Kaiserslautern’s Joyce Truschinski, center, aims at the target during a marksmanship competition on Jan. 6, 2024, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

DODEA-Europe’s JROTC marksmanship teams are used to two-day competitions.

They see them ever February at the service championships in the United States — and for those who qualify, the all-service championships every March.

That format is crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time at this year’s European marksmanship championships Friday and Saturday at Vilseck High School.

Five members from six teams — Ansbach, Kaiserslautern, Ramstein, Stuttgart, Vilseck and Wiesbaden — will shoot 20 times in the kneeling, prone and standing position each day. The two-day totals will determine the team title.

The top eight individual point-getters over the regular season and Euros will earn All-European honors and compete in another 3x20 round.

Coaches expressed their excitement at aligning the meet to the format they will see in Anniston, Ala., for the Air Force and Camp Perry, Ohio, for the Army.

“We’ve been preparing for these 3x20 competitions all year,” Ansbach coach Christopher Buchanan said. “This is just great preparation for (the service championships).”

The change has the bonus of being more forgiving.

Kaiserslautern coach Bill Conley said with just one round, the shooters felt more pressure when they stepped up to the range and they couldn’t bounce back from one off day.

“It gives an opportunity to reflect about Day 1 and go into Day 2, whereas in years past where it’s been just one day, if something were to happen, there was no opportunity to recover,” he said.

Conley’s Raiders are the two-time defending champions, and they will be in the thick of it to complete a three-peat.

Kaiserslautern won the Western Conference with a total of 5,712 points. Ansbach took home Eastern Conference with 5,705. Wiesbaden collected 5,672 points, Vilseck 5,652, Ramstein 5,569 and Stuttgart 5,555.

But as Falcon coach John Sabala puts it, the difference between first and fourth place in Europe tended to be within 20 points each weekend of competition. He said he anticipates Euros to be tight.

Sabala’s not the only one. Conley recalled last year’s finals where everybody waited until the final relay that included Kaiserslautern before seeing the Raiders nipped the Warriors for the title.

“I think it’s going to be a replica of last year with waiting until the last shots are completed,” he said. “Last year, it was neck and neck, and we took it at the very end. I suspect it will be similar this year.”

Conley does have an embarrassment of riches in his lineup. Kaiserslautern is ranked second in Air Force heading into the service championships, and his varsity and JV squads placed first and second at the regular-season ending meet at Wiesbaden on Jan. 24.

The coach said he’s taking seven Raiders, led by sharpshooter Joyce Truschinski, Annalyn Higgins, sophomore Annaleiah Nieves and freshman Kayla Garrett, to the tournament. He mentioned he has it whittled down to six possible shooters before he must make his final cut to five participants.

“I’d like to say we’re not quite as strong as last year, but boy, we’re coming along nicely,” Conley said. “If my Nos. 3, 4 and 5 shooters can post what I know that they can, we’re going to have a very good outcome.”

Buchanan, meanwhile, has his five set, despite producing three service championship-qualifying squads – two precision and one sporter. Included in that is senior Chance Duplessie, whose four years of experience brings calm to a relatively young squad.

Other Cougars to watch are Pashmina Larson and August Bulinski.

The team’s performance throughout the season has Buchanan believing the Cougars can reclaim the European crown for the first time since 2023.

“The students got to stay focused and not let their nerves get to them,” Buchanan said. “If I keep them focused, I think the team will be back on top.”

Along with the Raider and Cougar shooters, Vilseck Jasmine Tetterton and Camdyn Deese, Wiesbaden’s Kai Malaga and Stuttgart’s Erica Logan are expected to compete for the individual title.