With No Hope Of Ever Winning... Would You Still Compete?

[geezer-lock]

I read through this thread several times because the issue of motivation is especially intriguing to me. This Saturday I will graduate into the Super Senior class and many of my older shooting partner’s think I’m nuts to be trying to out point a bunch of teenagers.

I have been doing this for a long time (I have a four digit member number , A5333) and my experience has an uncanny resemblance to Tightloop’s. Nowadays I have the resources I lacked earlier in my career, plenty of vacation time and a spouse grateful that I have a hobby I enjoy.

I continue because I want to master the sport I love. That pursuit will eventually bring some quantitative measures of success (higher classifications, class wins, etc). I believe you alluded to that with the statement, “Placing sort of validates your effort and lets you know that you are doing something right”.

But the real driving force for me is the desire to excel against the course of fire. I know at the “unload and show clear” command when I have succeeded. You said, “It was a magical, almost euphoric feeling” and I couldn’t agree more.

That’s why I keep coming back.

David C

[BritinUSA]

To win a match is to beat every other competitor in your division/class. I will never win a major match, so I don't focus on winning. My objective is to see how well I can perform against people who shoot more than 1000 rounds a day/week.

I shoot Once a week, Five stages, Five draws, perhaps a mandatory reload on a classifier and around 100 rounds. That's it. That's all I get courtesy of no local ranges (with available props) to practice on. On call 24 x 7, too dog-tired at the end of the day for dry fire practice. So I shoot 100 rounds a week, and if I go to a big match and beat a top shooter on a stage then it's a victory - albeit a small and perhaps meaningless one to everyone else.

Even a lousy golfer will one day hit the perfect tee shot or get their ball out of the bunker and straight into the hole in a manner that would have Tiger Woods counting his blessings.

We take the victories where we can.

There is also more to this sport than the points, I have met some great people at shooting matches around the world. When they banned the sport in England I mourned the sport and the people with equal vigour, I often think of all the friends from UK that I know I will never, ever see again. So to me this is more than points.

[warpspeed]

To answer the original question - yes

[Merlin Orr]

To win a match is to beat every other competitor in your division/class. I will never win a major match, so I don't focus on winning. My objective is to see how well I can perform against people who shoot more than 1000 rounds a day/week.

I shoot Once a week, Five stages, Five draws, perhaps a mandatory reload on a classifier and around 100 rounds. That's it. That's all I get courtesy of no local ranges (with available props) to practice on. On call 24 x 7, too dog-tired at the end of the day for dry fire practice. So I shoot 100 rounds a week, and if I go to a big match and beat a top shooter on a stage then it's a victory - albeit a small and perhaps meaningless one to everyone else.

Even a lousy golfer will one day hit the perfect tee shot or get their ball out of the bunker and straight into the hole in a manner that would have Tiger Woods counting his blessings.

We take the victories where we can.

There is also more to this sport than the points, I have met some great people at shooting matches around the world. When they banned the sport in England I mourned the sport and the people with equal vigour, I often think of all the friends from UK that I know I will never, ever see again. So to me this is more than points.

Well Said! ...and I do agree....

[Azone41]

Years ago a good friend and I started shooting IPSC. We were not going to win any big matches but we both love to compete. We made a small trophy (a 45 bullet glued to a piece of wood). Thats what we competed for at matches. It's kind of funny but when we started shooting for that trophy and not thinking about how we were doing overall we started doing much better in the matches. Find a friend start shooting against them and only them I think you will be surprized how well you will start doing.

[Sam]

I don't believe that the point of competing is winning. If it was, I obviously wouldn't shoot too many matches. The point of competing is to push myself to the absolute limit of my ability under match conditions, where there are no "do overs" like there are in practice. Competing is more about learning. It's about expanding limitations, distroying illusions, finding the truth. Either I can or I can not.

Winning a match depends on other people's performances, as well as my own. I cannot impact how well another person shoots. I can only shoot to my highest level. It is this unknown factor, how well everyone else is shooting, that drives me to my own optimum performance. For me, actually winning something has to almost be an accident.

Many years ago I raced dirt bikes. One of the older guys told me the trick to winning. "Go as fast as you can, until you crash. If you don't crash, you might win."

That advice is still true. If I were to attend a national championship and shoot 90% of the winners score and place in the top 10, to me, that would be a win. Because I would have to shoot at my very highest level of ability to make that happen. I don't currently possess the ability to win a national chamionship, so the guys who do are safe from me for now.

Shooting for fun is a very valid reason to attend matches. It's a lot of cool things, but it is not competing. Every person has to set a goal at a match if they intend to compete and not just socialize. Winning your class, besting a freind's performance, setting a personal best, all drive us to higher and higher levels of performance and learning.

I like Azone41's bullet trophy! Cool idea!

[Buzzmeister]

Will the pure joy of the sport be enough to keep you going when your competitive edge fades away?

Tls

I think that will be entirely up to you, and you alone.