mactiger

USPSA recently hired a new, in-house web guy. I met him this weekend, and he's really on the ball. There is a lot to fix on the web page, as many here have commented, and it's all on the list, believe me. He's working every day to bring USPSA to the electronic fore, so keep watching the web page for updates.

The official match page is http://www.area4championship.com, and match entry forms and a link to an online staff application can be found there. The match will be limited to 265 entrants, entry fee is $150. We will shoot the main match in a half day format, over 2 1/2 days (Friday, Saturday, 1/2 day Sunday), with awards and prizes to follow the final posting of scores on the range. Staff will shoot for free, on Thursday, the 5th. Wednesday the 4th is reserved as a contingency day. A limited number of competitors (vendors and sponsors) will be able to shoot the match with the staff. Staff benefits will include match shirt, meals on the range, and a thank you gift. I'm working on housing at this time, but it may not be in the budget. The Range Master will be Nancy Huspek, stats chief Joy Hyden. Thanks to Lee Neel for setting up the match web page, and to OFGC for getting involved in this match in a big way. I'm looking forward to working with them to produce a superb match. As always, we are looking for sponsors, especially from within the Area, so if you or someone you know is interested, please get in touch. Sponsor letters have been distributed with another mailing coming soon.

At the risk of being redundant, what part of "we aren't going with this" did y'all not understand?

Troy, It looks like the first major is less than 2 weeks away. Florida State Championship - Frostproof, FL. Any chance the new rulebook will be out by then? At the current rate of review by the board, NO. Troy

As of right now, there is nothing in the proposed 2013 rulebook regarding this rule--it was suggested, but I believe we've written it out in favor of more practical rules regarding stage design and restrictions on movement. I do not believe that the entire board, nor the RMI corps, has had time to review the 2013 rules, but we are working towards it. Troy

Thanks, Mark. I was coming here to post the announcement, but I see someone beat me to it. It's all good. More info to come as available. Troy

I've read some good suggestions here, and some bad ones. One thing that many fail to consider is the time allowed for the matches. Given the past schedules, there was no way to allow staff to shoot, as much as we would like that to happen. Dedicated staff makes a match run way more efficiently. Doubling stages on a single bay does not, but was almost unavoidable due to the availability of bays and the wishes of the President to run 18 stages, using a half-day format, and doing it in groups. There are a lot of things that are just not doable at DS in Vegas. Getting more bays is one of those things. Anyway, not to complain, and thanks for the suggestions. I have many of these in my post match critique, and plan to work on improving Nationals 2013. We are always looking for competent staff, so if you want to work it, please fill out an app when available. Troy

OK, perhaps I wasn't clear. There is considerable discussion on this concerning other female shooters whose belt appears to be too low to some. However, their belt is being worn through the belt loops on their pants, not through another set sewn on to drop the belt to the hip position (top of the femur, basically). The competitor in question WAS wearing her belt through lowered loops, not through the original loops on her clothing, but on another, sewn on, lowered set, which dropped the gun drastically lower. She was therefore in violation of equipment placement rules for Production Division, and was moved to Open Division, where carry through lowered loops is allowed. That's what I meant by "not really about waist location...). Clear now?

It's not really about waist location. It's about shooting with lowered loops, which the competitor in question did, hence the move to Open. Since I made the call, I thought I'd clear up any confusion about it. It's a violation of a division rule, and the consequences are clear. I'm sure a definition of "waist", relevant to USPSA gun belt wear, will be soon forthcoming. Troy

Not a belt loop issue. See 5.2.3, 5.2.3.1, and appendix d, #11, (I think), and then decide. Bumped to open for violating production division rules. Troy

There will be function fire and courtesy Chrono available after the range opens at 1 PM Saturday. If you need something before then, I recommend American Shooters.

You do not have to register before going to the range, but you do have to register before registration closes, so plan your time accordingly. The range will not be open to competitors before 1 PM on registration day. Troy

This is generally twice as many squibs as are acceptable. The general rule is two in a match, and you are done with that ammo. Troy

The original article is in FrontSight May/June 2008

How about they just reprint mine? And pin it here as well?

To clear up some other obvious confusion, what we (NROI) get for sanction is usually a set of stage drawings with a procedure on them, not an official WSB, or Written Stage Briefing. Once the stages are approved, NROI is pretty much out of it as far as setup and operation of the stages is concerned. So, if the FA was written into the stage diagram, it was not legal to do so. I hope that was caught in the sanctioning process, but we occasionally miss a thing or two. However, if it was changed to a procedural, whether on the stage diagram or in the WSB, then it was not illegal, per se. I'm not sure about the per step procedural thing, however. But, that's a whole other discussion. Lastly, we don't "pull" anyone's sanction. Troy

Just to clear up your confusion, the WSB and the "talkie" are the same thing. The stage drawing may differ slightly from the WSB, but the WSB is the official procedure for the stage. Troy

Only overlays, (the ones issued by USPSA and no other) not scoring plugs or any other means, are to be used to determine scoring hits. Using an overlay to determine if a hit is a double is doing exactly what that statement says, determining the applicable scoring zone of hits on paper targets. We look for a partial bullet diameter, or radius, with an overlay, to determine what scoring zone was hit. A double is no different: the RO is trying to determine if there is more than one partial bullet diameter in a scoring zone, even if it's in the same scoring zone as the obvious hit.

