when you don't have any cert Ro's in your squad, what do you

[Sandbagger123]

So what does one do when they are squaded up, but no ones a certified RO? I understand that for local matches, certified RO's are not required. In these kind of situations though, are the persons that take timer expected to have a full knowledge of rule book? If a shooter thinks they got the call wrong, is it best to grab the MD everytime?

Also, are certified R0's required to take the timer if they got the discount?

Edited July 15, 2013 by Sandbagger123

[Sarge]

Anybody acting as an RO whether certified or not needs to know the rules. Period. As for discounts. I MD a small local match and I let RO's shoot for free. They must be certified and they must RO as much as is humanly possible. They should hand over the timer when they are on deck and take it back as soon as they are reloaded and ready to go after they shoot the stage. I personally get pissed when a shooter is getting to shoot for free to RO and he only RO's about half (or less) of the squad.

[JAFO]

At our club, we make every effort to make sure at least one certified RO club member is on each squad. If that's not possible, we at least make sure we have experienced shooters (familiar with the rules) on each squad. If you have no certified RO's, by all means, call the RM if a call is in question.

If you are offering a discount for being an RO, I would assume that means you have some obligation to perform the job during the match. Having said that, an RO should be relieved for at least a few shooters on every stage. Especially when it's the middle of summer. Everyone needs a little time in the shade to rehydrate.

Edited July 15, 2013 by JAFO

[MrVvrroomm]

Wait, what? Discount for certified RO's?

[cohland]

Most of the matches I attend are moderately-sized, about 50-70 shooters. I recall cases where a squad has been re-aligned after the match had begun in order to get at least one qualified RO into a squad, once we realized we were without one. With that done, we have someone who can oversee the non-qualified people who serve as ROs as well as a person who can handle most of the RO duty. At the last "big" match I attended, with about 110 shooters, I think we might have had 15 or 20 people who were RO qualified.

The mention of giving ROs a discount was a surprise to me, I've never seen it happen, but all of the matches I shoot are between two or three clubs within about a 75-mile radius: not a very wide world, I admit.

Chris

Edited July 16, 2013 by cohland

[Gary Stevens]

It doesn't take a certification to read the rulebook. What it does take is a desire to do so. There are multiple sources for answering any potential questions that may come up.

Most of the stuff you run into at a match is not rocket science, you just work your way through it.

Make the best call you can based on what you know (or think you know) at the time and move on.

I've made wrong calls, yeah I know it is hard to believe but it is true. I learned from it and moved on.

Anyone who has an uncertified RO, who has the desire to read the book, and make an effort, can e-mail me at garystevens@windstream.net and I will help them with the problem areas.

[motosapiens]

At our local matches (both uspsa and idpa) we get RO's first, point them out, and let people squad up with them. Usually there are at least 2 RO's per squad, and oftentimes more, so we can split up the duties. I personally don't enjoy RO-ing the whole match, so I pick a squad with another RO I get along with and we space ourselves out about halfway in the shooting order, and I run half and the other guy runs half. That gives both of us plenty of time to think about our stage plan and clean magazines and reload and BS with other shooters while taping and resetting, etc....

[Sandbagger123]

Ok.Thanks for the replies

Now here is another question. Do uncertified Ro's have the same power to DQ shooter for things like 180 violations and unsafe gun handling??

Edited July 16, 2013 by Sandbagger123

[38SuperDub]

YES - if you are running the timer or being the scorekeeper / ro and see a safety violation - PLEASE stop the shooter. SAFETY is #1

It may have not been our call but at a match a couple weeks ago we were waiting on the squad in front of us to finish a stage so we were sitting back watching - they had a shooter who broke the 180 so bad we were all staring at muzzle - we ALL started yelling stop. Better safe than sorry!

Edited July 16, 2013 by bsdubois00

[GuildSF4]

Ok.Thanks for the replies

Now here is another question. Do uncertified Ro's have the same power to DQ shooter for things like 180 violations and unsafe gun handling??

Not necessary to be certified for this, as stated above must know the rules. For a DQ the RO can call it, then you need the RM. As stated above Safety is paramount.

