Here is the PRS response, fwiw. It’s just another mess they find themselves in, right or wrong.
PRS Members,
We’d like to take this opportunity to provide you with additional information and clarification regarding the committee’s decision to move Matt Alwine’s scores from the Production Division to the Open Division at the 2020 PRS Pro Series Finale. There has been some misinformation spread on social media so it is important to inform our members regarding the committee’s processes including what the committee discussed and ultimately decided in a 25 to 4 vote.
As previously reported, the day following the finale it was brought to light that the new rifle shot by Matt Alwine unfortunately did not meet the PRS rule requirements for Production division. Upon first look the rifle appeared to meet the production rifle requirements in terms of price and components. However, the rifle in question was never published/listed on the manufacture’s website and was recently announced solely on the gunsmith’s personal Facebook page and Instagram account on December 5th. The manufacturer does not have a website. PRS rules state the rifle cannot exceed $2500 as listed on the “company’s website” and any production rifle must be publicly available. The portion of the rule that states "as listed on company’s website" is the forcing function that is in place to prevent singularly produced rifles from being authorized as production guns. Without a publicly available listing on a website, the PRS has no enforcement power to authorize production guns. A website listing is important for consistent and fair enforcement of the division. A single social media post on a personal account is impossible to define as “publicly” available as stated in our rules. The gunsmith disagrees with the decision, but he understands it and the importance of this rule.
Since the committee has reached a decision on the matter, we want to share with our membership how that decision was made, what points were discussed among Pro Series MD’s from across the country, and address some of the mistruths that are now floating around social media. First, we want all to be aware of who is on the committee. The committee is composed of all 2020-21 Pro Series MD’s. All MD’s that had a major stake in the game such as other production division shooters did not partake in the vote. Each MD did their own analysis of the situation and the PRS rules, discussed it with their peers and shooters, and came to their own conclusions. Every single point that has been brought up on social media has also been discussed in depth within the committee and we’d like to share with you the thoughts of the majority of MD’s as the decision was determined so that you can understand our processes and we can continue to instill trust and faith in how challenging decisions are made. No one took any joy in making this decision, but the right decision has been made after looking at the situation from every angle.
Here are a few of the most important items that were discussed among committee members -
Arbitration:
Some have suggested that because the matter was not arbitrated by the shooter and MD before the close of the match and the publishing of the scores, that the standings should remain unchanged.
PRS Rule Regarding Arbitration
3.1.8 The MD is the ultimate authority of Match Rules, Safety, and Enforcement. Any and all violations, penalties and enforcement should be dealt with thoroughly and in an expeditious manner. MDs may use of statements from RO’s, shooters, and spectators. Once the stage/match arbitration period has ended, the rulings made by the MD are final.
In this case – the committee agrees that the matter was never presented to the MD and thus was never arbitrated and a ruling was never made by the MD during the match. This is similar to another situation that the PRS committee had to address earlier in the season regarding Patrick Proctor. The accusations against Patrick were arbitrated by the PRS committee after the close of multiple matches because the details were not known during those events. The same is true for this situation, the details were unknown during the event. Arbitration is generally in place to allow for the review of errors in scoring and procedural faults before the close of a match. The PRS will always reserve the right, as many other sports, to address situations that arise after the close of an event. We cannot allow rules to be broken, simply because no one knew about it before the scores were posted.
Matt’s rifle was discussed on Friday, prior to the start of the finale:
It was absolutely not discussed on Friday. The only thing that was mentioned in passing on Friday, as discussed within our committee, was the build of the gun. There was no mention of the absence of a website listing and the fact that no other gun existed beside his. If this information would have been presented by the shooter, he would have been told on the spot that it did not qualify as a production gun. The shooter had every opportunity to inform the PRS or MD and he did not. The gunsmith or shooter could have called and asked for an exception prior to the finale. The exception would have been denied, but he would have had time to decide to shoot a different rifle. We receive weekly questions from PRS shooters, trying to play by the rules, regarding what does and does not qualify for the production division. They are answered within 24 hours. Matt chose not to ask any questions regarding the qualification of his new rifle. Every other production manufacturer and shooter is in line with the rules. The decision the committee made here is much larger than the shooter (and we hate to take from his accomplishments), but it affects how we apply the rules and maintain a culture of fairness. If we allow exceptions to what we put in black and white, then the shooters are free to interpret rules as they see fit. Allowing this to fly under the radar, which some have suggested we allow, would have been a detriment to the sport and would undermine the faith in the organization.
