It is true, most of the shootings that participate in match directing tend to be shooters that have been there to longest and have switched to limited or open as their primary divisions.
OTOH most common moving target, swingers, aren't that hard, once you get a chance to practice them outside the match environment.
Definitely true. Though I would add that the shooter needs to be in tune with their gun, and sometimes a certain platform may not work for a particular shooter.On the way home from the match I was reflecting on this, and came to the conclusion, that if your gun is reliable, platform is almost irrelevant in USPSA, until at the highest levels of competition, because the shooting is so varied, and movement so significant to the outcome, that specific platform attributes that seem so important to me get averaged out.
Personally I actually like the fact that course designers have to think of a valid reason for people to be shooting SHO/WHO.
Only if you let it. If you have confidence in your skills and just go and have fun you will be surprised of the results you get. Granted I treat USPSA as a fun match, rather than one of the sports I dedicate practice time to. Also I sort of sand bag as I haven't shot a match that has a classifier in it in over two years.3. It definitely continues. It actually increases as you get better. You invest more time and effort into your training, you go further to matches, you want to succeed more and more. That pressure is self imposed and is difficult to deal with. The first year I shot Nationals I felt some pressure because I had invested a lot of time and money to go, but mostly I was having fun. The first time I shot with my entire team I felt a lot more because I wanted to prove myself. It was difficult to deal with..
If you are a contender to win there is definitely pressure. At that level (even in a state match) small mistakes can cost you the win. Often those matches are decided by 5-10 points.....
I got to agree about stage design. I also think it has to do with the ranges that the clubs have available. Clubs that have more space per a stage might design for elaborate stages, have longer shots, and typically have more props. Also clubs that are at ranges that allow them to setup the day before also have better stages as they have more than 1-2 hours to setup the entire match.
The guys over at USA have some pretty elaborate stage designs, but they have a ton of time to setup. They've told me that the month before the match they might build a stage a day.