Edited to add rule:

7.1.6 Range Master (“RM”) – has overall authority over all persons and activities within the entire range, including range safety, the operation of all courses of fire and the application of these rules. All match disqualifications and appeals to arbitration must be brought to his attention.

Edited July 16, 2013 by GuildSF4

[chevyoneton]

Wait, what? Discount for certified RO's?

This! I knew that certification would bring me more than fame and glory!

[whitedog]

When I RO , at the matches Sarge runs, I try real hard to do at least 80% of the shooters. While at the same time trying to show new folks scoring, timing, etc. spread the knowledge and we all get better.

All of sarge's ro's are certified...he's a stickler for that. :-)

[MGMorden]

Running into this situation is why I went and took the RO class. Seems like most of the time somebody would step up and take the timer if there were no actual RO's on the squad, but I personally like to avoid that as you don't know if penalties and rules are being applied properly that way (and even though its not required at a level I match, I personally never did run the timer until I took the class - I just wasn't comfortable with it).

Never heard of doing a discount for RO'ing though. I always just found it kinda part of helping to run the match along (I personally don't help setup because I just have a hard time taking a stage diagram and setting it out - unless its a classifier which is very specific, so at a minimum helping run the timer and tear down feels like I'm just doing my part).

[Sandbagger123]

Wait, what? Discount for certified RO's?

This! I knew that certification would bring me more than fame and glory!

I thought it was a rule. All the places i shoot at (PNW) do it.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Sandbagger123

[sperman]

Around here you get a discount if you help setup, but not for being an RO. Everyone is expected to help during the match, whether it's on the timer, the clipboard, or pasting.

[MarkCO]

Around here you get a discount if you help setup, but not for being an RO. Everyone is expected to help during the match, whether it's on the timer, the clipboard, or pasting.

Same in CO.

[sperman]

I'm amazed at the local matches that have dedicatd RO's and open squadding. No way you would get volunteers to work all day and not even shoot around here.

[EkuJustice]

I would personally rather have someone who knows the rules run the timer over someone who dosent. Just because someone is a certified ro dosent mean they always know the rules.

[EkuJustice]

Never seen a local where the RO just RO's and dosent shoot. The RO is just the person on the squad doing the RO ing.

[Graham Smith]

Around here you get a discount if you help setup, but not for being an RO. Everyone is expected to help during the match, whether it's on the timer, the clipboard, or pasting.

Same here.

We have some certified RO's that won't pickup a timer unless they have to and we usually have enough to manage without them. We have some non-certified people who have been ROing longer than I've been shooting.

Frankly, I avoid ROing. I'm a MD for a good sized local match and when I go somewhere else to shoot, I don't want to be in charge. I'll help setup and I'll keep score and I'll paste, but I don't like to run the timer except to fill in for a couple people.

[midget]

We were in this situation before last year. The majority of the people who RO'd in our club were not NROI certified, however the matches were still run well (and safe). Several of us have since become certified and helped correct this issue.

[Chris iliff]

Most every match in Indiana gives a reduced rate for RO's. I thought that was standard everywhere. ..........guess not.

God bless Indiana USPSA!!!

[HuntingPaper]

I'm a certified RO and I've never seen a discount on the matches here in NJ. That doesn't bother me if the whole squad is working too reseting the stage but there's always a group of people that never do anything to help. I think those should be charged double

[Poppa Bear]

Never seen a local where the RO just RO's and dosent shoot. The RO is just the person on the squad doing the RO ing.

I see it occasionally but it is more a matter of they are at the match and being unable to shoot for whatever reason they choose to be the dedicated RO for the squad. I have done it myself when my first shot on the first stage bent my firing pin. No one had a spare so I acted as the dedicated RO.

[euanga]

Wait, what? Discount for certified RO's?

This! I knew that certification would bring me more than fame and glory!

I thought it was a rule. All the places i shoot at (PNW) do it.

There is a PNW section rule that ROs get a 5 discount, squad leaders another 5 and for a while scorekeepers were getting a discount if they took a practiscore compatible device to the match