Do you remember ...

[Garfield]

Well,

I don't because I wasn't shooting anything back in 1993, but ...

I just saw a DVD made by a shooting mate of mine and some "official" video of this event.

Man do I wish I had been there !

Some great ones were there (Rob, Brian) and what a stages !

Back then the (imo) "real" IPSC targets were still used and the stages were much more imaginative.

Saw Jeff Cooper too. My shooting club is named after him !

And major PF in OD was still 175, not that sissy PF 160 of nowadays .

Unbelievable that that is all gone now for our UK shooting friends. Makes you really sad. Especially since IPSC seems to be frowned upon more and more in other countries in Europe as well, as is shooting at all for that matter.

Wish I had known IPSC back then !

Well anyway, let's hope that the sport will continue all over the world.

My eldest son is now 4 and I sure would like to see him have a go at IPSC in due time !

[Neil Beverley]

Garfield,

I was there. I was immensely proud to be there. Still got the T-shirt.

From Day 1 I was on the Range Crew Planning Team (basically it became our NROI committee) which in reality meant I was around for 18 months of planning prior to the event.

We had a design team who put together some 50+ stages which had to be whittled down to a manageable match. My committee had to help select the final stages based on what we felt we could deliver. We allocated them to the 5 range areas to achieve balanced shooting days. We allocated the crew (155 + stats).

For the match itself I was also there from day 1 (14 days in total) to help build it and then run it. My main personal achievement during the build was the "Lock Gates" stage. This was one of the biggies. We used a 20 yard skip (open container) which was then lined with a cheap pond liner. We pumped it full of water and floated a real boat on it. That was where the competitor started - seated in the boat. We guild scaffold platforms around the skip. The boat was chained to the sides to prevent it from capsizing but boy did it rock. Having engaged the targets from the boat, exit to shoot all remaining targets.

Mr role during the match was mainly firefighting with some QM thrown in. I had 10 "spare" range crew working for me each day and I had a fairly free hand where to employ them, as required. We covered sickness, running delays, crew shortages from arbitations etc., etc., I also ran the armoury. My day started at 07.00 each morning and I was lucky to finish by 23.00.

By the end of the fortnight I was on my knees but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I took my gun, I had hoped to shoot the match. Not a chance. I never even fired a shot.

Dave Arnold was assistant RM and he was a great plasure to work with.

From the US there were 49 shooters including Brian Enos, Matt Burkett, Jerry Barnhart, Todd Jarrett, Doug Koenig, Rob Leatham, Matt McClean, Mike Voigt, Merle Edington. All names available if anyone is really interested, there are probably noteable names I should have included but haven't, my apologies for these omissions. Garfield, 18 shooters from Belgium.

It was one hell of a match and at the time it set new standards for World Shoots.

[BritinUSA]

I remember that match well, it was the toughest match I have ever shot and remains one of the most physically demanding matches in IPSC history, the cold weather and the rain made some of the props borderline dangerous; Shooting from the top deck of a double-decker bus and then running down those little steps that were covered in mud and wet leaves... good times !!!!

I still have the stage booklet somewhere, shooting those stages now would have a personal injury lawyer salivating....

[shred]

I remember Ted Bonnet coming back from the WS with a bunch of stories, including the boat and bus.. I probably still have the American Handgunner article with pictures of the bus somewhere.

[Kingman]

Whats funny is that is about the last match I talked to Todd about before I took my long LOA from the sport.

I wish I could have made that one.

[Garfield]

Neil,

I have seen that stage, it looked really nice !

My mate who made the DVD for me included a "farewell" scene at the end, in which you see all the competitors slowly saying goodbye to eachother. You see on all their faces that it must have been a tremendous experience, I guess it must have been a sort of "community" experience or so. That effect was enhanced by the music my mate chose to accompany the footage: "More than a feeling - Boston". Gave it quite a nice touch. Unbelievable that those days are gone now for the UK.