A shooters approach to RO-ing a stage

[AlamoShooter]

I am not a very social person. But I can act like one when its required of me. Shooting at so many different games let me see some behavior that I did not want to come across again.

The Only two times I RO / helped on a stage was at the past Texas Multi Gun event. To be clear at both events I was not "In Charge" of the stage. One of the requirements at that events was to get the squads through the day ahead of schedule.

We had a stage brief to give so that every person on the squad could hear it.

So the Shooters got the Unofficial Stage Brief of about 45 seconds as the rest of the squad gathered in and I got hold of there attention. Move rite to the safety what and why of the stage. the targets where and what point value. By that time every shooter on the squad had some confidence that they each would be able to hear any calls from the stage crew. They all knew that I wanted to be working the stage and that I was not tired or bored in any way. I hoped to convey enthusiasm for the squad about the stage. I was willing to act a bit foolish in an effort to convey that enthusiasm.

Now at the very moment the first shooter was called up did any shooter see any thing other than 95% of my focus on the job?

All focus was on the shooter from the very moment they reached the 'Make Read'- until the gun was cleared out.

Always have room to improve at something worth doing. The stage Brief was scripted & I will make a fool of my self to entertain, But I am Not a Fool.

Did even one shooter think I was not driven to give them a Fair attempt at the stage ?

Did any of the shooters feel the preshoot was about ME? Did I put too much of my self into so that you were distracted from your best attempt on the stage?

[mlmiller1]

Jamie,

I thought you & the rest of the crew on your stage did an outstanding job. The act was well received & of course, it is obvious it was only an act. You guys did a first class job of r.o.ing one of the toughest(in some ways) stage to ro in the entire match. I don't believe anyone in our squad felt they had less of your attention than they should have. The stage was run safely, fairly, & equal for all shooters that I saw. Your spotters were on the job, fully attentive, not glad handing or butt pinching or something else less than professional. I didn't see even one call that appeared in error. Pretty impressive.

MLM

[1chota]

Jamie, you are really a great RO. (marginal as a shooter, but then..........)

don't let nobody bullshit you, you did an outstanding job.

[JeremyM]

I found the stage brief to go beyond normal...in a good way. It was very thorough, didn't fee llike you rushed through it, yet covered all the valid points, then some. Very impressive showing from the RO's on your stage. I loved the fact there were multiple spotters calling hits! I look forward to having you as an RO again.

[jar]

Do you have any video of your briefing and a stage run for those of us who weren't there? From your post, it sounds like you're doing things right.

[slowsure]

Jamie,

I didnt get to go to the TX match so I cant comment on the way you presented the stage brief or extra performance included or excluded, I wasn't there.

I can comment on what, in my opinion, it takes to be a good to great RO.

Stage brief needs to be the same for ALL squad's. Written brief's are the best as you are far less likely to forget/leave out/miss something. Just the facts about the stage is all you need to cover. This is not the best time to tell that REALLY funny joke you heard at breakfast. Just the facts.

The way I look at being an RO is you are providing a "service" to a PAYING customer. That "service" is to give the shooter all the information he needs to enjoy himself/herself when the buzzer go off, try to keep anything unsafe from happening and apply the rules as the shooter earns it and of course know the rules.

Sometimes I like to look at the "amount of service" I provide to each shooter like this.....I add up the cost of what a typical shooter would spend to shoot the match I'm working. ALL the cost, travel, hotel, ammo, match fees etc. Then divide by how many rounds are fired in the match. Example: ALL cost = 1200.00 and 350 rounds are fired in the match = 1200/350=3.43 per round. I work a stage that has 35 rounds fired, this = $120.05 . I try to provide $120.05 of "service" to that shooter. Did my customer get his money's worth?

Lastly you have to have some pretty thick skin to be an RO. You will make some unpopular calls and you will be viewed as the *&@#!in *$&$^^ard that's keeping someone from shooting a great match. All the large egos sometimes bump into each other. It happens. But when it all comes together and everyone has a good time and does it safely it can be a very rewarding/fun time. Don't let a few negative comments ruin a positive experience.

[double_r76]

I was on the first squad to come through on Saturday morning. Of course, most of us were there early, eager to start shooting. Your stage brief seemed thorough and covered all of the points we needed to fairly shoot the stage. I've shot with you a few times, and appreciated your "act" and humor. Most of the guys on my squad were from way out of the area, and everyone had positive things to say about the stage... well except for the Garand guys shooting into the rising sun, but you can't control that!

One thing I noticed was that you handled every shooter on my squad exactly the same, from getting us on the platform, commands, placement of the shot timer, to clearing us and getting us down. I was impressed.

The guys prepping us before we headed up had a great system to keep things moving smoothly.

Your spotters we on their game, but silent professionals. You didn't even know they were there until they started calling hits.

Great job!

-Randy

[AlamoShooter]

Thanks for the kind words

Thank you too Slowsure your guidance for us all is good. I brought teaching tools to the stage brief / prep Jokes are not good and only delude an information exchange.

Jokes are not appropriate. Amusement is OK but it must be relevant to the lesson. Or any thing close to bringing up a DQ or injury that may put the "Student" on edge.

I feel certain that any thing said to shooter -outside- the stage as they near the make ready area is not productive. Did you get your taxes complete on time, Owe and Money?

Like never say something like " Jim Bob in the last squad got DQed for putting a shot over the berm".

Also I know what its like to not be able to hear the RO instructions. I hope my higher voice level did not come off as ...A Rang Nazi ?

one part that was planed to set the shooters at ease was to "express our desire that the squad left happier than they arrived"

I did get some very good complements from Paul Payne early on. Paul stood through two complete stage briefs and went out of his way to say he like them.

