What Are CPSA Classifications, and How Do They Work?

If you've just started shooting registered rounds, you'll quickly run into a letter next to your name on the scoreboard — C, B, A, AA, or AAA. That's your classification, and it exists for the same reason a golf handicap does: so you're competing against people of a similar standard, not getting outshot by someone who's been doing this for twenty years.

How the classes work

CPSA classifications run from C Class (newer or less experienced shooters) up through B, A, AA, and AAA. Each discipline — Sporting, Skeet, Trap, and their variants — is classified separately, based on percentage scores at registered shoots, so a shooter can genuinely sit in different classes across different disciplines. AAA is largely reserved for major championships rather than everyday club shoots.

How your class gets set

Classifications are calculated from your scores at CPSA registered shoots over a rolling scoring period, not a single round. That means one bad day won't drop you a class, and one lucky 25 straight won't bump you up either — it's your average that counts. To take part in registered competition at all, you need Full (competition) membership rather than a Clubman membership, which is worth checking before you turn up expecting to enter.

Why it's worth tracking your own scores

Because classification is based on an average over time, knowing exactly where you stand — per discipline, per stand, across a season — tells you far more than just your result on the day. It's the difference between guessing whether you're close to moving up a class and actually knowing. That's the gap Clay Buster is built to close: it scores every discipline CPSA runs, keeps your history in one place, and works perfectly well at grounds with no signal.