2014 USPSA Area 7 Championship - Registration open

[Rob Boudrie]

USPSA does exactly what Dan S suggests with the Nationals wait list. I start doing "select count(*) from waitlist" at the appointed time and the first 5 minutes see hundreds of signups.

The Miller/S&W match dates from the days of US-Snail. The match staff used to divide the country up into zones, estimate the time in transit of mail to each zone, and do staggered mail over several days. I always collected checks for the expected fee from the crew I went with, and prepared a paid express mailer in advnace. When the registration form came, I drove the mailer to an express mail PO box (the used to have dedicated mailboxes for this at some post orifices) that had an early pickup.

It is good to see the days of "instant sellout" returning. Now, if we can only get back to the days of multiple clubs vying for the privilege to host the Area Championship rather than "can we get anyone to do it?".

 

[Massman]

With all of this interest, maybe there should be two Area 7 matches...

 

[Dan S]

With all of this interest, maybe there should be two Area 7 matches...

Interest to shoot, not interest to host.

 

[Massman]

Interest to shoot, not interest to host.

Indeed. I can sympathize with the folks who make the commitment to host/run these big matches. A lot of work.

 

[Jason L]

Sorry if it has been mentioned, but what about opening up Friday slots ?

 

[Massman]

Why has it been difficult to find a venue in the Northeast? Level of commitment/work involved? Laws? Lack of venues large enough?

 

[Dan S]

I think the number of pits has a lot to do with it.

 

[MAShooter]

The biggest challenges with finding a venue for this match are:
1) Finding a host range with sufficient facilities.
2) A home-crew who isn't burned out and willing to play host.
3) A host facility that will support tying up a large portion (or all) of their ranges for a week or more (many facilities will not allow their ranges to be blocked off from their dues-paying membership for an extended period of time).

If it were easy, the match venue and dates would have been announced months ago. Additional factors include stupid laws in NY that really preclude some really good ranges from being considered.

Staff burn-out is a big (huge) issue. Not just at the home clubs but from area clubs who come to help out - without the help of many local clubs these matches can happen. Without more NEW folks volunteering, I fear the trend of saying 'No' to being host will continue. As it is, a number of folks who've been stalwarts at past A7 matches are taking a break this year - making the need for new volunteers even greater.

For the question of opening up slots on Friday, a very valid question - but this will not happen. Friday is for staff and sponsors. Adding another day for competitors adds more work to an already overworked volunteer crew (i.e. adds to burn-out), and I can't (I won't) ask them to give up more than they have already.

So yes, it IS a great thing that interest in the shooting sports is continuing to increase, but without fresh volunteers getting involved, the number and scope of matches will diminish. Consider this your chance to get involved.

 

[Jamiethesquid]

Why has it been difficult to find a venue in the Northeast? Level of commitment/work involved? Laws? Lack of venues large enough?

I personally think that the size of the venue needed to host an Area Championship is a limiting factor. As a RO at Capitol City in Augusta and Regular shooter in Hampden. I am not sure that either club could physically hold a 9-10 stage match with the volume of shooters interested in an Area match. Last year we hosted the 1st Maine Sectional Championship, split between the 2 clubs in a 2 day format. It was a overwhelming success. This year it is branded the "2014 Northeast sectional Championship" and promises to have more great stages. It is the weekend before A7. Match fee is $65. Check it out!! http://www.northeastsectional.com/

I was lucky enough to log on to the registration for Area 7, when there was 1 slot remaining, quick typing and I was in. The Practiscore registration and squadding work flawlessly.

I think the only other way, "In My Own Screwed up Mind" to ensure an Area match without one club bearing all the burden is to run it like this.

1. Each Participating Club in the "Area", Contributes a portion of it's Match fees through out the year, to a Bank Account, say raise the monthly fee from $20 to $25.

2. Rent a Venue if needed. Donations, accepted. Decide on the Venue based on popular vote by Local Area competitors.

3. Raffle Guns and Gear, Actively seek sponsorships and donations. This is where I am saying.... not just the club that has volunteered to host the match, but all clubs, Imagine the prize table, if we had all of New England pitching in. Get the Local Gun shops in on the Vendor Bandwagon.

4. Active, Participating clubs would be given slots. Like the nationals. Establish a system. Active competitors (6 matches or more a year), Range Officers, CRO's given a priority, before the general public.

5. Clubs would commit to have a minimum number of staff available to help run the match.

6. Publicize the crap out of it, Web Sites, Social Media, Forums, Have video running and post it on you tube. Have you seen what 3 Gun Nation has done for that sport. I am an FFL and Active Competitor/RO. People ask me what kind of shooting I do, I tell them USPSA, "Blink, Blink"...Is that like 3 gun. We are really missing the boat here.