[StealthyBlagga]

At SMM3G we take great care to ensure the competitor's experience is positive, and that everyone get exactly the same treatment. Some of the things we do to ensure this:

- We start the briefing on time, unless the entire squad is present and agrees to start early.

- The stage CRO reads out a written "verbal stage briefing". No ad libs, jokes etc. Like in Dragnet, it is "just the facts".

- The CRO (and ONLY the CRO) answers any questions. He does not volunteer anything more - it's up to the shooters to ask, not the CRO to offer guidance (beyond the VSB of course). If a competitor asks one of the other ROs a question, he refers it to the CRO even if he has heard the answer 5 times already today.

- None of the ROs offer an opinion of how to shoot the stage, what has been working etc., but if competitors ask a specific question then we answer as best we can without "coaching".

- Once all the questions are answered, we demonstrate any activators and the squad has 5 minutes to walk the stage. We time this with an egg timer. We do this even during the RO match - everyone gets the same chance to examine the course of fire.

- Once the 5 minutes is over, the first shooter is called. If I am holding the clock, I will simply call them over and give them the official USPSA range commands ONLY, starting with "Make Ready" (not "Load and Make Ready", "Lock 'n Load" or "Load 'er Up"). If the competitor asks me any questions or make a comment, I will respond appropriately. Otherwise, I don't make small talk, tell jokes etc.

- No matter what happens during a stage, the clock RO will not say anything to the shooter except warnings like "Stop" or "Muzzle" (in the event of safety issues) and "If You Have Finished, Unload and Show Clear". We will not answer questions, offer guidance etc. which might leave us open to accusations of RO interference. Please don't waste your time asking us "was that a hit?" or "am I missing high?" etc. because all you will hear are crickets.

- Once the squad is done, I like to shake everyone's hand and wish them well for the rest of the match. Without the competitors, there would be no match.

Competitors vary considerably in how they behave before, during and after a stage. Some like to chat and crack jokes, and so I try to respond politely but minimally. Others just want total silence so they can focus (that's how I am) and of course I say no more than I have to. If the stage goes OK, most everyone is happy. If the stage goes badly, some folks can react angrily while others are more philosophical - however they react, I try to commiserate but don't take it personally.

I hope everyone that comes to my stage has fun and does well, but those things are largely outside my control as a CRO. My first and foremost responsibilities are safety and competitive equity.

Edited April 28, 2012 by StealthyBlagga

[AlamoShooter]

Thanks The entire crew at Phoenix and just a few other events inspired me to go the distance and get the Multi-gun certification as RO The Class is good , But it takes observing crews like Phoenix has to complete the lesson.

the only thing I added to what Mr Stealth described was something like what Fort Benning had in the -short History tribute-. To bring the squad together and 'fill' the shooters time that was ready ahead of other squad mates that were slow to come forward. I began the unofficial stage brief with the scenario and history part of the stage plan slipping in the target value & location with time limits to the stage. By the time I was finished with that 60 second verbal -that sounded ad-Lib- the entire squad was in place with out missing any part of the official stage brief.

My reference to the targets as the 'Godless Steel' and dug in snipers was possibly just silliness, and did insert my self too much.

Edited April 28, 2012 by AlamoShooter

[bigbrowndog]

Jamie, in the orig post you stated that the goal was to get squads out ahead of time, was the addition of your storytime approved by the MD?? because I do not recall any other stage providing that. Since no other stage was doing that it came across to me much like an IDPA scenario based stage, It was late in the day for our squad and we just wanted to get thru the stage, since we had previously been held up for hours waiting for other squads ahead of us to finish and the short rain delay. As a MD I agree with stealthy in the use of a written stage brief, it ensures that everyone gets the same info. I also agree with not providing the competitor with clues or tips on how to shoot the stage, thats the competitors job. I do want my RO's to provide specific answers to specific questions, don't just reread the stage brief.

My opinion to what an RO should do is assist the competitor by answering questions specifically, not vaguely, be cordial, treat the competitor like your customer, like your livelihood depends on it, and be fair, also DO NOT DEVIATE FROM WHAT THE MD WANTS!!, the reason for this is its much easier to address an issue if you know everyone has been treated exactly the same. You can still be funny and cut up with people you know, you do not have to be some unfeeling automaton in order to treat everyone the same. stealthy's comment on how everyone is different and want different things in the time before shooting is spot on, its up to the RO to figure that out, think of each squad as a new stage for the RO crew, you have to figure out how you need to behave to you get thru them quickly, safely, and pleasantly.

I know you want everyone to have a pleasant experience, but some people will come to your stage having just shot poorly or had a call made against them, or just having a bad day overall. Those people do not want antics or goofy things going on, you need to realize that or you will either add to the grief or become a part of the grief. I also know you want things to be as fair for the first shooter as they are for the last shooter, but stages are not static things, they change, they are very dynamic, targets settle into the ground and become harder to activate or see or knockdown. Targets become darker as they get shot and harder to see, weather conditions change, spotters get lax in calling hits loudly, or lose track of what targets are being engaged, so hits do not get called, shooters change the order in target engagement and then get pissed when a target is hit and doesn't get called, its those things that you have no control over. Since you are not the MD, you can only work with what you have, if you need more then its up to the MD/RM to provide it, and make it better. But then it has to be the same for everyone, so changing in the middle of a match is not really a good idea, you need to learn for the next time.

Trapr

Edited April 29, 2012 by bigbrowndog

[AlamoShooter]

just to clarify , I did not change anything in the middle of the match. But thanks for your views

[bigbrowndog]

didn't say you had, it was just an opinion on things that happened at the match, not just your stage.

Trapr

Edited April 30, 2012 by bigbrowndog

[hrt4me]

these are good points, thanks for discussing