that do not impact the match aggregate score. The competitors use handguns. The most popular caliber choices are 9mm, .38 Spl., .38 Super, and .45 ACP. These pistols are drawn out of holsters when the signal to fire is given at each stage.
• The first competitor to fire a perfect score was Doug Koenig of Pennsylvania in 1990 with a 1920-157X.
• This event draws top shooters from all over the world. International competitors have hailed from Austria, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Saudi Arabia (1987–1989), Republic of South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan (1996), Thailand (1993 and 1994), and the United Kingdom.
• The first NRA World Action Pistol Championship match was held in the United States at the present home of the NRA Bianchi Cup in Columbia, MO. 1994 was the first year; there were five countries competing for the Open Team event and three countries competing for the Women's Team event. Thereafter the World Action Pistol Championship was held in Adelaide Australia 1997, Hamilton New Zealand 1999, Italy 2001 and again in the USA in Columbia MO in 2004. The NRA World Action Pistol Championships were then to be rotated to sponsor countries every two years from 2006 (Australia, Blacktown Rifle & Pistol Club) and returning to the United States every eight years (2012). In 2008 it was conducted in Hamilton, New Zealand, November 5–8. For 2010, the event returned to Sydney, Australia at the Blacktown Rifle & Pistol Club.[12]
Champions
- NRA National Action Pistol Champion, winner of the Bianchi Cup
- Metallic Division Champion, winner of the Metallic Division Cup
- Production Division Champion, winner of the Production Division Cup
- Women's Division Champion, winner of the Women's Division Cup
- Senior Division Champion, winner of the John Cameron Memorial Cup
- Junior Division Champion, winner of the Junior Division Cup
A new Bianchi Cup made of sterling silver is produced each year and awarded to the winner, as well as a silver Bianchi Champion belt buckle. Smaller trophy cups & silver belt buckles emblazoned with the Bianchi Star are awarded to the division champions.
Current champions
- Doug Koenig is an eighteen-time Bianchi Cup champion. He has the most titles in NRA Action Pistol Championship history.
- Rob Vadasz earned his second Bianchi Cup Metallic Division Championship by besting Rob Leatham by a full ten points at the 2010 NRA Bianchi Cup.
- Jessie Abbate was the 2010 Bianchi Cup Women's Champion after beating Julie Goloski Golob for her first NRA Action Pistol Championship win.
Previous champions
Bianchi Cup Winners
1983:
1984:
NRA National Action Pistol Champions
1985:
1986:
1989:
1991:
1993:
1996:
2011:
2014:
2018:
Stock Firearm (Production) Champions
1994:
1995:
1996:
1997:
Production Class Champions
2011:
2012:
2013:
2014:
2015:
2016:
2017:
2018:
2019:
Metallic Sight Firearm Champions
2000:
2002:
2003:
2004:
2005:
2006:
2007:
2009:
2015:
2016:
2017:
NRA National Action Pistol Women’s Champions
1983:
1986:
1988:
1989:
1990:
1995:
1996:
1997:
1998:
2000:
2009:
2011:
2015:
2018:
NRA World Action Pistol Champions – Open
![](../I/m/Worldshoot_2010.jpg)
2010:
NRA World Action Pistol Champions – Metallic
1994: N/A
1997: N/A
1999: N/A
2004:
2008:
NRA World Action Pistol Champions – Production
NRA World Action Champions – Stock Gun
1999: United Kingdom
Multiple and consecutive Bianchi Cup champions
![](../I/m/John_Pride_at_the_2008_NRA_Bianchi_Cup.jpg)
Facts
The Bianchi Cup is the brainchild of former police officer John Bianchi of holster maker Bianchi International, the late Ray Chapman – one of the original "Combat Masters" of IPSC shooting, and Richard Nichols, Bianchi's right-hand man. as a law enforcement training match,.[13] In the early years only the top-finishing competitors from wildly varying disciplines – from Olympics ISSF Pistol/NRA Conventional Pistol Bullseye to IPSC, were personally invited by the match creators to compete together equally. Over the years the match became proving ground for high-tech, cutting-edge firearm technology that competitors were encouraged to exploit due to the relatively unrestricted equipment rules in hopes that insights gained can be practically applied to law enforcement applications. See raceguns for more descriptive details regarding these specialized "Cup" guns.
The Courses of Fire that comprise the 1920 aggregate points consists of four separate matches:
The Practical Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at distances from 10 yards to 50 yards under varying time limits.
