What makes a great match? A Shooter's perspective

[Speedsouthshooting]

Hey guys. Input needed. My name is Tony Pruitt (WangoTango) on fb. I'm the Steel Challenge match director at the CMP Talladega range.  I am working on and beside Zack Jones and Bruce Wells on two large matches at the CMP Talladega marksmanship park in Alabama. We have scheduled a tier II State Championship Steel Challenge this December and are working on dates for a tier III, A6 Steel Challenge in 2017.

What I need is input. In your mind, what's makes you look back at the best matches you've attended and said "WOW"? That was awesome. That was fun. We want out first big matches to cater to the Shooter's and everyone have a great experience. Thanks for any input.

example. To raffle/not to raffle, prize table with raffle? Prize table to the winners only. Generic plaques and trophies in a ceremony or engraved and sent to your home? Tee's or dry fit? So on and so forth. Of course the tier III will dividend big money payouts but looking for suggestions on the little stuff.

Thanks again! Tony P.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Speedsouthshooting

[Speedsouthshooting]

The facility speaks for itself. $25 million dollar range. I've heard from world traveling Shooter's, "I've never seen anything like this".

we aim to please. Opinions appreciated.

 

Edited August 25, 2016 by Speedsouthshooting

[CJDOUBLETAP]

Have water on every stage, plenty of staff, lots of communication about the match schedule prior to the match, and immediate match results posted after each day.

Trophies- don't care                                                                                                                                                            

Shirts- I prefer cotton

Prizes- definitely don't care

Edited August 25, 2016 by CJDOUBLETAP

[Speedsouthshooting]

We will have a stats team work all days and constantly posting scores. The clubhouse has multiple huge tv screens that can feed data directly from the range to the clubhouse for almost if not live feeds. Positive or negative on that idea?

[Hi-Power Jack]

Tony, are you related to Dave?

I'd rather get a "generic" trophy on the spot, than wait few weeks

to get an engraved trophy - IMHO.

 

[drmweaver2]

Back in the day, I ran a few golf tournaments (company/corporate employee only, private golf club members only, general public amateur and even a public pro-am), so this is as much from that perspective as it is from a tournament participant's... Since it's not directly shooting match-related, feel free to ignore it all.

Big prizes: definitely have to go out at an awards ceremony. Period. No explanation needed. I don't think I've ever been involved in sending a big prize to anyone after the event. They either attend the awards ceremony or they didn't get the prize... including money. Especially if there was big money corporate sponsorship involved.

Participation trophies: well, seemed like about 60% wanted to finish their round and leave without waiting for a ceremony when the "golfer" didn't win. My preference was to have trophies available on site, that day and we could usually find an engraver to work on site for a reasonable fee. His speed and accuracy made all the difference each time. We only sent trophies to people if special arrangements were made beforehand and rarely for simple participation trophies. That policy was stated on the event entry form or event packet everyone had access to (via mail, pickup at registration or off the web).

Prize tables: again, participation prizes tables for things other than stuff like t-shirts, engraved tees, etc., usually weren't "open for business" until 15 minutes after the last round was completed (after the last golfer finished the final hole of his last regular round [not a playoff situation]). We got grief over this at times, especially for people trying to catch flights out. But, it did encourage non-"big winners" to stick around for the awards ceremony. This allowed those who were just out for fun, not real contenders to feel we weren't holding them hostage while also recognizing that it was somewhat disrespectful to those who finished first but weren't "big" winners to have to stick around. Shrug. you do what you do.. it's your tournament and their privilege to play in it.

"Trinket" prize tables set up by corporate sponsors usually made things easier for event staff. The earlier registration closed, the more likely there was going to be enough for everyone, especially as far as the "popular" items were concerned.

"Day of event" big raffle prizes were always given out at the awards ceremony, always. Saving one big raffle prize for a "you showed up and participated, you're in the unannounced raffle" seemed to increase the attendance at the awards ceremony... especially if we gave out that big raffle prize just before the "big winner" prizes. Most people liked the "surprise raffle" and didn't seem to mind "having to stay". At least I never heard any serious complaints made to event staff (but there'll always be some b**ching by someone no matter what. Heck, I even heard of someone bitching that they didn't get a big "presentation style check" when the raffle was just for $50 [not at a golf event though]).

Prizes for those who "placed" but weren't "big" winners could be picked up 15-30 minutes before the big awards ceremony in most cases. I personally didn't have too much of an isue with this as a golfer myself, but as "event staff" I caught flack over it multiple times. Again, you do what you feel is right.. it's your tournament and their privilege to play in it.

