The notes below on Quota Places and Minimum Qualification Scores are extracts from the ISSF web site. The full rules are available at
Olympic Participation Rules
Participation in the Olympic Shooting events is not guaranteed. Each national shooting federation must earn "Quota Places" - one starting position to send athletes to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Only a total of 390 athletes will be able to compete in the 17 events across the four Olympic disciplines at the Athens Games.
Quota Places are generally awarded when an athlete wins a gold medal at the ISSF World Cups or posts a top finish at the World Championships or Continental Championships - Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Oceania - in the last two years before the Olympics.
A quota places guarantees that someone from a given country - not necessarily the athlete who earned it - will be competing in that Olympic event. Each nation can earn a maximum of 31 quota places: one each in trap, skeet and double trap women, and two each in all other events.
For the host country of the 2004 Olympics, there are reserved 10 quota places for Greece in Trap and Skeet for Men and Women events; 50m Rifle 3 Position Men and 10m Air Rifle Women events; Running Target Men event; the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, 10m Air Pistol Men and the 25m Pistol Women events.
In order for a shooter to compete in the Games the athlete must shoot a minimum qualification score (MQS) for the respective event at one of the ISSF supervised Championships during the four years between Olympic Games. Only athletes that have shot a MQS can be entered in one or more events on the Olympic shooting program.
The minimum qualification scores (MQS) are:
Rifle Discipline:
50m Rifle 3 Positions Men 1135, 50m Rifle prone Men 587, 10m Air Rifle Men 570
50m Rifle 3 Positions Women 555, 10m Air Rifle Women 375
Pistol Discipline:
50m Pistol Men 540, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men 573, 10m Air Pistol Men 563
25m Pistol Women 555, 10m Air Pistol Women 365
Running Target Discipline:
10m Running Target Men 543
Shotgun Discipline:
Trap Men 112, Double Trap Men 118, Skeet Men 114,
Trap Women 58, Double Trap Women 87, Skeet Women 60