RO'ing at local matches . how much does it affect your

[pskys2]

As long as you don't go to the extreme of making yourself sick by doing too much in hot weather it can be used as a training tool.

 

When you go to a bigger match, Sectional/Area/Nationals you may well be distracted by the event/pressure/squad mates.  If you've been RO'ing at local matches you can learn to deal more efficiently with distractions.  
After a while you can learn how to minimize the effects of being distracted by RO'ing, which will help you when there's more at stake than looking good/bad to your buds.

[Nathanb]

I struggle with this. Typically fall off as the day progresses. It wouldn't be so bad but the questions and lack of time to prepare and decompress gets me

[zzt]

Well, at Sunday's match I had this question answered to my satisfaction.  This was the first match this year where I did not have to RO.  Except when taping, I got to sit in the shade and talk with friends.  I also got more time to work out stage plans.  I usually finish in the 20-25 range overall out of 75 shooters.  This match I finished 14th, because I stayed strong through the last stages.  Usually I'm wilting at that point and don't do as well as I should.  That tells me I should be in better shape, and hydrate more when I'm ROing.

[motosapiens]

16 minutes ago, zzt said:

Well, at Sunday's match I had this question answered to my satisfaction.  This was the first match this year where I did not have to RO.  Except when taping, I got to sit in the shade and talk with friends.  I also got more time to work out stage plans.  I usually finish in the 20-25 range overall out of 75 shooters.  This match I finished 14th, because I stayed strong through the last stages.  Usually I'm wilting at that point and don't do as well as I should.  That tells me I should be in better shape, and hydrate more when I'm ROing.

and you should trade off RO-ing more often, so each person only has to do 1/3 of the squad or less.

[eric4069]

On 7/4/2017 at 10:59 AM, pskys2 said:

As long as you don't go to the extreme of making yourself sick by doing too much in hot weather it can be used as a training tool.

 

When you go to a bigger match, Sectional/Area/Nationals you may well be distracted by the event/pressure/squad mates.  If you've been RO'ing at local matches you can learn to deal more efficiently with distractions.  
After a while you can learn how to minimize the effects of being distracted by RO'ing, which will help you when there's more at stake than looking good/bad to your buds.

i agree with this.  

[toothandnail]

On 6/12/2017 at 0:39 PM, Sandbagger123 said:

shooting? i wonder if there is any percentage that can be  placed on how much it  affects your shooting  when  Roing matches. 5% 10% ?  not at all? or does not affect you at all?

Makes a BIG difference, I RO and shoot almost all local matches, it does affect the scores. I don't mind, but always feel rushed, not getting a good walk through, etc. 

[toothandnail]

On 6/12/2017 at 1:36 PM, motosapiens said:

 

that would be retarded, and I would probably refuse to RO at that club. Spread the work around and no one has to be a martyr.

 

Due to the nature of our section match this year (lo-cap divisions one day, hi-cap divisions the other), we are using embedded RO's instead of static, so that everyone has an opportunity to shoot two divisions. My plan is go last on every stage, and have one of the first 5-6 shooters on each stage run the last 4 (including me). That way no one except me will have to RO before their turn to shoot, and I should have plenty of time to visualize and prepare.

That is the way I prefer it, does rush the walk through, on simple stages not much of a problem, but an all option 3 gun stage sometimes takes every bit of the 5 min and more.

[MatchShooterSupply]

I RO I lot of my local matches and it is hard to RO and focus on shooting one or the other suffers I only RO in club matches to help with my mental game in bigger matches I only focus on shooting everybody thinks being an RO makes it easier to shoot n0t so there is so. Much to pat attention to it is hard to see the stage much less get a plan and always seemed rushed when my turn to shoot but good for practice

[TonytheTiger]

I played RO for the first time last sunday. At a 3 gun match, with a squad of mostly newer shooters I was unfamiliar with. While trying to coach a buddy through his first match while sharing all my gear with him. To say it was a hectic day and I was completely unfocused is an understatement, I was usually still helping score before realizing I was on deck. I had a decent finish but I think it was mostly dumb luck and some duct tape that got me through the day.

