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USPSA - National Range Officers Institute

Troy McManus

USPSA Nationals Staff Application

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Staff Applications for the USPSA Hi-Cap and Lo-Cap Nationals are now available.  

Hi-Cap Nationals will be September 22-28, in St. George Utah.  If you want to apply to staff this match, please use the HI-CAP Nationals Staff Application.  Please be sure to read and understand the staff information before submitting your application.

Lo-Cap Nationals will be November 3-9, in Frostproof, Florida.  If you want to apply to staff this match, please use the LO-CAP Nationals Staff Application.  Please be sure to read and understand the staff information before submitting your application.

There will be no staff match for either Nationals–they are being run in a back-to-back format.  We are offering a work-one, shoot-one option for staff, but you must have and pay for a slot to the match of your choice.

More information on the National Championships can be found here.

If you have any questions, email dnroi@uspsa.org

Sergeant Safe Area

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Sergeant Safe Area’s Lonely Gun Club Band

Here’s the question:

At a recent match a female competitor was scolded by the range master and told she could be disqualified for leaving an unloaded holstered pistol in her belt with no ammunition present on/in the safety area while she used the facilities (port-a-john). As a Range Officer, I see no rule to substantiate the RM’s claim. I spoke with the match director and he said it was a grey area. This needs to be addressed as more female shooters join our sport and must remove their gear before using the facilities. (My note:  guys need to do this at times, too.)

It’s not a grey area, and it’s not a DQ.  As you stated, there is no rule prohibiting this action, and the RM here is simply stating his personal preferences and prejudices towards this practice.  Any time I hear someone say, “You could be DQ’d” for something that’s not covered in the rules, it leads me to believe that they know better and are just trying to impose their will instead of following the rules.  I agree with you that RM’s (and any Range Official, for that matter) should not make up rules and threats on the fly, regardless of what their personal opinions are, if the competitor is not violating any rules.  It’s a safe area, and is designated as a place to handle a firearm—one of the only places on the range where you can do so without being disqualified.  Leaving your gun unattended on the safe area table may be, to some, unadvisable, but it isn’t against the rules, and it isn’t unsafe.  The worst thing that can happen is that some well-meaning person thinks it’s been abandoned and turns it over to a range official or, sad to say, it could get stolen.  Many people are leery about bringing their gun into a port-a-pottie for fear of it falling off and into the tank, so they leave their gun on the safe area table.  There’s a reason why MD’s place port-a-potties near the safe area, or vice versa, and that’s for precisely this reason, to facilitate competitor’s needing to use the facilities without wearing their gun into the thing.  Here’s a pic of my carry gun sitting on my dresser.  I’ve been watching it, but so far, it’s just sitting there, right where I left it, safe and sound.

Glock 43 in a carry holster, laying on a dresser top
Just laying around

Free Fallin’

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Troy McManus, L2345, DNROI

Free Fallin’

Another question from this week’s batch of email:

“At a recent match after a competitor was instructed to show clear, hammer down and holster, the shooter dropped his gun on the re-holster. The shooter was not disqualified for this. I have seen this same situation happen when the shooter has been disqualified. I was under the assumption that the range is still hot until the command, Range is clear has been made and if a competitor drops a gun during a hot range it is a disqualification unless the command of range is clear has been made (sic). Could you help clarify this for me please.”

My answer:  It’s absolutely a DQ if the gun is dropped prior to the “Range is Clear” command being issued.  Whoever made this call did the competitor a disservice, as he probably now believes this isn’t a DQ and if it happens again somewhere where they understand and enforce the rules, he’ll be surprised.

In response to this:

“Myself and another shooter tried to explain this to the RO and he said it’s a grey area which seemed as clear as day. It’s just unfortunate that another shooter had been dq’d that same day while others seem to have special treatment.”

