What Makes A Good Ro???

[3quartertime]

I was vexed by reading the thread drift on BDH's " Looking for a few good RO's" thread. The thought occured to me that one; many of us have a different opinion of good RO's and two; I haven't started a topic in like forever!!! So,,,

What makes a good RO???

I hate to presume but I think we could lump together both local RO's with major RO's. I've only met a few CRO's but I think we could include them if not use them to set the upper standard.

I had the extreme pleasure of hand selecting the RO'ing team for our recent Hoosier 3 for All. My ideas of a good RO and why I picked who I did may be flawed by the fact that I'm very, very new to this game. That said I believe I couldn't have lucked into a better RO staff!!!

I've been RO'ing personally for almost a year now. I was playing this game for almost a year before I took the class. My opinion of what makes a person a good RO is generated from a very small experience base, but I believe that I am a good RO and though I don't do anything extraordinary while running shooters, I do believe that there are several things that make a good RO besides the class and test.

Specifially;

Is the RO responsible for the pace of the match?

How strict should the RO be for non-critical infractions?

Should the RO chat at all or just stick to the official commands?

What do you remember most about the last GOOD RO that ran you?

I'm sure we've all heard lots of chat from some of the shooters that have been around this game from it's inception. Should time in sport be counted as quaification to RO?

What should we do to get more GOOD RO's???

More from me soon, but I wanted to see what others were thinking.

[Flexmoney]

I better get here before BDH takes all the good answers.

Is the RO responsible for the pace of the match?

The match? hmmm. I would say the RO has more control of their particular stage. There are lots of little tricks a good RO can use to ensure the stage is ran and reset in an efficient manner.

How strict should the RO be for non-critical infractions?

This one is a little tricky. An infraction is an infraction. Every shooter needs to be treated the same. That is the only fair way. If a shooter screws up, and you let it slide, they will never learn. You might help them in the short term, but harm them in the long term.

That said...you gotta know your customers. If you have a brand new club...with brand new shooters...you can't beat them on the head with the rule book all day.

Should the RO chat at all or just stick to the official commands?

I am probably a bit too cold and business like when I RO. I think that when the shooter comes to the start position, the only things that needs to be coming out of my mouth is the range commands. Other than that, I should keep my pie-hole shut...after all, the shooter is getting ready to compete with a loaded gun. They don't need me distracting them.

What do you remember most about the last GOOD RO that ran you?

Not a damn thing. But...I remeber the bad ones! (OK...I thought that sounded neat.)

Should time in sport be counted as quaification to RO?

It sure helps. But time in the sport doesn't ensure the shooter actually knows the rules...nor should they be expect to know them. I have seen experienced shooters make basics mistakes...time and time again. Taking the RO class in enlightening. It is not an automatic stamp of knowledge though.

[ad lib] I think the RO needs to watch the shooter while they are shooting...for safety and for procedurals. When it comes time to score, they need to score the hits...not what they think they saw while the shooter was shooting. Most of us can't see the front sight...let alone see where a bulllet flys and where it hits.

I think the RO needs to score the targets in the same order each time. And, that order should be thought out, so that targets doen't get skipped.

I think the person writting down the scores that the RO calls out needs to call them back to the RO. This helps ensures that right scores are recorded.

[Julien Boit]

A good RO is the one who agree when I say that both are in the same hole

He's (or she) also a good one when not yelling in my ear the "Arrrrre you rrrready" command (not like some Spanishes ROs I remember )

But seriously, a good RO, in my opinion should have some experience for couple of years as a shooter, must take the right decision whatever or whoever is in front of him, must be firm but right.

I think the RO should be here to help the shooter finishing safely his COF and must not wait for the first occasion to DQ a shooter (as I heard couple of times ).

They MUST know the Rules , which is not always the case here

[Steve Anderson]

I like calm relaxed range commands. I don't like it when ROs take a "drill sgt. tone" with the commands.

The best ROs can read the body language of each shooter and know when to shut up or when to chat.

I'm not certified, but when I RO I try to relax the shooter as much as possible.

