Range Officers do much more than just hold the timer. They also need to monitor competitor movement and actions to ensure safe, fair, fun practical shooting occurs in an equitable manner. In this NROI Tips video we get a bird’s eye view of RO movement.
This is a good example of a stage that requires RO team work to safely run it. Extra ROs are needed because of the potential immediate uprange movement by the competitor. This stage had extra staff because of that and the CRO utilized the available staff in an efficient manner.
Also notice how all the ROs are watching. The RO holding the timer is not the only person who should be watching the competitor. At minimum there should always be two ROs watching: the one holding the timer and the one holding the scoring tablet. This is true for local matches as well. There are many things that ROs need to watch for and it is much easier and less stressful when there is a second set of eyes assisting. And sometimes one RO is in a much better position to see things over the other. Remember to work as a team when you are acting as RO!