sanctioned v. non-sanctioned matches

[cjleabres]

i see some upcoming matches have "tournament status: pending"...what does it mean to have a match sanctioned by uspsa or ipsc?...

[Barrettone]

Matches have several levels. Level 1 is usually a local match (also called approved), and it is done through the section you belong to. Level 2 is "sanctioned", and means that the COF were gone over by your section coordinator or a current rangemaster. Level 3 (sometimes called tournament) can be approved by both USPSA and IPSC, have presidents medals awarded, count toward nationals slot if it is one of the first 8 announced, and give credit to officials for officiating if they are in IROA (international range officers institute). Our nationals is a level 3, and so are area matches. Sectionals and other major matches are usually level 2 or 3. It depends on the level of work the match organizers want to do. Higher level matches usually draw higher level competitors. Refer to your rule book to see the various requirements for each level in the appendix. There is obviously a greater degree of formality and better range staffing as you work your way up the food chain. The air is much different at say a level 3 than a level 1, for instance. Level 4 is a continental championship, and level 5 is a world shoot. That is where the big boys come out to play. Hope this helps. Anybody else got anything to add???

Jeff

[Neil Beverley]

Level 3 (sometimes called tournament) can be approved by both USPSA and IPSC

I though I would just add that the term "tournament" is now used to describe 2 or 3 gun IPSC competitions and isn't applicable to single gun Level III matches. IPSC describes Level III matches as "Regional Championships". The USPSA describes Level III matches as "National and Area Matches".

Also for Level III matches it is a mandatory requirement to get both Regional (USPSA) AND IPSC approval for the C of F.

[Ted Murphy]

Also for Level III matches it is a mandatory requirement to get both Regional (USPSA) AND IPSC approval for the C of F.

Is that done by the IPSC representative in the US or are the courses sent to someone in IPSC?

Ted

[Neil Beverley]

IPSC requires that the C of F is approved by the Regional Directorate. The USPSA book states that C of F approval by the NROI is mandatory.

In additional, for a match to be sanctioned at Level III, the C of F has to be submitted to a member of the IPSC Course Sanctioning Committee. This is chaired by Doug Lewis of Canada and I believe he tackles most, if not all, of the US HG matches himself.

Shotgun matches or stages are usually sent to me for review and for Rifle to Tim Andersen in Denmark. However, we only review the stages and the actual sanctioning process is still completed by someone on the official committee.

The various requirements for matches is summarised in Appendix A1 of the rule book.

[Flexmoney]

i see some upcoming matches have "tournament status: pending"...what does it mean to have a match sanctioned by uspsa or ipsc?...

In USPSA...in the past...major matches could be Approved, Sanctioned or Tournament.

This was under the red rule book.

For major matches...sanctioned vs. tournament had different cost associated with them, and different benefits to the match (discounts on ads in Front Sight magazine, breaks on Range Officer classes associated with the matche, etc.)

I'm not sure what USPSA is doing/calling things now (other than the green rule books Levels. In fact, I sent USPSA an email a few days ago, asking about such things. I haven't heard back yet (weird).

[Vince Pinto]

In additional, for a match to be sanctioned at Level III, the C of F has to be submitted to a member of the IPSC Course Sanctioning Committee. This is chaired by Doug Lewis of Canada and I believe he tackles most, if not all, of the US HG matches himself.

A small but important correction: Doug Lewis is Chairman of the COF Approval Committee. The actual sanctioning of Level III and higher matches is the exclusive domain of the IPSC President.