Mo money needed

[ECK]

While $65 per year is a chunk of change (tank of gas, less than a brick of primers, modest dinner for 2…) I’m still trying to get my head around the Precision Rifle Series membership structure by comparison.

PRS Regional Series (Centerfire) is $50/year. One would think that if you joined PRS you’re good to go, right? But wait, if you want to partake in the PRS Rimfire Series you have to pay another $40. Then if you want to participate in the Pro series, you need to shell out another $100. Or buy the package of all three for $175 (modest savings of $15).

Then if you want to shoot the AG Cup (their equivalent of nationals), reach deep and cough up $1,000 for that (granted, from what I’ve heard the prize table is pretty decent).

USPSA: Pay your $65 and you’re good to shoot locals, sectionals, area, and Nationals. And all four tiers of Steel Challenge matches.

I will say tho, PRS has sponsorships that give you a discount, so if I buy from one of those companies there’s a good chance I could get some or most of my PRS membership back in discounts.

I know some people have an ax to grind with how the USPSA org is being run, but I see this as an inevitable price hike so I can enjoy shooting all levels of USPSA matches. Besides, I’ve seen a gradual increase in match fees for Level 2 and higher matches. Used to be Sectionals were $100-150, Area matches were sub $200. Now most Area matches are north of $200 and Sectionals are not far behind.

PS, I burned more than $65 in .22LR ammo this weekend practicing for and shooting a PRS22 match.

[bofe954]

I bought a lifetime a long time ago and don't regret it. I used to travel and shoot a lot. I've met a lot of good people and gone to some interesting places because of USPSA. I'm also a CRO and thought if I ever cut back at work I'd like to RO more majors. I don't want to lose my certifications and I sure as hell never want to sit through an RO or CRO class ever again.

I tell beginners not to join unless they want to shoot a major. There just isn't that much benefit when you're first starting out, and usually your classifiers aren't worth documenting for awhile either.

[YVK]

Besides, I’ve seen a gradual increase in match fees for Level 2 and higher matches. Used to be Sectionals were $100-150, Area matches were sub $200. Now most Area matches are north of $200 and Sectionals are not far behind.

I've no prob with that. It is a very tangible thing. Even for local matches, zero problem. You can see where the money is going - range improvements, props, consumables.
The USPSA, on the other hand, has just exercised a nuclear option to boot out an elected pres whose running platform, if there was any, was the transparency. BOD minutes says that the the financial report happened at the Jan 28, 2023 meeting. I just spent 15 min trying to find it. I can't. I can find Jake's presentation, I can find Troy's presentation, but I can't find anything about budget and finances. Maybe I dunno where to look.

[JCS]

I don’t mind it. I still think it’s worth $65. The annual membership is nothing compared to the rest of the money the sport requires.

People spend $100 to play golf for one day.

Our locals are only $20 ($15) for members. If they doubles in price it would hurt more but I’d probably still go.

All that said the org seems irresponsible with our dues so with an increase I do expect more responsibility. If I’m paying more so they can host more nationals I’m out on that. I hope the money goes towards supporting the local clubs and building the organization, not hosting events.

[Artemas2]

I recently bought a set of $150 dollar grips that I tried once, hated, and put in the "drawer of crap Ill never use again and am too lazy to resell". $65 for a yearly membership in nothing for this sport.
It's the way they implemented it that annoys me, anyone paying attention knew an increase was coming, but never giving us some notice is crap. Something as simple as an email with 2-4 weeks of notice would have been appreciated. I may have even considered a life time membership at that point. $1000 for one now is in now way worth it.

Now if the cost of local matches start going up, then I will be reevaluating my position.

[GJM]

I recently bought a set of $150 dollar grips that I tried once, hated, and put in the "drawer of crap Ill never use again and am too lazy to resell". $65 for a yearly membership in nothing for this sport.
It's the way they implemented it that annoys me, anyone paying attention knew an increase was coming, but never giving us some notice is crap. Something as simple as an email with 2-4 weeks of notice would have been appreciated. I may have even considered a life time membership at that point. $1000 for one now is in now way worth it.

Now if the cost of local matches start going up, then I will be reevaluating my position.

That is the issue, how they did it -- you shoot more in practice ammo than the membership. Generally, businesses raise prices when their customers like what they are selling. USPSA seems to have missed that lesson, and increased prices when satisfaction with their product is at an all time low.

[YVK]

I recently Something as simple as an email with 2-4 weeks of notice would have been appreciated.

I received a renewal reminder 2 weeks ago and didn't do anything about it. Would've saved me enough to take mom to see Barbie and Oppenheimer.

[Archer1440]

It’s not about the money- which is pretty much in line with any other nonprofit sport federation with this membership base, dependency on clubs and volunteers to provide services, and responsibilities (national governing body of an international federation, though “former” seems to be the case for USPSA)

The money difference per month is after all the price of a single round of .357 defensive ammo. The total difference is about the cost of 2 x 9mm strings on long field courses.

No, it’s about the optics. It’s about the appearance of imperiousness on the part of most of the board and their minions, piled upon a seemingly endless series of missteps which have eroded the trust of many members and arguably done more to “bring the sport into disrepute” more than most of the individuals they have banned for that very same catch-all.

Tone deaf is the absolute kindest thing one could possibly say about this.

[Trigger]

A fun fact: an Enos forum thread on this subject was closed within 15 minutes. Long live pf.

So does this mean we can bring back the Doodie Project?

[rdtompki]

And, costs the same $65/year to enable shooting a Steel Challenge State championship and USPSA does nothing for Steel Challenge. How much does it cost/year to maintain PS? The Steel Challenge divisions are desperately in need of revamp given the shift to rimfire specfically and optics in general. I can afford the $130 for wife and myself, but ask the Area Director a Steel Challenge question related to a Board Meeting discussion and you get crickets.