I’m not sure I can call this special treatment without understanding the who, what, when, where of the call, but I know for sure it’s not a grey area, and it’s not up to this particular RO to define it as such.  Here’s the pertinent part of the rule:

10.5.3 If at any time during the course of fire, or while loading, reloading or unloading, a competitor drops his firearm or causes it to fall, loaded or not…

Since the “Range is Clear command had not been issued, this dropped gun occurred during the course of fire, and the result is a DQ for unsafe gun handling; dropped gun.  There aren’t a lot of “grey areas” in the rules, just grey areas in people’s minds.  Reading the rulebook or asking questions is a good way to clear some of the fog.

Seminar Info

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Seminar Requests and Registration

USPSA has created a robust and comprehensive online system to facilitate host club’s seminar requests.  This system automatically notifies instructors of the request, and asks for their availability for the selected dates.  It also automatically locates the range address for the host club, based on the club code, along with displaying other information provided by the host, such as cost, contact information, and payment options.  All of this happens once an instructor is assigned and the seminar is published.  All open seminars can be found by following this link:  https://uspsa.org/seminars.  Once there, you can sign up for a seminar, and the information is captured for use by the host as well as the instructor; both can communicate with the students as needed, and also check enrollment and certification status.  Hosts can also set up a credit card payment through our system—payments go directly to the host club, not USPSA—or identify the preferred payment method.  On the first day of the seminar, the instructor can take roll using our system, and can also mark students as “passed” when they successfully complete the live fire portion of the seminar.  Once marked as present and passed, students are automatically sent a notice that their certification exam is ready for them.  When that exam is passed, students are then certified by the system, and the NROI coordinator mails out a certificate, patches, and overlays. 

Because of the features I listed above, including the LMS, it’s imperative that host clubs use our system to enroll students, and no other, otherwise the students will not be getting the pre-seminar information, nor will they be able to be counted in class.  Students not listed on our system create more work for the instructor and delay the beginning of the seminar.

Training Enhancements

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New NROI Training Enhancements

NROI has developed and implemented some new training modules as part of an online Learning Management System, or LMS.  The initial modules involve two pre-seminar tests on Moodle, an interactive and highly adaptable online training system.  For level one seminars, registrants will be sent a link to log into our training system and take the exams, which are designed as teaching tools as much as they are tests.  The results don’t count against you in any way, and the answers can be discussed during the seminar.  As each question is answered, there is a short discussion note that follows your submission, explaining what the correct answer is and why.  The tests are designed to acquaint the students with the USPSA rules and get them going through the rulebook prior to the seminar—they replace Tests A and B from the workbook. 

This effort is part of a revamp of our training methods, with incorporating more hands-on and demonstration exercises into the level one seminar the goal.  While the pre-tests are optional right now, we anticipate requiring them as part of the passing grade of the seminar.  For the level two, or Chief Range Officer Seminar, a pre-class test has been the requirement for some time.  The level two pre-class tests are also up on Moodle, along with an option to upload your course of fire for the seminar.  As we expand our LMS capability, we plan to add some portions of the RM training and Steel Challenge and Multigun Endorsement modules as well.  Continuing education modules are also being planned, so that certified Range Officials can keep up with changes in the rules, or just use them as a general refresher. 

Speaking of seminars, in addition to the Learning Management System efforts, we’ve also developed a new, digital, student guide for the seminar.  Upon registration, prospective students will be directed to a link where they can download the student guide and rules onto a phone, tablet, or laptop, for use in class.  USPSA will provide a limited number of tablets to each seminar as loaners if needed, but we will no longer print and ship large volumes of paper to every seminar.

Why Are We Here?

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Welcome to NROI.org!

Per the USPSA Bylaws:

The National Range Officer’s Institute (NROI) is a division of USPSA chartered to develop and implement safety-centered education and officiating policies for USPSA matches. Duties of the NROI include development of training and education programs, recruitment, training, testing and evaluation of Range Officers, and communication of official rules interpretations. NROI is an integral part of the feedback process for continual improvement of the rules themselves.

To further aid in the training and education mission, we’ve started this blog, where we can provide information outside of the regular NROI training channels, to all USPSA members.  Some of this will be in the form of  essays and articles, some will be videos and pictures, some will be questions and answers.  We intend to provide a multimedia platform for your edification.  Please don’t hesitate to tell us how we can improve and meet your needs.