[jcc7x7]

On 6/12/2017 at 1:39 PM, Sandbagger123 said:

shooting? i wonder if there is any percentage that can be  placed on how much it  affects your shooting  when  Roing matches. 5% 10% ?  not at all? or does not affect you at all?

0  to 100 % of problems with ROing and shooting!

If you want to shoot 100% of your ability don't  RO

If you want to enjoy the whole match and realize that you are never going to be a sponsored shooter!

RO and help and enjoy the match as one of the guys who helps makes it Happen!

Enjoy and just have the fun you really want out of USPSA

Your manhood really won't suffer!

Neil after drinking lots of Bourbon!

Edited August 17, 2017 by jcc7x7

[tattooo]

It is best to rotate between whoever is competent enough to RO so one person don't get drained before they get to shoot . The thing that affects shooting even more and is physically / mentally draining is when half your squad doesn't help reset. Backs things up and doesn't give the guys helping enough time to load, drink, take a leak or whatever. Very irritating.

[StuckinMS]

I am privileged to shoot at a club that evenly distributed the "new " shooters with the older bunch who have gotten their RO certifications.   We usually have 3 ro, 2 brass retrievers, and 5 tape/steel reset.  If you are on deck, you do your walk through while everyone else is busy, and if you just shot, reload mags and get back to work.  It works for us and balances things out a bit.

[Mushki25]

I may be in the minority but I feel ROing helps my performance.  I stay completely loose but catch many details of the other shooters that I can work into my stage plan if my turn in the rotation is still to come.  The biggest benefit is how loose I stay.

[IHAVEGAS]

Seems to be somewhat of a consensus, lots of help - no worries, very little help - it sucks, when weather is bad it really sucks. 

 

A different way to ask the question is how much does your r.o. performance fall off if you do not have sufficient opportunity to rest/relax. To do that job properly you need to have the gears always running upstairs and all 4 eyes watching the shooter and the squad, if you are not careful you can find yourself being the person that just walks around with the timer. 

 

At locals the regulars know when they see a squad with very little help, a measure of the quality of the club is whether people will step up and fix the problem rather than let somebody get set up for a long and bad day. Personally, when I can see myself as being the guy put in the bad position, I bitch loud at the pre-match meeting & get it worked out. 

[StuckinMS]

For someone who has just started being an RO it can hurt performance.  I used to have a hard time when a gm or master class shooter was the shooter right in front of me.  For some reason my feet wanted to move at their speed and I had a hard time slowing myself down.  Carrying the timer through a stage fast and a gun through a stage fast are obviously two different things, but early on in my shooting "career" (not a pro by no means) I found that it was best to give the timer to someone else when I was the next shooter up.  That way I could gather my thoughts and re focus on the task at hand so to speak.

[fbzero]

Mostly depends on weather for me.  When there isn't anyone else who wants to or who can help during cold or hot weather, it seems to mess with my shooting pretty bad.  During nice weather, not so much that I worry about it (but then again, shooting matches isn't my job).  During really hot weather, ROing the whole time gets exhausting, so I won't be ready to deliver my best when it's time.  During cold matches earlier this year, it was raining a lot.  When I was ROing, I was generally more soaked than everyone else because I couldn't sit under the cover the whole time and one hand was half frozen because I couldn't keep it in a pocket with Hot Hands, which impacted my shooting even worse than the heat.  If you have the help, I generally think it's better to switch off.

[xd1977]

I have seen it more times than none when you are 15 to 18 deep in a squad and have no help.  There is no excuse for this at any match, especially when 3/4 of the squad are experienced shooters.  Their excuse is "I don't know how to do this" even after he/she has participated in the matches for a year or more.  It's like our MD says..this is a volunteer sport from beginning to end and it takes people and their help to make it happen.  I've been at the point in 100 degree weather at a match where no one would help paste and reset the stage after asking time and again.  Nor would anyone offer help taking the timer so I could catch a break after running the full squad through a stage or two after damn near baking to death.  This is when you just put the timer down and go have a seat.  Even then, some ppl look at you and have the nerve to say "WTF?"  Eventually, the message you send is clear and the squad has no choice but to step up or get their DNF.  I've seen it so bad, I've even considered giving up my RO certification because of this kind of crap. RO's also got no support from certain MD's on the matter...and YES!! It plays havoc with your shooting performance throughout the course of the match when conditions are like this.  Being hot, tired and pissed off beyond belief is never conducive to your shooting.  In these cases, I don't even want to be there.  Luckily, my regular crew I shoot with for the past couple of years makes things great!  Things run smoothly, and just about everyone is up and doing something to help unless they just got finished firing because they're reloading.  If your on deck, or in the hole in this squad, it's kind of unsaid that you're not expected to paste and reset.  And someone's always there to take over the timer and scoring pad if you need a break or are coming up to shoot.  It's a much more enjoyable experience and makes you want to help when everyone is on the same page. 