This could really work for the entire spectrum of Major matches throughout the year. You want to put on a match or already put on a match? Plug into the Major Match Network, and reap the benefits.

That is one of my biggest complaints, The shooting is way to fractured. If I want to find out about what is going on around me, or when a major match's registration is going online, or directions to a club. I have to go searching through, all the individual clubs' often rarely updated websites, or dig around on forums, or find out about it by word of mouth, two days too late.

I realize just how much work goes into running these matches, and I am not saying that we should try to put them on by committee, but...together, pooling our efforts we can do so much more, and not burn out the few people who do so much for our sport.

Soap Box Complete, Sorry for the Rant

 

[Massman]

David, I wholly understand. I went through the whole burn out, lots of people who want to shoot, people who would help at the matches, but few if any who wanted to take responsibility for running the matches, at my club. It's always a delicate balance between keeping the ranges open for paid membership, and promoting the shooting sports through holding matches.
I personally have always tried to give as much time as I could, balancing family, work, and shooting.
Maybe there are some creative ways to get more (new) people involved in all levels.......?

 

[Jamiethesquid]

Definitely need more new shooters to get involved in staffing, that said. We need more RO, CRO, MD courses offered each year. It took me 6 years to find a seat in an RO course! It was fantastic, taught, by John Amidon, and Paid for by SIG last year. I will now start my search for CRO, See above post for my gripes on finding that info.

We have Masters and GM's all over the country that would be great local instructors for the NROI, but I don't know how often that course is given, or where. Make more Instructor, Instructors.

Stage Design....Lets make a spot on the internet, maybe on the NE section website, or even USPSA.org, Wherever. That we can collect and organize stage designs, prop designs. How much time is spent in the wee hours before a match trying to dream up fun and challenging stages for all us Lead Addicts to blast away at. We have a small handful at our clubs that really go above and beyond, but...After a while it really uses them up. Wouldn't it be nice to log on and see a database of all sorts of different stage ideas, Field courses, Standards, past stages from Area Matches, or Nationals. Modify it to suit your particular needs, and get some sleep or enjoy the family before the match.

 

[kimmie1911]

This sport has enriched my life tenfold so I try to give back as much as I can. But, burnout is a real concern as Dave said, and finding folks to commit to help consistently is not easy. People mean well but, life sometimes gets in the way. Running a match, be it a local monthly match or a Championship is a lot of work. I ran the matches at BGRA for 5 years and finally, I decided that my mind and body just couldn't do it anymore. The squalid conditions at the club helped me come to the decision to stop. If it wasn't for Joe Demaggio and Steve Brown stepping up, BUAS would be no more. It wasn't just the new club, it was the addition of 2 new committed people with fresh ideas and a lot of energy. (And I don't have to lug the steel and props around anymore!) We've also done stages or worked at the last 4 major matches. And will do so again this year. But, I have to say, adding a day of shooting would be a deal breaker for me. It's just too much unless you have unlimited staff. Last year at Sig, we started set up on Tuesday,shot on Thursday (in a monsoon) and worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday all day. That's a lot. Actually, too much for me. I wore my pedometer and I walked 8 miles each day! Not a lot of people can commit to that amount of time. I look at someone like Matt Joe who has unfailingly provided us with monthly matches for years with a crew of what - one????? and have the utmost respect for his dedication to the sport.

I wish I had an answer to so many local shooters being wait listed. Those of you who know me know that I have a hard time saying 'no' to folks but a major match is a different story. I think it sucks but I totally understand what Dave B is saying and I think he is doing the best he can with the resources he has available. While it's too late to change anything for this year, I'm sure this is a learning experience and things will be different for next year.

As far as a place to get stages - I have a zip file of tons of stages that I'd be happy to share. I'm not a great stage designer so I always 'borrow' a stage from someone and give them credit. You can find stages here - http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=uspsa&styp=m&scoring=t&btnG=Search&reps=1 already drawn up. It's a great resource.

 

[Jamiethesquid]

Well Said Donna! I whole heartedly agree. I think that the future of this sport relies totally on the involvement of new people to running matches, and also bring new people to the sport, whether they are 12 or 72 years old, we all benefit.

 

[jmnjoeyd1]

Stage Design....Lets make a spot on the internet, maybe on the NE section website, or even USPSA.org, Wherever. That we can collect and organize stage designs, prop designs. How much time is spent in the wee hours before a match trying to dream up fun and challenging stages for all us Lead Addicts to blast away at. We have a small handful at our clubs that really go above and beyond, but...After a while it really uses them up. Wouldn't it be nice to log on and see a database of all sorts of different stage ideas, Field courses, Standards, past stages from Area Matches, or Nationals. Modify it to suit your particular needs, and get some sleep or enjoy the family before the match.

