Spudgun 2008 - Canceled

[ajg308]

I was signed up to be a CRO for the match and am also the club contact dor USPSA. I am feeling a big let down as well. With that said I want everyone to knoe that there will furture USPSA matches at Parma that will be great fun to shoot. Currently I am the IDPA match director and we have had huge success with our state matches and as we gain a larger base of USPSA shooters we hope to have the same success putting on USPSA state championships as well. Apologizes to all that have to adjust plans.

Aaron Goodfellow

A54848

To say I am disappointed is an understatement.

I had heard a couple of weeks ago that the organizers were considering

pulling the plug, and offered several suggestions to scale back just a

bit while still maintaining the quality of the match. The organizers

were resistant to the idea that less than 120 shooters would show up,

thus no changes would be necessary.

Big matches don't happen overnight; they are grown over the course of

several years from small matches, held consistently.

I would not expect to hear a match called Spudgun again.

Tim Egan

Idaho SC

[kimel]

I do feel I need to make something clear here lest there be confusion.

MGM Targets were signed on to be the major match sponsor. The cancellation of the match had absolutely NOTHING to do with their support. Indeed, quite the opposite was true.

MGM is aces in my book and always will be. Great guys, quality product and they support the sport in a huge way.

Thanks Mike and Travis!

[jobob]

I would not expect to hear a match called Spudgun again.

I wouldn't bet the farm on that statement.

[Z-man]

This is pretty unfortunate. If it matters, I know of a lot of people that were planning on attending but hadn't sent in their app.... I think that's par for the course on a state match...

[alphamike]

I am (was) the MD for Spudgun2008 and I'd like to explain a couple of things and (hopefully) clear up any misconceptions.

First, I'd like to thank our match sponsors MGM Targets--Mike and Travis went above and beyond (as they usually do) in trying to make this match go. We are truly lucky to have true believers like these guys in the sport.

Second, I'd want to thank the people who supported this match: the shooters and the staff. You find out who your friends are when you step up to run a match and Jim and I know we have a lot of friends out there. I want to sincerely apologize to the shooters who were looking forward to this match especially the local shooters in Idaho for whom this would have been the "big match" of the year.

Third, I want to single out our RM, Kevin Imel, for special notice. As Kevin explained, the decision to cancel the match was solely the MD's. Kevin did a tremendous job in getting the stages designed and approved (I believe this was the first major match approved under the new rulebook!) and working out the details of the static CRO model we were going to use. He is concientious as hell and I commend him to any MD looking for an RM.

Fourth, Jim and I spent literally days working the numbers over and emailing spreadsheets back and forth trying to come up with a formal proposal to the club and then a detailed budget that worked for everyone. I realize that it is easy for some to Monday morning QB the difficult decision we had to make, but WE were the ones that knew the numbers by heart and I kind of resent the implication that we were being "unreasonable" somehow. We built what was essentially an Area match with a maximum capacity of 198 shooters. We had 48 entries by last weekend. I don't know if it was the economy, or the price of gas, or the fact that the MDs are kinda old and slow but it became obvious to us that this just wasn't going to work. Our staff motto was: "Always do the classy thing". Our aim was to build a great match with great stages and to run it consistently, fairly, and safely and most importantly to treat the shooters right. We could have scaled this back to essentially a club match but that is not what we set out to do and not what we promised the shooters. Go big or go home.

Lastly, I appreciate Tim's input and look forward to working with him in the future in his role as the new Idaho SC. He and I have different ideas about what goes into a quality match. I think we agree to disagree on that point.

Again, a big THANK YOU to our supporters and my apologies for the disappointment our decision has caused.

One other thing I want to add is that Parma has the facilities, the attitude, and the foresight to become one of the premier action shooting venues in the West. I don't want the failure of Spudgun2008 to attract a quanta of shooters to detract in any way from what they are trying to accomplish out there. They are a fairly new club to USPSA but they have hosted the MGM Ironman for several years and I expect more good things to happen there in the future.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement.

I had heard a couple of weeks ago that the organizers were considering

pulling the plug, and offered several suggestions to scale back just a

bit while still maintaining the quality of the match. The organizers

were resistant to the idea that less than 120 shooters would show up,

thus no changes would be necessary.

Big matches don't happen overnight; they are grown over the course of

several years from small matches, held consistently.

I would not expect to hear a match called Spudgun again.

Tim Egan

Idaho SC

Edited March 11, 2008 by alphamike