Here are some updates on what NROI has and will be working on including updated rulebooks, the online Multigun Endorsement course, changes to the renewal exam questions, and future continuing education.
Rulings-Rules
Continuing from last week, the rulings up for voting by the board were all approved, and were effective on April 21st. Concurrent with their release, the rulebooks have been updated accordingly—one distinct advantage to digital rulebooks. Please update your downloaded PDF versions of the rules and the app. Most of them are simple clarifications of existing rules, adjustments to the wording on some, and additions to one rule set so that it mirrors the others, particularly covering safety issues that should be common to the three rule sets. None of them affect equipment types. A short summary is available in this post from last week.
Because NROI is tasked with training, certifying, and maintaining a level of competency among our range officials, we will be taking every opportunity to accomplish that mission in a meaningful, efficient manner. Since there have been very few, if any, matches to shoot and work, we have taken advantage of the time to increase and improve our training capabilities to better serve the USPSA membership.
Multigun Endorsement on LMS
Certified Range Officials can now gain the Multigun Endorsement via NROI’s LMS system instead of having to attend a seminar. The endorsement program consists of a series of narrated modules covering the USPSA Rifle, Shotgun, and Multigun rules, with short quizzes interspersed in between modules, followed by a 50-question final exam. Once both are successfully passed, your Multigun (MG) endorsement will appear on your USPSA profile. I’d like to thank Kevin Imel, assistant DNROI, for taking the lead on this, and all of the beta testers who contributed valuable feedback while developing this training. Range Officials can now earn endorsements in both Steel Challenge and Multigun, thereby adding to their officiating toolbox. Both programs are free to certified members and can be found on the USPSA web page.
Re-certification Exam Augmentation
NROI has recently updated our online exam system to include Steel Challenge and Multigun questions for those range officials who hold endorsements in one or both disciplines. In addition to the standard 20 question renewal exam, if you hold an endorsement there will be an additional 5 questions on your recertification exam covering your endorsed discipline. For example, if you are an NROI certified CRO with both SCSA and MG endorsements, you will get the 20-question exam and an additional 10 questions: 5 for Steel Challenge and 5 for Multigun. We’ve added this to help keep our range officials current in the rules for their endorsed disciplines. If you have questions about, or issues with, the new exam system, please email me using dnroi@uspsa.org.
Continuing Education
NROI is also working on a continuing education program using our LMS system. This will consist of several modules designed to cover single subjects that seem to be the most problematic in actual practice. Subjects such as equipment restrictions, Written Stage Briefings, and start positions are just a few of the topics we have planned. Keep your eyes on the news brief and on the USPSA web page for more information on when these will be available. They will be optional for all RO and CRO certified range officials, but may become compulsory for RM certified individuals, especially if there is a shortage of matches in need of certified Range Masters.
Seminar Changes
We are also working on ways to provide more online training as an adjunct to our Level One and Level Two–RO and CRO, respectively–seminars, in order to free up more classroom time for hands on exercises, demonstrations, and range time. That material will be available to all prospective students when they enroll in a seminar.