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More Training to be a Better RO


Smitty79

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I just completed the RO class.   My card came today.   I will take the timer and run shooters at my next match.   But I'd like to be as ready as I can.   As a regular holder of the tablet, I've been involved with lots of rules discussions.   I will learn more there as I gain experience.   What I'd really like a little more help with is where to stand, how to avoid "RO Traps" and what to be watching when.  

 

Is anyone aware of any good videos that cover this kind of thing?

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The more matches you RO at the more comfortable you will get.  Watch the shooters even when you are not the RO.  You will learn much more.  Follow ALL the rules but don't  become a Range Nazi.  Keep smiling and remember the other guy is not your  enemy.  Treat them the way you would like to be treated.

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Best way to figure out where to stand is to put yourself in the shooters shoes. Where would you want the RO to be if you wanted to focus on the stage and not have an RO in your periferral vision.

 

As for RO traps, I am a firm believer in giving shooters lots of space. I strongly disagree with the" within arms reach" school of thought. Typically I am close at the start, close at the end, and I zoom in if there seems to be gun trouble. My eyes are always where they need to be but I don't crowd shooters.

There are tons of match videos that show RO's in action, both good and bad, but no specific RO tutorials that I know of.

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Best training I have had is to do the job, but with a more experienced r.o. On my squad to provide guidance. 

After class it helps to remember to be ok with it if/when you have to reverse a call and remember that shooters own a full 180 degrees. If you work a stage at a level 2 + you will meet the infrequent a_-hole, just part of it.

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1 hour ago, Sarge said:

As for RO traps, I am a firm believer in giving shooters lots of space. I strongly disagree with the" within arms reach" school of thought. Typically I am close at the start, close at the end, and I zoom in if there seems to be gun trouble. My eyes are always where they need to be but I don't crowd shooters.

There are tons of match videos that show RO's in action, both good and bad, but no specific RO tutorials that I know of.

 

Absolutely!  Dan Bernard was my mentor when I was learning to run the clock and he taught me that it's not a race to the finish.  RO's have the advantage of angle to see what they need to see, the shooter is still under voice control if needed and you know where and when the shooter is going to finish the COF.  I just shake my head when I see RO's who are in a footrace with the shooters.

 

To the OP, there is nothing better then experience behind the timer.  You're going to miss things because you have tunnel vision focus.  Hopefully the scorekeeping RO is in position to help you out.  Over time, you eyes and brain are simply able to process more information and you "see" a lot more.  Don't be a dick to your fellow shooters, know the rules and enforce them to the best of your ability.  Again, you are going to make mistakes, your going to have some calls overruled by the RM so don't take it personally, and your probably going to have a loaded gun pointed at you at some point.  When it's all said and done, HAVE FUN!  My wife and I work a lot of matches because we like it and this has evolved into a worldwide extended shooting family that we wouldn't trade for anything.

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As the RO running the shooter, you should be watching the gun and peripherally his shots on target.  Don't try to watch everything, because you can't.  That is what the scoring RO is for.

 

In RO school I was taught to stay withing arms length of the shooter at the start, 45 degrees back on the dominant side..  You pretty much have to do that so the timer can be close to the shooter's ear.  When there is a choice of directions after the start, I ask the shooter which way he will break and adjust accordingly.  Like Sarge, after the start and before the finish, I give the shooter space, as long as I can see the gun and the trigger finger.

 

I was fortunate in the clubs I shoot at have lots of ROs.  So for the first several matches I RO'd, I had an assistant RO, and two experienced ROs watching.  It was comforting to know that if I made a mistake it would be corrected.  It gets to be second nature with time.

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44 minutes ago, zzt said:

When there is a choice of directions after the start, I ask the shooter which way he will break and adjust accordingly.

 

You have to be careful with this.  The double plugged maybe non-english speaking shooter could mistake your words as a make ready command.  Sometimes the shooter will volunteer information like this, but I never ask for it.  It's a good practice to stick with the range commands.

Edited by blueeyedme
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3 hours ago, zzt said:

 

When there is a choice of directions after the start, I ask the shooter which way he will break and adjust accordingly. 

 

 

Unnecessary, annoying and distracting to the shooter. Please don't do that if you RO me.

Edited by waktasz
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39 minutes ago, waktasz said:

 

Unnecessary, annoying and distracting to the shooter. Please don't do that if you RO me.

 

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest, particularly if it helped the r.o. do his job or even just made him/her more comfortable. 

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2 minutes ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

Or trying to do it very well. 

 

Good ROs don't have to ask that question, because it's stupid, and good ROs aren't stupid. You can get the answer to that question yourself half a second after you give them the beep, and you don't have to go outside the approved range commands or distract the shooter with a useless question.

 

 

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i wouldn't care if someone asked me, and I don't care if RO's ask other people. Lots of people volunteer the information, esp if they are doing something different than the rest of their squad, and I'm fine with that too. If I can help make the RO's job a little easier, I'm happy to do so.

 

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pls don't say 'are you ready' before the shooter is actually ready and has "assumed the position."  if i'm adjusting my hat or eyes or ears, have a hand on the gun, etc, i'm def not ready so don't ask if i am.

 

and yes you have be a little proactive and think the stage and shooter forward.  if he forgot a target and ran forward, stay back (and keep the scorekeeper back) as he (the shooter) most likely will be running back and you don't want to be in his (or his gun's) way.

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2 minutes ago, davsco said:

 

and yes you have be a little proactive and think the stage and shooter forward.  if he forgot a target and ran forward, stay back (and keep the scorekeeper back) as he (the shooter) most likely will be running back and you don't want to be in his (or his gun's) way.

 

Or dropped a mag that he will be wanting. I missed that one last year. 

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For those of you who are on board with asking a competitor which way they're going -- what are you going to do when the shooter has brainfade on the start and goes somewhere else?  I usually just observe and hang back, and adjust to what the competitor does....

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10 hours ago, Nik Habicht said:

For those of you who are on board with asking a competitor which way they're going -- what are you going to do when the shooter has brainfade on the start and goes somewhere else?

 

Follow them. 

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