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Troy McManus

What’s My Line?

February 25, 2021 by Troy McManus

Many people understand the role of the range officer with the timer:  to issue the range commands, to supervise and observe the competitor while they shoot the course of fire, to correctly and accurately score targets, and to ensure safety and procedural rules are followed at all times.  But, what about the second, or third, or even fourth RO on a stage?  What are they supposed to do?  Most people understand that the second RO is typically considered the scorekeeper, and while the competitor is shooting, they watch the stage in general, look for foot faults, safety issues, and other procedural errors that may be made.  The scorekeeper is also responsible for accurately recording the competitor’s score, whether that’s done on paper or electronically.  The third Range Officer on a stage has responsibility for an even wider view of what’s happening while the stage is being shot, looking for faults, procedural errors and safety problems.  Let’s look at each job and its responsibilities a little closer, though.

[Read more…] about What’s My Line?

Filed Under: RO Best Practices

Help Wanted/Looking for Work

February 18, 2021 by Troy McManus

Did you know you can set up a way to get notified when matches near you need Range Officials? As part of the new notification system, you can opt in to receive notifications when Match Directors put in a request for help using the Form C system.

[Read more…] about Help Wanted/Looking for Work

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Stand Alone

January 28, 2021 by Troy McManus

Stop me if you’ve heard this one:

[Read more…] about Stand Alone

Filed Under: Free Advice

NROI Tips – Target Construction

January 14, 2021 by Troy McManus

Consistent, easily repeatable target construction is critical to the success of any match. There are several simple things that will help maintain consistency in target placement, preservation, and scoring.

[Read more…] about NROI Tips – Target Construction

Filed Under: NROI Tips

Be Teachable – You’re Not Always Right

December 10, 2020 by Troy McManus

I saw this on a meme on social media and it sort of struck a chord.  I get a lot of questions describing a mistake some RO allegedly made at a match, or a declaration by a supposedly knowledgeable RO or local “rules guru” that is completely wrong and not found in the rules, but I have also been guilty of this very thing.  Case in point, I was asked recently about a situation where the RM did not disqualify a competitor for being more than 6 feet from a berm and uncasing a PCC.  The original sender wasn’t complaining as much as just wanting to know the possible reasons for allowing this.  I explained the rule, and then asked, “Who was this?  I will try to send him some information and educate him a little bit.”  Imagine my chagrin when the original sender said, “Um, well, it was you.”   Ope!  Once he said that, I remembered the match and circumstances, and I had to admit that yes, per a strict interpretation of the rules, it should have been a DQ, but at the time, he wasn’t pointing the gun at anybody, and was somewhere around 7 feet from the berm or so, with the gun in a cart.  And, remembering that match, I was probably distracted by something else at the time.  All things considered, it seemed like the right call, and I can’t say I wouldn’t do it exactly the same way again, but I got a little lesson in humility and I haven’t forgotten it. 

[Read more…] about Be Teachable – You’re Not Always Right

Filed Under: Free Advice

RO Position and the 180

August 20, 2020 by Troy McManus

I’ve recently received several questions concerning range officers placing themselves right along the 180° or 90° line in a stage, obviously looking for violations.  This is a very bad idea, and here’s why:  by placing yourself on the 180, you are begging to have a loaded gun pointed at you if (when) the competitor’s muzzle breaks the 90-degree median intercept of the backstop.  This is especially hazardous when a rear fault line runs slightly downrange, putting you, the RO, in an even more precarious position. 

[Read more…] about RO Position and the 180

Filed Under: RO Best Practices

Special Penalty, 10.2.10

July 9, 2020 by Troy McManus

USPSA rules have several allowances for differently abled competitors to play our game, but on occasion a person is physically unable to comply with the design elements of a stage. That’s when the Special Penalty comes into play.

[Read more…] about Special Penalty, 10.2.10

Filed Under: Rules Insights

NROI Tips – Overlays and Scoring

June 25, 2020 by Troy McManus

Safety is a Range Officers number one job, no doubt, but we are officiating a competition, and for there to be a competition, there must be a score. Getting an accurate score for each competitor is crucial to the USPSA mission of “Safe, Fun, Fair” Practical Shooting. NROI provides tools to help all range officials call hits accurately-those little plastic cards we call overlays. This NROI Tips video demonstrates the proper use of overlays, and make sure to read the information below the video to learn more.

[Read more…] about NROI Tips – Overlays and Scoring

Filed Under: NROI Tips

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