The Barricade Event: From within shooting boxes and behind barricades, a shooter fires at targets on either side of the barricade at different distances and under varying time limits.
The Falling Plate Event: From the appropriate shooting line, the shooter fires at 8 inch round steel plates arranged in banks of six at distances from 10 to 25 yards under varying time limits.
The Moving Target Event: From within shooting boxes at distances ranging from 10 to 25 yards, the shooter fires at a target moving from left to right with the target being exposed for only 6 seconds. Competitors shoot from both standing and prone positions and are also required to shoot with both strong and weak hands at various stages.
Sponsors
2010
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Media coverage
Since 2008, Shooting USA on the nationally syndicated Outdoor Channel has covered the NRA Bianchi Cup championship.[16] It has also been covered in other press, including numerous professional and amateur videos uploaded to YouTube,[17][18][19] Shooting Sports USA the digital magazine,[20][21] American Rifleman magazine,[22] Down Range TV with Michael Bane,[23] the popular Gun Nuts media firearms blog,[24] and NRAblog.[25]
See also
- Action Shooting
- Bianchi International
- IPSC
- National Rifle Association
- Steel Challenge
- USPSA
Notes
- The 2020 edition is scheduled for early September.[1]
References
- "BIANCHI CUP". NRA.org. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- "Bianchi Cup title is Abbate's second major championship of the 2010 shooting season". Womensoutdoornews.com. June 1, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "Bianchi Cup Competitors come from all over the World". Connectmidmissouri.com. May 27, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "JulieGs Blog 30th Anniversary Bianchi Cup". Juliegolob.com. May 26, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "Team GLOCK Shoots Its Way To Top Finishes At The NRA Bianchi Cup". Ammoland.com. June 3, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "The Bianchi Cup is one of the most challenging shooting events in the world". Ammoland.com. June 13, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "Rob Leatham wins triple crown in 1985". Robleatham.com. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "NRA Bianchi Cup homepage". Nrahq.org. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "Bianchi International history". Bianchi-intl.com. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "NRA Bianchi Cup History page". Nrahq.org. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- Adler, Dennis (2010). John Bianchi, an American Legend. Minneapolis, MN 55425: Blue Book Publications Inc. p. 46. ISBN 1-886768-88-9.CS1 maint: location (link)
- Sturgis, Danielle (February 22, 1999). "World Action Pistol Championship coverage on". Nrablog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- Adler, Dennis (2010). John Bianchi, an American Legend. Minneapolis, MN 55425: Blue Book Publications Inc. p. 46. ISBN 1-886768-88-9.CS1 maint: location (link)
- "National Rifle Association, Competitive Shooting Division, Bianchi Cup Action Pistol Championship". Nrahq.org. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "2010 Bianchi Sponsors". Nrahq.org. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- Shooting USA October 6, 2010 Episode Preview Shooting USA coverage of the 2010 Bianchi Cup
- "YouTube coverage of Bianchi Cup". YouTube. July 9, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "YouTube coverage of Bianchi Cup". YouTube. June 13, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "YouTube coverage of Bianchi Cup". YouTube. June 6, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "Shooting Sports USA, digital magazine". Nrapublications.org. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "Shooting Sports USA YouTube channel". YouTube. June 2, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "2007 video of the Bianchi Cup". Americanrifleman.org. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- Tweet. "photos by Yamil Sued". Downrange.tv. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- "Caleb Giddings competes in the Bianchi Cup". Gunnuts.net. May 29, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- KJillson (February 22, 1999). "nrablog coverage of the NRA Bianchi Cup". Nrablog.com. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
External links
- http://www.nrahq.org/compete/nm_actionshooting.asp NRA Bianchi Cup Homepage
- http://www.nrahq.org/compete NRA Competitive Shooting Programs
- https://www.nrahq.org/compete/bianchi/Default.asp Enter the Bianchi Cup
- http://www.nrablog.com The NRA Blog
- http://www.downrange.tv/blog/?p=1115
- http://www.bianchi-intl.com/history.html
- http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/mar/29/bianchi-cup-draws-worlds-most-skilled-handguns/
- http://www.myoutdoortv.com/news/nra-bianchi-cup-unveils-speed-star-event-honoring-ray-chapman.html
- http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20090601122936792
- http://www.americanrifleman.org/Video.aspx?vid=1877
- http://www.americanrifleman.org/Video.aspx?vid=1879
- http://www.issuu.com/compshoot/docs/2011nrabianchiguide