Before the advent of PractiScore, the scorekeeper had to do math to ensure all the hits were scored and recorded on the scoresheet. It was simple addition, but was critical to prevent scoresheet errors. PractiScore automatically does that math now, and doesn’t let us proceed if too few or too many hits are recorded. However, there is one rare situation where you as the RO may be required to do math – when the special penalty of 20% of the points shot is used. Let’s learn more in this Question of the Month.
Stage Info: 12 rounds, Comstock, 6 IPSC targets.
Start Position: Completely outside the shooting area, handgun loaded and holstered.
Stage Procedure: On audible start signal engage all targets from within the shooting area, strong hand only.
What happened: A Carry Optics competitor is not able to shoot strong hand only and has received permission from the Range Master for a special penalty before shooting the stage. The RM has notified you as the RO, that the penalty is 20% of the points shot and the competitor is allowed to shoot the stage freestyle. The competitor shot 8 Alpha and 4 Charlie. As the RO, what is the penalty you enter into PractiScore?
Before we get to the math lesson, let’s briefly cover the special penalty (10.2.10). This isn’t a “I don’t want to do that” penalty. It’s a “I have an injury or disability that prevents me from doing that” penalty. And the Range Master is the person who grants the permission for a special penalty. And if the special penalty is granted, it may be nothing if the competitor has a significant physical disability, or it can be a single procedural penalty or 20% of the points shot. How do you determine when it’s a single procedural or 20% of the points shot? The RM needs to look at the stage and what the accommodation is to determine the penalty.
In the example stage, it’s a 12 round (60 point) stage that requires all the shots to be strong hand only. The competitor cannot shoot SHO due to shoulder injury and has requested a special penalty from the RM. The RM said that he could shoot the stage freestyle and take the 20% of points shot penalty. Why 20% instead of one procedural? One procedural is 10 points. If the competitor gets all Alphas, a 20% penalty is 12 points and freestyle is a significant advantage over shooting SHO so that penalty is more appropriate than the single procedural, especially for a short stage like this.
Now to the math! First, you need to know if the competitor is shooting major or minor power factor because it will affect your calculations. If you look in App. B1, you will see this table:
| Scoring Zone | Major Power Factor | Minor Power Factor |
| A | 5 | 5 |
| C | 4 | 3 |
| D | 2 | 1 |
A-zone hits are always 5 points, but the value for C and D hits is different for major and minor PF. In this scenario, the competitor is shooting minor PF and had 8 Alphas and 4 Charlies. The math will be 8 x 5 = 40 for the A hits and 4 x 3 = 12 for the C hits. The total points shot is 52 and 20% of that is 10.4. PractiScore only allows whole numbers, so do we enter 10? Well, let’s look at what the rule says! Here is the first sentence of 10.2.10.2: If the request is approved by the Range Master, a minimum of one procedural penalty, up to a maximum penalty of 20% of the competitor’s points “as shot” (rounded up to the nearest whole number), will be deducted from the competitor’s score.
The rule says we round up to the nearest whole number, which means a value of 10.4 is rounded up to 11 points. So how do we enter this into PractiScore? We don’t use the normal Procedurals/Warnings section. We use the Additional Penalties section (circled in image). When you click on that, you can enter the number of penalty points. In this case we will enter 11 points.
If you are ever called upon to apply the 20% of points shot special penalty, don’t panic! Thankfully all our cell phones have calculators, or you can ask the RM stick around and assist with the math. It isn’t anything to be afraid of.
And remember to cast your vote in the current Question of the Month!