Here at NROI, we all too frequently have complaints about ROs come our way; generally they are not formal RO Incident Form type complaints but more along the lines of “I had a bad RO at xyz match last weekend.” There is usually an implied “NROI needs to do something!”
These complaints come via email, text message, and, all too frequently, via social media post, sometimes with video.
We find that a large number of these complaints were never addressed at the match. To be clear, your first and best option is to try and politely work with the problem individual using logic and reasoning (“Could you please use the proper range commands per the rules, please?”), then escalate to the MD and RM to address the issue immediately, during the match if need be. If your problem is with the MD and/or RM, then probably coming directly to NROI is appropriate but it might also be appropriate to address the issue to the club leadership.
Things like using improper range commands, harsh/inappropriate behavior, inappropriate application of the rules, etc. can quite often be taken care of while the match is happening. Less than acceptable ROs can be removed from that job duty and others assigned to the task, for instance.
Okay, you didn’t get satisfaction or for whatever other reason you feel it needs to escalate as a formal complaint to NROI: First off, we need details and you do need to use this form found at https://uspsa.org/viewer/eNROI_Incident_Report.pdf.
We need the RO’s name(s) and USPSA number(s) as well if possible, the full match name and location/club and date of the incident, who you addressed the issue with (e.g., RM, MD, etc.), witnesses, and everyone’s contact info, etc. and we need details as to exactly why they were a “very bad RO” or whatever other reason you are reporting to NROI. Be specific. Give examples. If you have “digital evidence” let us know and/or attach it to the email when you send the form in.
Once completed, you can email the form to DNROI@uspsa.org, signed by you as the complainant. Yep, you have to sign it and make it a formal complaint. No, you cannot remain anonymous.
Your complaint will be reviewed by NROI and, if we determine an investigation is warranted, you, the witnesses, RM, MD, and the RO(s) identified as being “bad” will all get interviewed. We generally do not reveal who filed the complaint during the interview process. However, if you posted on social media about it, everyone kind of “knows” who submitted the formal complaint.
And no, we will not weigh in on a social media post. NROI policy is to not answer rules questions on social media, at all.
There seems to be a prevailing philosophy that NROI is all knowing, all seeing, knows every RO in the sport from a vague description (e.g., “He was about 6 foot, average build, with a beard and brown hair wearing a yellow ball cap…I’m sure you know him”), and are able to do dang near anything because you feel we should. We have even had it stated that we should show up at match(es) and deal with these bad ROs. We do not have a travel budget for that let alone the time to hit even a fraction of the clubs that are shooting on any given weekend.
The better and more realistic expectation would be that the certified ROs in your club should be helping educate and remediate the problem. Part of the expectation of all certified ROs is that they help others continue to play by the rules and correct deviations. The fact that “it’s just a local match” is such a widely spread mindset tells us that this part is not working. We aren’t really sure what we can do other than to ask those that are certified to follow the rules and insist others do so as well.
The reality is that the rules at Nationals and the rules at your local match are exactly the same. Sure, there are some minor exceptions made for local (Level 1) matches to help clubs hold matches given limited resources, and allow for coaching; but the core set of the rules, most especially the safety rules, are exactly the same.
Got a shooter that won’t apply the rules properly? Don’t let them RO. That’s easy enough. No one wants to speak up and get involved? That is part of the problem and typifies what we find with “Club Culture” issues.
The reality is that the rules NROI operates under preclude us from taking on a disciplinary investigation without the properly filed complaint. And guess what? If the RO(s) in question are not certified, there isn’t anything we can really do beyond recommending they take the Level 1 RO Seminar. It then becomes a member discipline issue which is handled by the USPSA Discipline Committee, assuming the complaint is egregious enough to rise to that level; the vast majority are not.
The rules do not require certified ROs at the Local (Level 1) matches. The reason for this are pretty simple. If we did, a lot of matches just would never happen. Many new clubs would never get off the ground. And so on. So the “bad RO” could just be someone that knows almost nothing about the rules other than what they have observed, or worse, the way they think the rules should be.
Is your club full of non-certified shooters acting as ROs who people complain about, who are not enforcing the rules, and generally making a mess of things? Is it full of competitors that refuse to RO shooters for fear it will impact their score? Maybe the bad RO who isn’t certified was just the only guy on the squad willing to take the timer at that point in time or he was forced to take the timer and is now upset?
What this really turns out to be is NOT an NROI problem per se, but a Club Culture problem.
NROI is proposing some initiatives to the Board in order help promote better reporting and rules adherence but it will remain, as it is today, a volunteer sport with volunteer officials with real people who make real, honest mistakes.
How many current, certified ROs do you have in your club coming to matches and helping run the match? Not many or not enough? When was the last time your club had an RO seminar? How many new shooters are coming to your club matches since that class?
Don’t say “We can’t get a class”. The fact is that 99.99% of the seminar requests get scheduled and taught. The one or two every few years that don’t get scheduled are usually due to calendar issues at the club level that just cannot get resolved. There are a few seminars every year that get scheduled and can’t get to the minimum attendance of 10 students so they get rescheduled or cancelled. It happens, but in every case NROI does our level best to try and make those classes happen at some point that works for the club. It is then incumbent on the club to put butts in the seats because we do have class minimums.
We also have a New Club Free Seminar incentive available to new clubs after one year of affiliation. The club is still responsible for the same expenses so should plan to charge students to cover the costs of room and range rental (if necessary), refreshments and lunch, instructor lodging and meals, etc. Instructor travel is covered by NROI, as with all other classes.
Thus, the reality here is that the problem is not so much an NROI problem as a local club problem. Schedule the seminar, we will help you make it happen.
While NROI is on pace to set a new record for seminars this year, there are still available weekends (think Fall dates). This year we have had several weekends where the majority of the instructors were out teaching seminars on the same weekend and we are thrilled about this!
A few tips for selecting a weekend for your seminar:
- If there is a major match happening in your area that weekend or if it is a Nationals match week; don’t pick that weekend. The major will draw potential attendees away from the class and if it is a Nationals week, most of the instructors will be busy.
- Don’t schedule it on or adjacent to holidays of any type. Family plans will override your class even if people sign up. I once taught a class that had over a dozen sign up and only two showed up. It was on Easter weekend and despite assurances that they would show up anyway, they did not.
- Unless you have an indoor range, don’t schedule when the weather is likely to keep people home.
- Go ahead and schedule it for your club match weekend if you wish. We will just integrate the students into a squad (or two) and use your stages as their range exercise. Student squads will need to be only students and they need to be adjacent so the instructor can move between squads readily. Just advise the instructor when they are assigned that this is your intent and we will assist in making this happen.
When I first got into the sport over 20 years ago, there was a heavy “us vs. them” current running between ROs and competitors. With a lot of work and training we largely beat that battle. The Club Culture problem is simply another issue that we need to all work together to defeat and provide the same match rules experience everywhere, at every club, for every shooter.