As a golf participant myself, what I expected was cold water at each hole (other beverages at some big events), snacks and sandwich availability at the clubhouse (some events also had food stations out on the course itself and others had a roving snack cart with participation chits to pay for the snack/food funded through their entrance fee [ex., a Milky Way was 1 paper ticket, a Coke - 2 paper tickets...like you see at a carnival for rides),.. Participation prizes shouldn't always be just first-come, first-served regardless of the item [for ex., you could "pre-order" your shirt or T-shirt so that you got the proper size and they didn't over-order smalls!)... Being the last one to complete the scheduled number of holes and finding that the participation prize table was stripped nearly bare has left people feeling less than appreciated.

Obviously , there HAS to be enough event staff for everything - including first aid (both routine and emergency), event maintenance issues, and communication from "out on course" to back in the clubhouse was expected to be top-notch as cell phones became more and more prevalent.

Live stats? As a competitor, live stats were important to me in golf; in shooting, not so much but I'm a beginner, not a "great" shooter so I don't expect to win. Otoh, with the advent of cell phones/texting, live scores should be communicated back to the clubhouse ASAP if not "live". In the case of a shooting range, it might be possible to set up a live camera feed for each stage, but we never did anything like that on the golf course...simply too much for us logistically due to the distances involved. And as a participant, I wasn't interested in watching others live on camera... This is somewhat different for me with shooting. Unfortunately, I still haven't seen a "great" video of any shooter on any stage.. a few good ones, yes. But no great ones.

Finally, for what it's worth, staff attitude is everything. A rain out or event catastrophe always seemed less of a big deal if the event staff appears to go above and beyond (and sometimes it WILL BE just appearance) whether I was a participant or event staff myself. Having event staff easily identifiable and making their presence known counts for a lot as far as the impression of being organized goes. Whether it is a similar outfit (ex., khakis and a specific event shirt, just an event staff ball cap or a lanyard with a Staff ID, knowing who is running the event and who is not always makes a difference to me.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Good luck.

Edited August 25, 2016 by drmweaver2

[paul788]

Great stages.  Fun and challenging to shoot.  Everyone remembers a great stage versus having three standards in a match.  If you have gadgets, gimmicks, or any prop at all make sure it's reliable.  Test it in two matches before you make it part of a Level II or III.  No fun to have a great stage that you have to drop because something failed.  Stages should be doable by D class beginners.  Test the stages with some U/D shooters.  No fun to have them run out of ammo on a stage with lots of long distance steel,. Decorate the stages.  Logos or cartoon charactors on walls, etc.

Enough staff that shooters do not past or reset anything.  You gain by not having reshoots for prop failure and you get a faster squad clearance time on each stage.  Stages that allow scoring while the shooter is still firing help with faster clearance time as well.  I use 4 dedicated people per stage.  If a stage is lots of steel plan to change out everyone but the scorer and the CRO at lunch.  Break the reset job down to "You take the first array of 4 to paste and then move to the third array"  other guy "You get the second array and then go back and have the next shooter standing at the start position"  CRO pastes the last array and scorer heads back to confirm score with the shooter.

Prizes: Cash for place and random draw for all donated prizes.  A GM sponsored shooter is going to sell whatever they win versus giving a gun to Joe Average who will talk about it for years.  Not in favor of a prize table as it takes so long for some people to decide. If the match is multi-day then either draw ahead of time and pass out at registration or do on the last day and budget to ship prizes.  Often other shooters will take for their buddies and deliver.  Just get names and notify the winners.  Nice to have a separate drawing for just the staff.
 

Shirts:  Different color for staff and shooters.  Factor cost in to shooters fee. If the logo/design is too loud and wild I won't wear anywhere but a match versus out in public.

Just some random thoughts.

Paul Beck

 

[alucardus]

My number one thing above everything else is how organized it is and how well information is communicated to the shooters. Email the vital information about the match ahead of time, where sign up will be and when, schedule etc. I hate showing up to the range and having to figure everything out. 

Prizes: I like a raffle table since otherwise its boring for anyone who didn't place. I also really like when the prizes and trophies are given out fast no long speeches etc just fire the names out give the prize/trophy and move on. Everyone is exhausted by the end of the day and just want to get out of there and rest.

Shirts: I prefer tech fabrics and a choice of a polo is nice when possible.

