It's A Club Match

It’s A Club Match!

It might be suspect to pay heed to someone who has never run a match, and has only done it for a year on this topic. That said, I've spent some time this year shooting with different club’s, and I always find myself comparing with my “home” club when it comes to quality. If I am making an investment of time to go, money to register, ammo, and gear, then I think I have a legitimate expectation that the match is going to be a quality event, worth my expenditures.

When I started shooting matches, it was at first for fun, I never cared about a call on the perforation, or things like that. I knew I would finish last, and I wanted to be safe. Despite that attitude, I still had fun. As I've shown some marginal improvement, I care about calls, I want to do better, and scores matter to me. I’m measuring progress and growth, both against myself, and other people. I am motivated watching other people shoot, and knowing that they have improved, and that helps kick me into a higher gear myself. So my perspective on what I think a good match has changed over the past year, but I think every club needs a few different elements to run a good match, all the time.

Leadership from the officers is a key, and matches are events that are drive top down.  It starts with the president, and goes into the match director and so on. Are those people committed to putting on fun, and challenging matches every time? I've sent burnt out officers, I've seen presidents not show up for multiple matches, or provide a good example by helping set up, tear down, or paste. That’s not leadership, and it does nothing to inspire other people to volunteer their time to contribute.

Not Fun

While we all have lives outside of shooting, it behooves a club to have a plan for good stages. It can be a Match Director, or a team, but thought needs to be put into the space you have, and equipment that you have. M.I.S.S. has 2 smaller ranges to work with this year than we did last fall, but the MD has found ways to quickly change stages utilizing many of the same props. Two stages are setup the night before, and thought is given to how the re-setup will work. Don’t half ass stages, don’t use a variation of El Presidente for 6 matches in a row. Don’t make excessively simple or low round count stages just so you can have “more” stages. Stages are about quality, not quantity.

Fun

Be consistent. If you upload match scores immediately after a match, do it that way every week. Don’t upload same night after one match, then wait three weeks to upload the next match, or put them on the Club website one time, another web site another time.  Participants want to know how they did, and however you determine timely, stick with it.

Here is my biggest pet peeve. Follow the damn rules. If I am going to shoot IDPA or USPSA, I expect to see the same match if I shoot it in Illinois, Wisconsin, or Georgia. I don’t want to go to a match, and find that it is an “outlaw” match, that’s not what I paid for, that’s not what I expect, and that’s not right. I get that some people enjoy it, more power to ‘em, but to have a uniformity of a sport, clubs need to get on board with the rules, and make sure that every match is set-up, and officiated by them. I realize in IDPA this is a little harder because the rules are ridiculously ambiguous in a few points, but the simple stuff? Follow it.

Personally, I’ve found a more relaxed “it’s a club match” attitude in IDPA, and it goes for the people I see shooting. I see people shooting and having fun, and I suspect that with some folks it’s a relaxing way to spend a few hours. I’m not judging, that’s all well and good. At a USPSA match, I do find more people who are competing, and seeking to improve.  I also find that among those who are driven to succeed and improve, that there are more people who are willing to contribute to the success of club. There is never a shortage of people to set-up, tear down, and help. Going all the way back, I ask the question if the organized leadership makes it a better experience, that attracts those people, or is it the sport?

I'm not suggesting that one discipline is better than another. I think people should shoot what they enjoy, and if people enjoy a match despite the things I think are important, so be it. Those are just things that I feel are enjoyable, and make my time, and money worth it.