I thought I was pretty good at sporting clays until I shot a match with registered targets.Originally Posted by Alpha Sierra
I thought I was pretty good at sporting clays until I shot a match with registered targets.
Men freely believe that which they desire.
Julius Caesar
m,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I just want to point out a couple of things:
1) Match Bumps don't reward "everyone" since match bumps are limited to 1 out of 10 competitors in a division/class.
2) Trophies are normally awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, depending on the number of participants and 1st place doesn't force a match bump. So, not everyone gets a trophy. There are definitely winners and losers of a match by class and division.
3) Many psychological studies have been done on competitiveness and group dynamics, and there is plenty of evidence in the sports world to show that people are more competitive when they compete in smaller groups. This is why Classifications are used in almost every sport. When we compete against a smaller group of people, we work harder to compete and win. When we compete against a big group of people, we typically don't compete as well. I am sure there are some individuals that do better against a big group, but vast majority of people compete better in small groups of people with similar abilities.
4) Having a classification of competitors helps people of similar ability to compete against each other and beat others of similar abilities. Trying to beat Vogel or Warren is not going to be realistic for someone who is MM/SS level or C/D Class...even B class.
5) The way to make progress up the ranks over time is to have achievable goals and to develop a process that allows us to monitor and test our progress. Match Bumps and trophies award that achievement...it does mean that you beat a bunch of other people of similar abilities.
There are sports for children that do award based on participation. A match bump or even trophies by classification are not the same thing.
Cody
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
If the entire group shoots below their level does the winner of said division still get bumped up?
Think for yourself. Question authority.
In IDPA you must beat at least ten members of your class and the class above you. In order to compete in a class you must have been classified at that level of competence or received a match bump (which I argue is the much better way). Most people get classified in a class through the classifier, a smaller percentage have match bumps. So, it is not possible for a whole group to shoot below their level unless a bunch of people cheated on the classifier.
I have competed in dozens of sanctioned matches and here is what I have learned: In order to get a match bump at a sanctioned match, I actually have to be shooting above the 50% percentile of the class ABOVE ME. So, as a SS, I need to be getting scores at or above the 50% point of the Expert level. That is because the competition is so stiff. Although I am sure it happens from time to time, I have never seen a situation where there wasn't at least two out of ten people shooting at a level competitive with the class above them. Now I have seen where the group was very small, such as revolvers, where you only had 3 people. Sample size does matter here.
There is always the possibility that "On Any Given Sunday" the whole group sucked and somebody got a lucky match bump out of it. But I have never seen it. My experience is that competition is fierce and everyone else is looking for that match bump. It took me 1.5 years to get a match bump from MM to SS in ESP, then only six months to get SS in SSP. I got 2nd place at the patriot match and the 1st place guy beat all but one expert and 2/3 of the masters. At Liberty we had at least three shooters who were as fast as the Masters and six faster than half of the Experts in SS class... A lot of it depends on the match and the location of the match.
Because of the classifier, you are shooting against people with AT LEAST your level of ability, and to win you are competing against people of higher ability.
Cody
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
Yeah, people who think match bumps are so easy should try to punch out of NSCA E class.
I would have liked for USPSA to work that way back at Area 1 this year. I'm A class and beat 16 out of 17 A's, and also beat 9 out of 14 of the M's. I would have really liked a match bump to M.
Technical excellence supports tactical preparedness
Lord of the Food Court
http://www.gabewhitetraining.com
Then I would say that you deserve to be classified as master. Once you make master and then Grand Master there's not much further to go unless you change to different shooting sports. I enjoy the challenge. one day Master will happen in the meantime keep having fun trying.
Cody
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
CCP is definitely first option that makes sense for idpa. LOP is IDPA's way to keep folks From going to USPSA in my opinion. LOP is also a legitimate defensive carry or home defense option.
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Why do we only get an optic/laser or a CCP, it seems like a good argument can be made for both.
A typical sanctioned match is 85-100 shooters. Take out 10 for revolver shooters and you get 75-90. Divide the average by 12 semi-auto divisions and you get 6 to 7 shooters per div/class. If you add another division it waters that down even more. I advocate combining SSP AND ESP, and then you could add both new divisions.
And for equipment: if it fits the box and makes weight it should be legal. It's not the gun, it's the skill.
Cody
That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;
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