While both shooting matches and teaching classes I occasionally hear, “Yeah, but…” when talking about rules and range management. This is especially true when talking about Level I (local) matches and how in the “real” world they are run and officiated. So, let us discuss this and see how we can reduce or eliminate as many of these as possible.
The most common issue comes down to how local clubs run their matches. Now it is very uncommon for clubs to just throw the rulebook into the trash, but some of their local practices are outside of what is required in the rulebook as written. Sometimes, it is a lack of foresight on how certain conditions could cause issues for the staff and competitors to uniformly score various violations like foot faults and FTSAs. The other issue is a lack of understanding where the Level I match exceptions apply and where they don’t. Despite what some people seem to think when talking about their local club matches, the Level I exceptions are actually very limited.
Now when I am talking about this, I am not talking about obvious violations of safety rules, borderline unfairness, or blatant rules violations. No, what I see more is where shortcuts and lack of preparation can sometimes have effects that encourage competitors and staff to skate slightly outside of the rules. If you add to that rushed stage construction, incomplete or “sketchy” written stage briefing with little or no guidance on how certain penalties will be applied and large squads with limited time to shoot each stage, issues which in a higher-level match would have been “debugged” are potentially missed.
These include potential shoot-throughs, potential bullet impact issues and steel splatter issues which make scoring tough for the staff. Add to this that in many club level matches the staff is embedded with the squads and simple issues can become a large problem. If the staff is unaware of potential issues or scoring problems on a stage, it is more likely things might be missed.
So, how do we address such problems? First, once the stages are built and ready to go, you need to take the time to have Range Master and the senior staff walk the stages to try to catch any potential problems. Once identified, either fix them if possible and if not at least make notes on the written stage briefing on how any issues will be handled. That way if Squad 3 has an issue they have some guidance on how to handle it.
Second, take the time to write as detailed a written stage briefing as possible. Now sometimes, that is easy if the stage is straight forward and has limited places for mischief. On more complex stages, you might need to be a bit more detailed especially if there are potential problems with foot faults, shoot-throughs, and activators.
Even the simplest stages can cause issues if the scoring is outside of the normal best two hits on paper and steel down to score. WSBs for Virginia Count and Fixed Time stages need to be a bit more detailed to make sure the stages are scored consistently since many competitors are not as used to that type of stage and your RO staff may be a bit rusty on the rules. Frankly, to me that is an indictment of clubs who fail to run those types of stages every so often that way everyone is comfortable with them. Think of VC/FT like your monthly vitamins to work on accuracy. Not every stage needs to be 32 rounds of run and gun.
Third, a common issue is the misunderstanding of what the scorer/assistant RO job position is supposed to be doing. Almost every month I see early and split scoring occurring at Level I matches without delegates or notification. In fact, at most matches I go to it is assumed the targets will be scored as the competitor is still completing the rest of the stage. I understand this is done to save time and most competitors do not usually care until, or unless, something goes bad with scoring. Before it can be resolved all the targets are already taped, steel is back up and the competitor is left with no options and a sour taste in their mouth.
The corollary to this is a target that gets taped before anyone on staff can even score it and usually at club level matches you ask the taper what was on the target, and they will tell you it was 1A, 1 C and everybody just says okay and…. 9.1.3 anyone? When anyone says anything, what do they hear, “Yeah, but it’s just a club match, are you going to win a car?”
Now do not get the impression I am trying to slow down your matches or cause undo concern, but all these issues can be minimalized with good planning, tight WSBs and your scorers doing the job they are assigned to do. It does not take more than 30-seconds to add a line to the WSB that we will be scoring T1-T4 ahead of time and you need someone to witness the scores for the competitor, so they know what they earned was what they shot. That way the tapers can make sure the targets were scored and can still save some time if that is an issue. However, if the pad scorer is going to be scoring ahead, you need to make sure there is a third RO to assist the timer RO if the stage lends itself to various ways to complete it and may limit the timer ROs ability to control the competitor. Remember, our safety system is based on two ROs watching the competitor at all times.
So, in conclusion, as a RM or MD at your local match we encourage you to follow 3 simple procedures. Do a final walkthrough of the stages and note any unusual or unclear conditions/situations for the WSB. Take the time to write a good WSB that answers 99% of all anticipated questions. That way Squad 1 and Squad 6 have the same expectations and knowledge of the stage. Finally, try to run even a local club match like a major as far as following the rules. Treat your competitors like you would like to be treated at a big match. That way you should never have to say, “Yeah, but…”