I know this has been said before, but local clubs need volunteers to hold matches. Since USPSA now has over 45,000 members, there are some new readers since my last post and this is a topic that needs revisiting.
The TLDR version of this post is: If you like shooting your local matches, pitching in and helping, even in small ways, ensures those matches keep happening.
But I also understand how stepping up to help as a new member can be intimidating (remember we were all new members at some point). So how can you help at your local matches?
1.) Be a good guest. Help reset the stage between competitors. Make sure you pick up and dispose of your trash. Also remember that good attitudes are contagious and make matches fun for everyone.
2.) Setup and tear down. Some clubs setup the stages the day of, others the day before. I know clubs always need help. If the setup is pre-match, show up early and help. If there is a call for volunteers the day before, come out and help. And if the clubs tears down stages completely or partially after the match, also pitch in. It takes longer to build a stage than to tear it down and put all the props away.
3.) Serve as a Range Officer. Remember that local matches, do not require certified ROs, but we do recommend taking a seminar. But all of us were serving as scorekeeper and running the timer before we became certified ROs. Most clubs have a few certified ROs per squad, but those folks also don’t want to run the timer and scorepad all match. They are competitors too! The easy entry point is volunteering to be scorekeeper first and then after you have heard the correct range commands (hopefully) enough times to know them, run the timer. But remember that you are not the timer or scorepad holder, you are a referee for the sport and need to pay attention!
4) Match Director or Stats Guru. Once you are addicted to USPSA or SCSA and know this will be a big hobby for you and want to level up your contributions to the club, volunteer to be match director for a match or learn more about PractiScore and help manage the tablets, registration, and scores.
5.) Other skills. Do you have other skills that could help the club? Are you handy and like repairing things? Do you weld and can make target stands? Do you like building walls? Or are you a wi-fi network guru? Your club might need help with these areas too!
Remember that our sport is volunteer driven and help is always welcome. And for those of you currently running the club, always remember to train your replacements and that also allows you to skip a match once in awhile to help prevent burn-out.