The latest from GADPA.
To our GADPA Family,
This purpose of this message is to, hopefully, clear up some of the confusion around the board of director’s decision from last Monday night. We will not be going into the details of who did what to whom. We know that this will not stop all of the questions that everyone will be asking about our announcement but we hope that this will help you to understand our position.
The 2014 IDPA Georgia State Championship was a lot of work and it was well received by the competitors. However, for those of us involved in the administration side of the match, it just wasn’t fun having to deal with the IDPA bureaucracy. The BOD spent hundreds of hours setting up this match. Only those who selflessly donate their time know the hundreds of details that go into putting on a match of this size and quality. It took years to refine the details in order to make the match run as smoothly as possible. It wasn’t perfect and it never will be, but were it not for the GADPA volunteers, there would be no matches at all.
IDPA HQ has for many years made decisions and rules that fall beyond our grasp. Without going into any specifics, their actions have destroyed our confidence in the organization. Specifics will just lead to a shouting contest and solve nothing. As a result of this loss of confidence, the BOD has decided to no longer run IDPA governed matches. GADPA is a not-for-profit organization and all of the work that is put into the shooting sports is for fun. When the fun is gone, the life blood of the organization dies. GADPA has grown from one outdoor match with an average attendance of 36 shooters to 10 indoor matches and an average outdoor match attendance of approximately 100. To put it succinctly, we love the defensive pistol shooting sports!
The BOD made the choice to walk away from IDPA because of the headaches associated with dealing with IDPA leadership. We have no ill will towards IDPA and think that it a good sport for the people that enjoy it, but for GADPA, it is no longer the direction that we would like to pursue. Many other clubs in the southeast and around the country have made the same decision. With 300 members, GADPA is probably the biggest club to make this move and for this reason the decision has stirred quite a bit of controversy. That was not our goal.
We pride ourselves in the comradery that has developed and consider our members family. This decision may not sit well with all of our GADPA shooters and it was not our intent to upset you. However, GADPA is completely comprised of volunteers and is structured as a not for profit organization. Everyone within GADPA is allowed to volunteer their time as they see fit. The BOD has chosen to no longer VOLUNTEER our time toward IDPA.
GADPA will continue to hold defensive pistol shooting matches. We will adopt a set of rules and the members will have an opportunity to provide feedback. This will take some time, but we will not do it without GADPA member input. We will continue to be a defensive pistol shooting sport and have no plans to join USPSA.
In the interim, GADPA matches will be run using current IDPA rules, subject to the MD's discretion as to stage design and course of fire. This will afford the MD the flexibility to adjust the course of fire to enhance the match without fear of IDPA HQ criticism. For example, the MD may add more than the authorized number of non-threats, have stages that require strong hand shooting at longer distances or require support hand shooting on the move, and similar adjustments that are not allowed under the current rules, but can enhance the match and the participant's shooting skills. We will encourage MDs to avoid courses of fire that result in the shooter forming bad habits should they wish to compete in other official IDPA matches, but we won't require that stages be thrown out if a competitor objects. We recognize GADPA's roots and that there are many who will still be competing in that arena.
As far as the indoor matches are concerned, we hope they stay with GADPA, but each match will be free to decide what direction they wish to take. If the MD(s), shooters, and range management wish to form their own IDPA club and join the national organization, they are free to do so. We will not stand in the way. It is our hope that both organizations can coexist without animosity.
Lastly, the BOD recognizes who our customers are -- you the shooter. You got involved in competitive shooting because you enjoyed both the people and the matches we run. That is not going to change!
Sincerely,
GADPA Board of DirectorsCapel English
Rhett Crutchfield
Mark Gallo
Brett Hanus
Matt McKee
Ken Murano
Eric Mandus