I'm hoping to get some feedback from experienced match directors (MD) or other organizers/stage builders about what they think or have observed are successful formulas for running USPSA matches. Success defined as safe, challenging, minimal waiting and back ups. Let's assume USPA, 100 shooters, 5 stages with 1 being a classifier, decent weather conditions, variety of shooter experience. Thanks for the input.
Originally Posted by Cowtown44
I'll have a bit to say - just gotta get through the workday...
Quick question: Level 1 match (Club?)
I don't know about formulas, but for a 100 shooters I would say absolutely no less than 3 squads, 3 ROs, 3 competent score keepers and a reasonable experienced : noob ratio for the rest. What the latter is I can't say for sure. Like Les says, I assume this is a new level 1 / club match.
If you can't run at least 3 squads simultaneously with the above then you can't safely support 100 shooters. The match will drag on, you and the handful of ROs will start to get hot/tired/annoyed and one of the million new shooters that showed up to the match for the first time with a gun still in the box won't have an RO at the top of their game to stop them from doing something stupid.
This is a running topic in another semi-local forum for IDPA/steel/USPSA shooters. Everybody across the state has noticed a large increase in new shooters with zero experience. You need to be able to have adequate RO coverage, and you need to have enough experienced shooters there to point out not just the technical rules violations but the potential gotchas and "almost fucked up" snafus that happen when someone is learning the game. For a squad of 30 people or more with just one RO, you're pushing it. Especially if half the squad are noobs.
You need to have enough support personnel to make it run safely. If your area is anything like ours, the surge in new shooters has to be managed carefully or the otherwise outstanding safety record these organized matches have will start to look like the freakshow you see at public / management area ranges.
Yes, level 1, thanks in advance for the response.
30 dudes to a squad is a lot of dudes. We try to shoot for ~10 or 12 locally.
Semper Gumby, Always Flexible
Every bay should take the same amount of time per squad, so there is not a back up. Make sure your squads are adjusted with an equal number of experienced shooters and new shooters.
Figure out how many shooters and how many bays. From "make ready" for one shooter to the next shooter's "make ready" should take from 3 to 4 minutes.
I totally agree. 30 is an upper bound. Getting close to 70 shooters per match on a 7-bay range and we average 3 squads. 20something shooter per squad. Start around 10, done by 1-2.
(This is not my match, btw. I hung up the MD hat a few years ago. I'm quite happy to pay my $15.)
Last edited by jh9; 02-08-2016 at 04:26 PM.
I'm far from an MD, but as a USPSA shooter, the thing I see most sorely lacking at USPSA matches is a Loading/Unloading Station. It's not a problem locally, because I know the MDs and they know me, so I just go find them and they direct me to where they'd like my unloading-upon-arrival and reloading-upon-departure to take place, but out of town matches are much more of a PITA. Props to Tim Egan and the SE Idaho Practical Shooters for having a proper loading/unloading station!
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I am assuming six bays?
Throw a short course in the bay with the classifier, and then put a squad on each bay. Now it is a 6 stage plus classifier match, and the squad that starts on the classifier bay doesn't get backed up behind a squad with a full stage.
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I haven't shot USPSA, only IDPA, so these comments are based on that.
First, have some kind of class for new shooters before the match. Get them up to speed on draw stroke, reloads, weak hand shooting, the 180-degree rule, shooting on the move, and especially on any range-specific safety rules. If you can't do it a week or so out, then do it on the morning of the match. It will take an extra bay and extra SO's, but it really reduces the knucklehead factor and the unsafe/non-compliant gear, which makes for a much safer match. I consider myself pretty experienced, and my club's mandatory 6-hour course was some of the best instruction I've ever received. It REALLY helped.
Have a handful of holsters/belts/mag pouches for guys who show up with unsafe/non-compliant gear. Usually the more senior guys have old or extra stuff lying around, so put the bug in their ear to bring that stuff if they don't mind. It's a great way to set a new shooter on the path of righteousness before he or she makes a dangerous error.
Don't put all of the new guys in the same squad without a cohort of senior guys to ride herd on them. Distributing your more qualified/senior folks evenly across squads lets them keep an eye on the new people, drive shooters through the preparation process, and spell each other as the match wears on. I've been a scorer and an assistant RO, and I'm good for about 20 shooters before my concentration goes south and I need a break. But half an hour later, I'm good to go again.
Try to keep squads to 10-12 shooters. Having fewer shooters won't give people time to prep for/recover from stage. Having more shooters stretches things out. If you follow Bill Nesbit's suggestion of 3-4 minutes between shooters, then you need a minimum of 45 minutes for 15 shooters to finish a stage. That's a long time for shooters to to stand around, even if they're prepping properly and taping like they should be.
Speaking of which, much of the delay that I've seen has been shooters who are not ready when it's their turn to shoot, so make sure that the RO or the scorer or an assistant of some kind is telling folks that they're up next. This actually takes a lot of proactive work, as you may have to tell the more social people several times to stop flapping their gums and start getting ready.
Finally, create the expectation that everyone who is not either about to shot/on deck/in the hole WILL help tape and reset targets. There's no reason for long turnaround between stages if everyone helps prep the bay for the next shooter. A couple of guys will consistently dodge this, but the rest of them can shake a leg and get things done.
Okie John
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