[tattooo]

For someone who has just started being an RO it can hurt performance.  I used to have a hard time when a gm or master class shooter was the shooter right in front of me.  For some reason my feet wanted to move at their speed and I had a hard time slowing myself down.  Carrying the timer through a stage fast and a gun through a stage fast are obviously two different things, but early on in my shooting "career" (not a pro by no means) I found that it was best to give the timer to someone else when I was the next shooter up.  That way I could gather my thoughts and re focus on the task at hand so to speak.

When your next up you definately should not RO as you need to get ready. Most guys also are fine with the next shooter up not even help resetting the stage.

[zzt]

After reading some of your horror stories, I feel lucky.  At the clubs I shoot at, there are usually none of those kinds of problems.  However, there are exceptions that a MD can and should address.  One is short squads.  If you are the only RO on a 5 man squad, you are going to do a lot of taping and resetting after scoring.  It can't be helped.  There are not enough people.  I'd never expect to have the on-deck shooter do anything other than prepare for his/her string.  I do ask that the last shooter not reload their mags and help out.  Since it is a short squad, there will be plenty of time to reload after everyone has shot, or at the next stage, because you will be waiting for the larger squad to finish.  The answer is for MDs to merge squads so you have at least 9-10 shooters in each.

 

Another problem is having too many shooters who want to shoot together, and not having to hear them bitch if you don't allow it.  At the last USPSA shoot, there was one such group.  Their squad was 15 shooters and not a single RO.  Not only did that slow everything down to a crawl, it resulted in short squads elsewhere.  Plus, ROs from other squads would rotate down so there was always an RO running the timer.  They would rotate back to their squad when relieved by another RO.  That should never be allowed to happen.  Yes, it means some shooters will be pissed at not being able to shoot with their buddies, but so what.  If you show up with 15 shooters, none of whom are ROs and you expect to shoot together, you are daft.  MDs, limit the squads to 10 on Practiscore, and rejigger squads (if possible) if no shows result in seriously short squads.

 

I do like to shoot with my buddies, but I let the MD know he can move me if there are not enough ROs on another squad.  It is much more enjoyable for everyone when things go smoothly.

[DVC502]

When I RO it is harder for me to focus and plan my stages but with that being said it is good mental conditioning 

[IHAVEGAS]

1 hour ago, DVC502 said:

good mental conditioning 

 

Sometimes you get "that guy" on your squad or have to make a call that ruins somebody's day.

 

I think going from the difficulty to a correct shooters mindset is good practice. 

[RGC]

I was an IPSC RO for a number of years...truth to be told, I was calmer, understood the competition, and in some cases, got to see a few differing stage approaches....but in the end, I almost always shot worse during that match...

[HCH]

I don’t think it affects me much at all. 

[traingq]

At our local clubs here in IL we usually always have a good amount of RO's in the squad so we can usually trade off.  I've done it a few times though where I've RO'd the whole time, didn't bother me at all.  I like it more than pasting lol

[2MoreChains]

RO-ing while on a squad is not a big deal.  Nice to be able to trade off with at least one other person when I rotate into the deep hole position.  At Lvl1 it doesn’t even need to be a certified RO, just somebody who you know to be squared away and you’re still there as the “CRO” to make a call if it comes to that.  

 

RM-ing, now that’s a different deal.  It’s like being the 1st shooter on the squad every stage, but without the benefit of a walk-thru.  Or worse yet, you sat there long enough to come up with a stage plan only to get called away to another stage for something.  But hey, if I’m RM-ing I’ve got other things on my brain rather than being uber competitive.