Doug Koenig’s rifle and the rule of “Publicly Available”:
The details surrounding the rifle Doug Koenig shot at the finale have also been misconstrued on social media. The facts are the facts. Ruger has 500+ orders for the exact rifle that Doug shot, 13 plus guns are in shooters hands and the rifle is posted on their website for distributors to buy. It was available for purchase by distributors prior to the finale. This was again reverified by the PRS this week, because we knew this was coming based on conversations with Matt. Ruger does not and has never have sold direct. The public cannot call Ruger and purchase a firearm of any type from them directly. This misinformation campaign is sad and intellectually dishonest. The "publicly available" portion of the rule is intended to avoid one off production guns. The model that Doug shot will never be a one-off gun and is in production by Ruger, a well-known and respected production rifle manufacturer. The website rule is in place to keep manufacturers honest, track specs, show commitment to build, etc. We will follow the letter of the rules as written within the intent as written two years ago. Friends, buddies, and sponsor relationships should not and will have zero bearing on our work.
Our primary responsibility is to ensure that the rules are followed and applied fairly to all competitors. Rules serve an especially useful, indeed essential purpose – they act as guidelines so that we all know what to expect from others, and how to conduct our competitions. Our sport would simply not be able to exist without rules, there would be no meaning to our competitions. It would have been much easier for the PRS and the committee to allow Matt to retain his production standings and it would have saved the committee over 50 hours of time this week. But the fabric of PRS depends on upholding the rules we have all agreed to follow, it is our culture and it defines who we are. There would be no sportsmanship and chaos would ensue without them. We owe it to our members and to the sport to do the right thing and uphold the rules, even when it costs us valuable time and it has the potential to incite damaging posts on social media to your sport.
Since the committee’s decision was made final, Matt has posted a few unbecoming statements on social media regarding the outcomes of the finale, some of which have been deleted. He also posted along with a few others a website listing for his rifle that did not exist prior to this situation being examined in an attempt to undermine the fact that the rules had been broken. The rifle builder has been very clear that he does not have a website and that the rifle was never listed on any manufacturer’s website. He has also attempted to suggest that fellow competitor’s rifles do not qualify as production guns simply because he is unhappy with the decisions of the committee. He also made and deleted a post accusing Central Region shooters of being “crooked”. We fully understand the disappointment he feels, but being disappointed does not give one license to post half-truths and misleading/false information for hundreds to comment on. We have spoken with the rifle builder and the components suppliers; all are in agreement that what has ensued on social media is bad for everyone involved and they would like to distance themselves from the behavior. Please don’t allow the actions of one shooter to cast a negative light on the companies involved in offering a high-quality product. Matt has been formally warned in writing and verbally twice that he is in violation of PRS social media and code of conduct and Sportsmanship policies. A suspension from the PRS will be swift with any further violations. His disagreement with the decision would not be the cause, as that is understandable. The summary of his violations/actions above would be. We are working to ensure that this does not happen, but that will be up to Matt. We hope to see Matt next year on the line, but the sport as a whole (and what it best for it) will be first and foremost.
We again apologize to our members as we know that situations like this detract from your competitive achievements and the overwhelming success of the season. We work incredibly hard to highlight the 99.9% that do the right thing. We know that this takes the attention away from the many shooters that deserve their moment in the spotlight. We also want to thank those that have taken the time to call or write notes in support of the committee’s decision and the hard work that they do behind the scenes throughout the year. The committee has a difficult but essential role, especially when the decisions that need to be made involve unpleasant consequences for others. We are grateful for their ability to see beyond what is easy to do in the short term and to instead choose what is best for the long-term sustainability and success of the PRS.