AGE GROUPS
• Athletes must be aged 50 during the 2008 qualifying year;

• You must use a date on/before Dec. 31, 2008, to determine the age group athletes will compete in at the qualifying games (e.g. someone who is aged 54 during 2008 and won't be 55 until 2009 must compete and qualify with the qualifying standards for the 50-54 age group. They will be moved up for the National Games, but they must qualify with their age group for 2008).

INDIVIDUAL SPORTS
1st- to 3rd-Place Finishers Qualify. . . .
Archery, badminton, bowling, horseshoes, race walk, racquetball, road race, shuffleboard, swimming, table tennis, and track & field.

1st and 2nd Place Qualify. . . .
Tennis and cycling

Order of Finish Does Not Apply In. . . .
In golf, athletes must meet the minimum performance standard for the slope rating of your course to qualify. The acceptable range (men—slope 119-126; women—slope 113-120) with the corresponding MPS they must shoot is attached in the 2009 Minimum Peformance Standards guide. State coordinators must apply for an exemption if their slope rating is not within the acceptable range.

Triathlon, Hammer Throw, and Triple Jump. . . .
All finishers qualify.

MINIMUM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. . . .
Those who meet the MPS in archery, golf, race walk, road race, swimming and track & field will qualify, no matter what place they finish.

• NSGA reserves the right to add 3rd-place (tennis and cycling) and 4th-place (archery, badminton, bowling, horseshoes, race walk, racquetball, road race, shuffleboard, swimming, table tennis, and track & field) as an additional qualifying spot.

QUALIFYING DOWN. . . .
Only applies to individual sports, not team sports. If you are an open state, you may utilize qualifying down to ensure if all/some qualifying spots are taken by out-of-state competitors, then that number of in-state athletes will qualify, as well.

This can be a little complicated, but our new system will do the work for you. Example:

In a sport where the top three finishers qualify, they will all still qualify. However, if two of those qualifiers are from out-of-state, you may take the next two finishers who are from your state. If only one was from out-of-state, you can take only the next in-state competitor.
If all three were out-of-state, you may take the next three in-state.

TEAM SPORTS
You may only send two teams from each age division. No qualifying down:

• Each state may decide which two teams are sent;

• If you are an open state, you must decide whether you will allow out-of-state teams to take any of the two positions away from in-state teams, or if you will only send in-state teams no matter what place they are. This should be publicized in advance so the athletes are aware ahead of entry;

• All 80-and-over basketball teams qualify.

Please call or e-mail us with any questions about qualifying. We want to make sure athletes know and understand the rules for national qualification, as well as if they have qualified at the time of their event.