We have talked before on the blog about the phrase “It’s only a local match” and how it annoys those of us who spend our weekends educating members on the rules. It’s not because rules accidentally get overlooked, not applied, or misapplied, we understand that happens once in a while. It bugs us when clubs have attitudes that either they aren’t capable of following the rules (everyone is capable) or blatantly ignore the rules.
I understand that there is a large portion of our members who only shoot at their local club and only care about shooting at their local club. I also understand that folks who run the local club want to keep everyone happy and sometimes that means not enforcing a rule here or there. But does that grow the sport and bring in new folks to run the club in the future? Last time I checked, we haven’t figured out how to live forever. As I have traveled to matches, and to teach RO and CRO classes, I have seen a variety of clubs with varying cultures and what I say below is based on everything I have seen over the years.
Quite a few years ago the USPSA employees did a class where we were asked what is the USPSA product. We came up with rules, classification system, and nationals. Now, not every member will shoot at nationals (but I highly recommend doing it at least once), but every member takes advantage of the rules and classification system. This especially applies to USPSA Competition matches and SCSA matches. The Multigun rules are also utilized by members, but there is not a classification system at this time.
The big advantage of clubs being a USPSA or SCSA club is that we provide the rulesets and each club doesn’t have to come up with their own. That means you don’t have to argue over if that was a penalty or not because it’s all in the rulebook. You just need to consult the rulebook to settle any arguments. It also means when new members or members from outside the area come shoot at your club, they are all going to be learning and using the same rulebook. Using a ruleset that is available to everyone, that the club doesn’t have to maintain, makes it easy for everyone.
However, having the rulebook and using it properly does take some work. It takes a handful of people to follow the rules, lead by example when applying the rules, and to share their knowledge of the rules to make adoption of any rulebook successful. Most clubs have at least a few people who have at least read the rulebook, or even better taken the RO class. And those are the people who need to take the reins and encourage folks building the stages and shooting the match to follow the rules.
That sometimes is easier said than done. If it’s a new club, it is easier to say “we are following the rules,” than at an established club where the club may have strayed from the rulebook. Many times, the clubs that don’t enforce the rules very well are clubs where all, or a very large majority, of the competitors only shoot the match at that club. So there is apathy towards the rules because no one ever shoots elsewhere and they just want to go out and have fun. The issue that comes up is eventually they get some new members.
Why are new members an issue? Usually they aren’t. They are a very good thing! And new members, especially when they are young, are competitive and eventually want to shoot section, state, area, and often nationals matches. When competitors have those aspirations, they are using local matches as practice for major matches. And if your club has strayed very far from the official rules, these younger, new members will stick around until they attend their first major match or take the RO class. They then will realize how many rules are not followed at the local matches and then choose to take their match fees elsewhere because they want to participate in matches that follow the rules.
Some clubs probably are happy those young whipper snappers leave their matches so they can go back to the close camaraderie they have always had at their matches. But what is the average age of that club? Do they have a next generation to hand the keys to when they get sick of running the matches, or get to a point where they are unable to run the matches? I hate to be this dark, but it is something we see happening. And NROI often gets asked how to change a club culture to follow the rules so the club can evolve and grow.
Changing a club culture is not easy. Sometimes it takes changing the leadership of the club to folks who want to follow the rules. Other times it just takes enough people at the club to just start following the rules that it becomes the norm and not the exception. Unfortunately, NROI doesn’t have a magic wand to solve this issue. We can suggest things, but we can’t make the change for the club. But it can be done. I have seen clubs change over the years. And many times the change coincides with a change in leadership or the club hosting a RO seminar or the club realizing that hosting a major match can fund club and range improvements and they need to be well versed in following the rules to be prepared for that event.
If you are currently shooting at a club that doesn’t follow the rules, please lead by example and follow the rules if you want things to change. If you are already part of a club that follows the rules, great! But if they are looking for volunteers to help run the club, please step up if you are not already involved. Remember that volunteerism is what makes USPSA great and is how our clubs and matches thrive!