I also like ROs that put the shooter first, and really treat the shooter like the reason for the match. Some ROs make a shooter feel like they're lucky the club took their money and let them shoot.

SA

[BDH]

I hate to presume but I think we could lump together both local RO's with major RO's. I've only met a few CRO's but I think we could include them if not use them to set the upper standard.

3QT, don't make the assumption that the Area and Nationals level RO's are somehow 'better' than the Club RO's. There are plenty of people at the club level that are d*mn good range officiers (know the rules, fair and consistent, etc., etc.), and they just never worked a big match for whatever reason. On the flip side, there are some number of people at the bigger matches, that may not have as much experience as everyone would like. Anyway, my point is just bundle them all together, and just come up with a list 'what makes a good RO?' And when it is done, I can't wait to read it and learn from it!!

I guess the only thing that I would point out is that on a local level, the personality of the RO is his or her own. While at a major match, the personality of the RO will be influenced by their CRO, and ultimately the Rangemaster. Do they completely change? No. However, some of their behaviors may change. While I don't generally 'chat' on the line, I do like to be friendly (depending on what I think the shooter wants). Well, I had a situation where we were pretty much under RM orders that the 'only thing you will speak on the line are the range commands, period'. No good morning, how ya doing, etc. Well, da boss is da boss, so while this isn't exactly how I would have run things, it was how we did run that match.

I better get here before BDH takes all the good answers.           

Flex, I'm basically gonna sit this one out and just learn from the feedback.

[Shooter Grrl]

I think besides understanding the rules, a good RO should have the following traits:

Friendly, no one likes grumps. Ya don't have to be a clown, just a generally NICE attitude.

Treat the shooters as you like to be treated while shooting (this is a HUGE one for me, as many RO's don't shoot and don't understand how it feels!)

Be Fair and Consistent in your calls. (My personal credo!)

And above all else, remember that your job is to keep the range safe, not screwing the shooters. (This is mostly at local level)

[Julien Boit]

One thing that might be a little for you but count for me is when a RO give the shooting order by telling your first name only

It becomes more personnal, you don't fell like you're going to work,this could be so few but it gives a cool atmosphere to my opinion, more friendly.

This is not much to do, only read the score sheets and I can tell before the briefing if the RO will be "cool" or not !

[A33435]

You are absolutely right on this subject Julien.

It becomes a more personal thing indeed when the RO knows your first name and uses it.

Reading your post i was thinking about last year when i was shooting level III match NRWtrophy in Germany.

On one of the long courses we started with two targets at 25 yards that had to be shot through bars. At the moment of my last shot i knew there was something wrong . I left to early and didn't finish my last shot properly. When i finished the course i had a bad feeling. RO gives the holster command and starts scoring.

At that moment the CRO puts his hand on my shoulder and says " Adrie i have to take you out of the match"

It seemed it had hit the ceiling with the last shot i took through the bars.

Well that was my first DQ. It was given in a personal way and that was a cold comfort

Greetings

Adrie

[Wakal]

Off topic, but to bounce off Julien's last post...when I'm working as a CRO or RO and reading off the shooting order, I usually pick one or two people (at random, although I try to not pick GM's) to be "Mr." or "Mrs." "First up is Bob, Ralph is on deck, Jim is in the hole, then Fred, Mr. Smith, Jimbo, Jamie..."

If questioned, I remark that all shooters are special and others are more special. Usually good for a chuckle.

On topic...a good RO doesn't have to be a good shooter. However, a good RO had better BE a shooter. Probaby 8 out of 10 of the horrible RO's I can remember over the years were non-shooters. Not sure why, but my current hypothosis is simple ego ("I can't shoot, but I can order shooters around").

Alex

[ErikW]

ROs should be not seen and not heard but for their (correct) range commands. I don't ever want to see one in my peripheral vision while shooting a stage. I don't ever want to feel one touch me. I don't want them to try to catch my ejected round after IFYAFUASC. I want them to give me the benefit of the doubt when there is doubt about a call.

[lynn jones]

that's 2 noshoots, erik, not 1