Classifier stages as part of a larger match?

[Jane]

I got an interesting email from one of my IDPA scoring software users.

His club wanted to shoot a "get it all done" match this weekend - a 7 stage match, 4 stages of which would be the postal match and 3 stages that would be a Classifier.

In that my software provides for updating classifications and posting to the IDPA website when a match is designated as a Classifier, that wouldn't happen automatically in his case.

I had written into the Postal Match software the ability for users of my regular scoring software to extract the appropriate 4 stages to send to the match.

So I put together a similar utility for my user to extract the 3 Classifier stages into a separate match, which he could then use for the classification stuff.

I know that all the USPSA matches I shoot have one classifier stage. When Don wrote me about this, it seemed like a good idea. I know that when we advertise that our next club match will be a Classifier, we have a number of people who won't come and shoot it because they don't find it interesting.

So my question is - how many of you have incorporated the entire Classifier into a larger match?

How has it worked for you?

[Greg Bell]

Jane,

A shooting buddy and I were just talking about this at a classifier yesterday. Our thoughts weren't exactly what you are getting at, we were thinking it would be nice to see it more like USPSA and incorporate them into a regular match.

Edited July 13, 2008 by Greg Bell

[Jim Watson]

I think it is a good idea.

The first Nationals included the Classifier because they had to admit shooters who had joined so recently as to not have shot it locally.

The first Summer Sizzler in Tennessee included the Classifier stages but could not be used for reclassification because it was spread over two days and scattered so you did not necessarily shoot it in textbook order.

If I were the King of Classification I would institute a shorter Classifier - Beverly McCord had a 54 shot test that correlated well with the standard 90 - and require it be included in every state or regional level sanctioned match.

[sirveyr]

I think it is a good idea.

The first Nationals included the Classifier because they had to admit shooters who had joined so recently as to not have shot it locally.

The first Summer Sizzler in Tennessee included the Classifier stages but could not be used for reclassification because it was spread over two days and scattered so you did not necessarily shoot it in textbook order.

If I were the King of Classification I would institute a shorter Classifier - Beverly McCord had a 54 shot test that correlated well with the standard 90 - and require it be included in every state or regional level sanctioned match.

Jim,

I'm intrigued about this 54 round test. What did it involve?

[Jim Watson]

Sad to say, that was several years and two or three computers ago, and I no longer have the details.

[Steve J]

I think it would be quite hard to coordinate time wise. Even if you have sparate bays for each stage, the classifier stages take so much time, especially stage 1, to complete that the flow would be extremely problematic. If you have the luxury of enough bays to break classifier stages 1 and 2 down between between four or more bays then the flow would be improved, but you would still have a backlog. As squads shooting the single string stages of your match finished, they would bunch up waiting for the squads shooting the multiple string classifier stages to finish and move on. The wait time could be very long. If you shoot at a range with 12 bays... well God bless you. Give it a shot, but figure out a way to use all 12 bays.

[Filishooter]

Closest thing we have done are 2 stage side-matches during the Classifier. We've ran 4 bays of Classifiers and have 2 bays setup for the side match, just something fun. As the shooters finished there business with the Classifier they come and shoot the side-match which is optional and scored separate. We are doing the same thing with the Postal Match just to up the round count and to give shooters the opportunity to throw more lead downrange.

We have also run portions of the Classifier as a stage, but the scores only counted toward the match, not the Classifier.

Edited July 14, 2008 by Filishooter

[Hot Brass]

When we shoot the classifier as a club match, we run it in 6 bays. Works fine with no backups. Unfortunately, match attendance suffers when we do this. Most of the shooters who feel like they have reached a plateau don't show up.

[ajg308]

Jane,

we use your software here in Idaho and love it. I do not think we have run a complete classifer and added other stages. We usually have the "Classifer Match" every year in May. Although, it would be a handy tool for those clubs that do run both in the same day.

Aaron G.

Parma MD

[RickB]

A classifier match takes longer to run than a typical, six-stage match, so there's no way we would try to run the classifier plus additional stages on a single match day.

[steel1212]

We ran the classifier as part of the match and had 3 extra stages on top of that. It was a while ago but I think we had 2 bays for each of the classifier stages then used the other 3 bays for the other stages. The idea was shoot a classifier stage then shoot one of the other stages. I forget the details but it worked out ok.

[Ted Murphy]

A lot of majors did the classifier as part of its match back in the early days. The first two S&W winternationals went down like that IIRC.

[Nik Habicht]

If you're going to do it and want to speed it up, then set two arrays for the classifier in each pit. Take two shooters at a time. Shoot the first shooter through the entirety of Stage 1, have him reload mags while Shooter two shoots all of Stage 1 on the second set of targets. An experienced scorekeeper can often score the targets without approaching them --- this is harder with novice shooters. Once both shooters have shot the first stage, finish scoring and tape the targets. Rinse and Repeat for Stages 2 & 3. It's possible to get two competitors through the entire classifier in well under 30 minutes if the stage staff knows what they are doing.....

If you have three pits available with dedicated staff, you can probably move a squad through the classifier as quickly (by using all three pits) as you can move them through any other pit. This assumes that the other pits will either have complicated long courses or multiple short ones....