Thanks for the thread Frank. We've discussed this offline before and I'm glad to see some progress.
Here are some random thoughts. Some of this is from shooting matches for a long time, and some of it is from being the only organization I know of that runs multiple major outlaw multigun and/or long-range matches every year (4 per year in 2012-2013), of different styles and at different sites, and I believe my staff and I have directly run more shooters through our matches in that timeframe than any other match staff involved in precision/tactical matches.
There are guys who take matches very seriously and spend a lot of time and money doing it. Some are with or strongly affiliated with manufacturers or otherwise with the industry and some are not. The pro/"semi-pro" class will always be there.
However, I do not believe the presence of the "serious" guys is an impediment to new people attending matches. I think there are several factors: (1) the intimidation factor of just coming out to a competitive event. This is made worse by the complexity of long-range shooting (combination skills, smarts, and equipment). (2) a developing sense of difference or deference to the "serious guys".
#1 has always been there and the way to address it IMO is through training and less serious events, so people don't see it as a 20' ledge they have to climb in one go, but as a series of 2' steps they can climb up.
#2 I see as more of a recent thing, both in long range and 3Gun. You never want a guy who has fun but will not place in the top 25% to feel like he's a second class match citizen. This means there can't be special treatment of the "serious guys" by the event. It has to be fair for everyone. If there is even the perception that the "Factory teams" get advantages that the regular guys who show up on their own do not, it's discouraging. This is the kind of "information sharing" that Frank talked about, but it could be other things. Also, I believe the "Team Jersey" phenomenon hurts this perception. I've heard multiple "regular guy" shooters make comments to the effect that it's intimidating.
As a general rule, I also want the guy who can only afford to make it to one big match, the one that's close to him, to not be at a disproportional disadvantage or feel like he's an outsider from his "own" local big match. That's just wrong. I know some very talented rifle shooters who cannot travel or take a lot of time away from work and they shouldn't feel like the pro circuit is coming to town an he's a second class citizen.
I have always been a fan of the outlaw or non-sanctioned matches, because they are more flexible and almost always are more awesome overall. That's the kind of match that I aim to run with the CD matches. Thus I am hesitant to sign onto any type of league or series that would want to micromanage the events in any regard.
I agree with the poster who said that divisions get out of control. He was talking about MX but in Enduro it's similar, they have dozens of divisions and it's stupid. I think even the 4 or sometime 5 divisions in 3Gun is too many. Heck, the A, B, C "classes" are arbitrary, just based on "Hey you finished in the 60-80th percentile so we're calling that B class. Show up, shoot the best you can, and see how you stack up against everyone. I know this wasn't proposed, but the idea of having to be vetted before you can be graded against the supposed best goes against some idea of the American spirit, at least to me.
Some people will always try to cherry pick what division they want to shoot in with regard to where they think they can place. And if you do it in a way where some divisions will always have better performance, the others become simply second class citizens. For example, in the proposed Limited division, what is that other than a handicapped equipment division? In 3Gun the dynamics of Limited/Tactical vs. Open are different mainly due to the different skills exercised (shotgun loading vs. speed loaders, iron pistol sights vs. red dot open guns, etc), and Tactical is the most popular division so it retains the prestige. I don't know that that would be the case with a Limited which was just the "slow loads" class.
I do get the idea of separating out the pro vs. "amateur" and somehow doing something with the "pseudo-pro" class. I don't know what the right answer is yet. I do think that if someone wants to compete in the pro class, there should be more "on them", be it entry fee, or sponsorship from their primary sponsor, or some other responsibilities. Bringing it back to the MX/enduro analogy, my local enduro series has worker points. To place in the series - period - you need to have so many worker points. Those can come from working non-event days (track prep, admin, whatever), or you get more credit for working as staff at one of the series events. I am still not a fan of separating out divisions like this but if it must happen, I think there has to be something like that going on.
From the MD side, it's also a much larger pain in the ass to have multiple divisions. Yeah, you have to split out scoring, but to do it right you also need to make 4 or whatever prize tables, with value proportional to the size of each division, and make sure the right type of stuff is in each one. There are other ways to do it, but if the divisions are actually different skills and each top-X-class winner is really a true champion of the class, then they ought to be equal prize tables.
Having to collect ammo randomly and do chrono checks in a credible way is a pain and requires probably 1-2 additional match staff just for that. I would say the same for a "$2000 and under" rifle class type division-- too hard and contentious to apply. What has worked pretty well for me, and I believe is in the spirit of equity and rewarding performance, is to have an open class, but call out the top-3 or 5 or whatever who shoot .308, or are active military, or whatever, with a plaque. This gives recognition but still grades everyone on the same playing field.
I am not sure that scaling match points by the maximum distance makes sense. I get the idea, though. The Steel Safari is a tough match-- because of the distance hiked, the exposure, the mental focus over a 5-6 hour time period required, finding targets, and heck, the shoot positions and shots are not easy. But did it get 44% harder year over year when I moved the furthest target from about 800 to about 1150 yards? No. The median target distance changed maybe 10 yards? This is a tough problem to address in a fair way and we've talked about it quite a bit.
Any league or series that uses up some sponsor resources needs to make sure that those sponsor resources pass through to the matches that actually make up the league or series.
We should really all think about what is better for the shooting community, our collection of sports (which I see ranges from USPSA style pistol, through 3Gun, outlaw multigun, precision, field/tactical long-range, etc), and the industry. I believe the primary aspect of that is getting more people excited about that family of sports, get them shooting safely, and get them on a path so they can compete. And that doesn't have much to do with catering to the pro/pseudo-pro rock star team crowd. The serious guys will always be serious. In some sense, the bigger the sports get, the more competition there will be at that top level.. so I kind of wonder what setting things up to discourage new shooters yet aggrandize the current top guys is really trying to accomplish.
Rob01, your comment about 'people today say a "PRS match" to describe matches' made me laugh. At the TBTC, I talked to one experienced shooter who described a stage as "very PRS-ey." I got a kick out of that because it was a textbook 3-Gun rifle stage, a style of stage I had shot at the Pueblo Rifle Match (that's "carbine" on here) 8-9 years ago.
Anyway, for all the angst we can have about who and so-and-so, and whatever league or series or pro or semi-pro or amateur, or whatever, we should all be doing this to have fun and not take it too seriously. There is no reason for some of the unsportsmanlike conduct, cheating, childish behavior and whining, that I've seen from grown men in the last year. Please remember that these events cannot happen without experienced range officers, and good shooters make the best range officers.
Again, just some thoughts.
thanks
Zak