You've already mentioned the two things that will fix this problem: First: RO competence and confidence are key when making scoring calls, and not letting yourself get talked into something that isn't there is paramount. Call what you see, realize there is no such thing as "benefit of the doubt", and stand by it. Second: Competitors, as you say, need to own up to what they shot. It's true that when people start getting easy scores, they ask for them more and more. It's a shame that there are certified RM's working out there that just "give" the competitor what they ask for, rather than calling what they see. Good topic. Troy

A new shooter safety briefing, including the range commands and what they mean, goes a long way towards clearing up any confusion over what "Make Ready" means. I can, and have, done this in 5 minutes before a match. I don't see a need to add any additional commands to our existing set--as several have mentioned here, the RO needs to verify that the range is indeed clear. Hollering something else as a warning is not required if the RO does his job. Once you have a "pre-MR" command, will you need a "pre-pre-MR" command? "Prepare to stand by?" or something like that? Stick to the range commands, in English, without embellishment, and use your eyes to ensure the range is clear before starting. If you want to print them out and put them on the timer, do so. It encourages consistency, if nothing else, and may even provide some education. Troy

Rule has already been cited. You're allowed one sight picture. It's a poorly worded rule, but that's what it says. "a" sight picture. Not one after each string. It's worded just fine, and does not specify a single sight picture. This is the kind of over-analysis that causes the rule book to get fatter. You are permitted to take a sight picture or two, or three, (or however many you want) at every make ready location. You are permitted to draw your gun and dry fire it at make ready, to your heart's delight. It's all part of the "Make Ready" process. You can also draw your gun and check to see if you reloaded it or not, just to head that one off at the pass. This is not complicated, and it's been answered. To the OP, the RO did not make the right call. Troy

Here's a copy of the flyer, if you are interested: Super SeminarII-2.pdf

Here's the squad schedule for both matches, with stages indicated. Note that some are doubled in bays, and there is a break, so be aware you may be starting on break. However, I'd get to the stage a little early if that's the case. The "SC" on the schedule is for the optional Steel Challenge stage, which is not part of the match. You can take a break here if wanted. On the turnaround day, NROI is hosting a Level II seminar at the Suncoast Hotel. Cost is $20 to non-staff members (1/2 price seminar associated with the Level III match.) I've attached an application form as well. Please fill it out and send it to Kim Williams, kim@uspsa.org, prior to the seminar so we can get a good headcount. Be advised you MUST have been certified at Level One for a minimum of one (1) year to attend. The seminar will run from 9 AM sharp to approximately 5 PM, and will be led by Jay Worden, Kevin Imel, and Ray Hirst. Troy 2012 Squad Schedules OL10.pdf 2012 Squad Schedules LPR.pdf LevelII_SuperSemApp.pdf

I have a better idea. How about setting your course of fire up right, not violating the rules, and then not needing to either A) put down "steel DQ lines", or keep them off your stage diagrams (and then go ahead and use them anyway), so you can get sanction or pass a Level II course. It's just not that hard to do things the right way. You can't just pull a generic 10.5 UGH DQ out of your pocket because you think a competitor is going to fire a shot at a piece of steel from too close. He either fires the shot, in which case he's DQ'd under 10.5.17, or I suppose you could warn him as was done here, although a better alternative would have been a physical barrier of some sort, as mentioned in 2.1.3. USPSA publishes a rule book and makes it available to everyone because, and teaches scores of RO seminars every year because.....wait for it, we want you to follow the rules. It's a tremendous disservice to your club members to not do it the right way, and a waste of training for some people, obviously. I'm all for safety, and warning this competitor, especially at a level one match and even more so if he was new, is an OK thing to do, and is permitted under the rules. But, having said that, 20 feet is not all that much closer than 23, so I might just let you fire that shot before I warn you or call stop and DQ you. There is a lesson to be learned from getting DQ'd, at least for most of us. Sometimes getting off with just a warning doesn't have the same results.

Tape or paint will work, but like Kevin said, they are not needed. A plain white target is a no-shoot, X or no X. The X marks on the drawings indicate a no-shoot target, because in a 2D, black and white, line drawing environment, you must differentiate the targets. Not so on the range. In fact, the black X marks have caused scoring problems because a bullet hole in one is not as evident, and you will need black tape in addition to white. Hope this helps. Troy