[Speedsouthshooting]

Jack, no relation to Dave as far as I know. Plaques and trophies, Manny Bragg is doing this for us. He can send a trophy/ plaques for pictures and then engrave and mail out himself, or just order the stuff and give out. The concern is that if a shooter shoots Friday, will he wait around till Sunday to receive his trophy? Some top Shooter's don't care for prize tables. They know they are gonna place or perhaps win so they want the big stuff. I have no possible chance of winning anything so a raffle/prize table sounds attractive to me. The design for our state championship is listed and we are thinking our state colors which is red. I personally like black shirts to wear on a everyday basis and not look too flamboyant. Hahaha

 

[Speedsouthshooting]

Letters may be in white depending on the colors of the shirts

[Speedsouthshooting]

Thanks everyone for your advice!

[Chip3]

Only been to Talladega once, but I did not notice much onsite food. If I was shooting a 2 day event there and planned to be there most of one or two days it would be nice to have some food trucks or catering available. 

[JimF38sup]

Upon returning to major matches after many years I was disappointed to find vendors no longer come to these events. This used to be the place where you could actually see and touch the special equipment we use in USPSA. None of the local or chain stores can be expected to carry this equipment. 

It is import to keep the staff well taken care of. Forget the prize money, use it for the staff and no I am not an RO and I do not work major matches. I just think it is important to take care of the people who like to work them so I can enjoy. 

[Sarge]

Just now, JimF38sup said:

Upon returning to major matches after many years I was disappointed to find vendors no longer come to these events. This used to be the place where you could actually see and touch the special equipment we use in USPSA. None of the local or chain stores can be expected to carry this equipment. 

It is import to keep the staff well taken care of. Forget the prize money, use it for the staff and no I am not an RO and I do not work major matches. I just think it is important to take care of the people who like to work them so I can enjoy. 

Agreed on vendors. Last time I saw a good vendors area was A6 in 09 I think. It wasn't huge but Brazos and a few others were there.

[Dr Mitch]

Good, fun stages.  Stages that pass the CRO test.  Stages without pathetic gimmicks like the Texas star behind the wall at Area 4 this year.  Get rid of thoughtless, desperate stage gimmicks.  Don't clutch at straws..  Start every stage with a loaded gun, like a man.  Mix up target presentations and views without creating juvenile arrays.  Make sure activated targets can be shot without standing around and waiting for the target to appear, and with enough time allowance that the target can be engaged with a reasonable split time.

[chbrow10]

As a Steel Challenge Shooter and a CRO on a stage for our own State Match, I’ll offer my two cents.  My comments center around communication, match flow, and competency.

1. Knowledgeable range officers who know the rules and apply them consistently.  Don’t just hand the timer/scoring tablet to anyone.  That RO represents the host range and club, so make sure that person is more than a warm body.

2. A friendly, customer service oriented match staff is key, especially at competitor check in and the pre-match announcements and communication.  Not everyone is computer saavy.  There is no “one way fits all” approach.  Your “front office” staff needs to accommodate everyone from 8 to 80 years old and make them feel welcome.

3. The match has to flow smoothly, so the range officers on each stage need to know how to move the squad through the stage efficiently.  I’ve seen backups and bottelnecks because the range officers were not aware of the need to do this.

4. Flexibility of the match staff to accommodate common sense changes. If you are running ahead of schedule, and it makes sense to shoot a squad early before lunch if that helps that squads logistics,  that should be done.  The clubhouse should be informed so that they don’t run out of food.

5. Ability to rapidly communicate with radios to someone who is specifically assigned to bring needed supplies such as paint, 2x4s, spare timers, water, ice, etc. on an emergent basis.

6. If lunch is provided, then competitors expect that it will be available, make sure you know that you have enough food and have a plan to get everyone fed in the allotted time.

7. Communicate with the competitors about what is going to happen at what time.  This starts as soon as the match is announced.  People should know when registration will open, when they need to check in at the match, what stage they are starting on, what time they are eating, roughly what time awards/prizes will be. Changes to this schedule should be announced over the radios to the range officers who will share it with the squad on their bay at that time.

8. Pay attention to the conversations on social media.  If lots of folks are asking questions, you aren’t communicating enough.

At a steel challenge match, where the stages are already determined, I believe that people want a well-run, well organized match that flows well, things occur when they are supposed to, everyone knows what is going on and when it is going on.  No surprises.