Here ya go http://cofexchange.com/Cof/index.action

 

[Dan Hurley]

I think the single most effective factor in the quick fill-up of this year's match was the terrific on-line registration/payment system. In the days of snail-mail registration (i.e. - last year and before), folks took some time to remember to print the application form, fill it out, write a check, gather a packet of squad-mates, etc. This year, life became simple, quick, and easy. The impact was unexpectedly overwhelming. Lesson are learned.

Regarding possible venues for the Area match, I think the single most negative factor has been the laws in New York State. The restrictions effectively eliminate Limited and Open Divisions in NY matches. The restrictions also eliminate any standard capacity Production magazines. New York represents at least half of the available shooters and clubs of Area 7.

In the past, the Area 7 match would go out to New York for a couple years or more before returning to the Northeast Section. This would allow the New England shooters a few seasons to recover and be paying customers before playing host again. From 2003-2014, the Northeast shooters will have hosted an Area 7 match 8 times. That is just a tough workload on the local volunteers. They miss the chance to shoot during the normal weekend, have relaxed stage walk-throughs, and maybe even shoot well.

One theory we have tossed around is the idea of two Area matches with Revolver, Production, and Single Stack at a NY club while Open, Limited, and Limited-10 would be at a New England Club. We don't know if this can work, but it is worth discussing. Folks could even attend both matches if they wanted. Anyway, it's a possibility.

 

[Supermoto]

One theory we have tossed around is the idea of two Area matches with Revolver, Production, and Single Stack at a NY club while Open, Limited, and Limited-10 would be at a New England Club. We don't know if this can work, but it is worth discussing. Folks could even attend both matches if they wanted. Anyway, it's a possibility.

That is a great idea.... should do that for local matches too

 

[testosterone]

That is a great idea.... should do that for local matches too

I think its a great idea too.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

One theory we have tossed around is the idea of two Area matches with Revolver, Production, and Single Stack at a NY club while Open, Limited, and Limited-10 would be at a New England Club. We don't know if this can work, but it is worth discussing. Folks could even attend both matches if they wanted. Anyway, it's a possibility.

This is a really excellent idea. From my perspective it's the best of both worlds providing the matches are not concurrent. If you shoot Revolver, Production or Single Stack, you can shoot a match without having to work it, and still work your local area match if you want.

But I wonder how many people would use this as an excuse shoot two divisions in the area match?

 

[testosterone]

But I wonder how many people would use this as an excuse shoot two divisions in the area match?

I know I would and I guess they would need to prioritize this somehow.

 

[jar]

I think I like the idea of multiple matches. Hopefully that would help the volunteer situation not just in burnout, but in getting more volunteers generally. People who can't necessarily make the 3 day commitment might volunteer to work one or two days of the match they aren't shooting.


The only minor nit I have with Practiscore squadding over the USPSA one is that practiscore doesn't show the shooters divisions. Is there a way to enable this?

 

[bill o]

That is a great idea.... should do that for local matches too

I see what you did there...

 

[Steve_P]

The only minor nit I have with Practiscore squadding over the USPSA one is that practiscore doesn't show the shooters divisions. Is there a way to enable this?

Not currently, no.
I will put in a feature request with the developers.

Are you looking for info on specific shooters, or do you just want a breakdown of how many in each division/class?
I can pull the registration list and total up the classes if you wish.

Steve

 

[jar]

Not currently, no.
I will put in a feature request with the developers.

Are you looking for info on specific shooters, or do you just want a breakdown of how many in each division/class?
I can pull the registration list and total up the classes if you wish.

Steve

The two things I usually do is look at how many are in each division and what divisions the shooters in my squad are shooting.

 

[Jamiethesquid]

I agree with the above. It is not a deal breaker by an means because I am usually squadding with a couple of guys/gals that I know but it is nice to see 1). What the other folks in my squad or the squad I might choose are shooting. 2). How many people are shooting my division at the match.

 

[Steve_P]

Here is a breakdown of registered shooters:


This will change as staff gets registered, and if people from the waiting list get on.

I can do a squad list with div/class in a few minutes.

 

[Steve_P]

Squad list, with division/class.

Subject to change

View attachment A7 Squads.pdf

Steve

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Squad list, with division/class.

Subject to change

View attachment 95066

Steve

Looks like I am going to get my ass kicked in my squad.

 

[TY43215]

Looks like I am going to get my ass kicked in my squad.

Looks like you will enjoy great company

 

[Lugnut]

That is a great idea.... should do that for local matches too

How would this work for local matches?

 

[earthshine402]

Squad list, with division/class.

Subject to change

View attachment 95066
Steve

Hey Dave ToF S, you said that production had the most competition, check out the stats for Limited shooters.. make the switch!