match director in training

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curmudgeon
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match director in training

Post by curmudgeon »

Our long-time silhouette match director is off chasing Bambi's pa in the woods so I stepped up to run our monthly club match (4 - 40 round matches).

I arrived early to set the targets and set out the registration and score sheets - it took much less time than I had allowed, so I was able to pace nervously awaiting competitors to show up.

Many of the regulars showed up and registration went smoothly. Just prior to warm-up (our range does not allow shooting until 9:00 AM) a couple of new shooters dropped in looking for information. I opened the range for sight-in, and quickly ran through the course of fire and invited them join us while quietly wishing they had showed up a half hour sooner when I was twiddling my thumbs. When asked what they had available to shoot, they replied that they had new GSG STG 44s to test out. It was at that time that I decided not to forego the $10 match fee. After learning about the match fee, they decided they needed time for a smoke and to think about it... - they didn't come back. I dunno, maybe I threw away a chance to hook a couple of new shooters, but I honestly don't think they would have enjoyed themselves unless they could turn it into a timed event to clear the rail from the bench with unlimited ammo.

I was nervous calling the matches, and it showed. "Shooters for your lower bank of critters. Fire!" lots of sniggers on the line. Next time, "Shooters for your upper bank of animals. Fire!" More chuckles... I've heard the proper command hundreds of times, but it took me a while and much concentration to say "targets" instead of critters or animals.

3 more new shooters dropped in and I've followed up with 2 of them since and will help them sight-in and be prepared for the next match.

At the end of the day, there was a tie for Silhouette Rifle winner, so we had the thrill of a shoot off, and a 5-pin to award.

Much lead went down range, no one was hurt, no one cried, and we ended a little early - so, I'll call it a win and will be ready to "do better" next time.

My only complaint is the designer of the score books - how the *beep* does anyone write the scores legibly in those tiny boxes.

This experience reminded me to appreciate the experienced match directors that make the matches run smoothly with no apparent effort.
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acorneau
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Re: match director in training

Post by acorneau »

Kudos for stepping up and putting your self out there.

I, too, ran our club's smallbore match for the first time last month. I've been helping out both the smallbore and air rifle match directors a bit lately so I knew what needed to be done, but it gets a little more "real" when it's your turn at bat.

Luckily everything went just fine with the help of the other regulars, and it sounds like your match did too. Keep up the good work!
:ymapplause:
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Re: match director in training

Post by atomicbrh »

The terms for the targets do not matter.
Call them anything you want.
The most common term in our area is "animals" not "targets".
The main thing besides safety if you are calling the match is to never forget to say the "Fire" command at the correct time.
We have attended state level matches where the match caller forgot to say fire over 40 percent of the time.
The other thing is to assign starting positions as soon as possible. Most seasoned competitors want to know their starting animal so they can shoot that starting animal last in practice.
Develop a cadence as the rule book says. I hesitate about two seconds to hit the watch after I give the "Ready" command. This builds in the cadence. I give the "Fire" command when there is 2 minutes and 32 seconds to go on the watch simply because it takes the human a couple of seconds to react to what they are seeing on the watch and vocalize the command. That way the competitors have that full 2 and 1/2 minutes.
Develop and educate somebody else to help you by at least calling a relay or filling out scorebooks while you are calling a relay.
You may be to the age where you need reading glasses to see those small boxes in the scorebooks.
We are too far away to shoot one of your matches but thanks for stepping up when most people won't.
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psteiger
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Re: match director in training

Post by psteiger »

Alan did a good job. We could tell he was a bit nervous....he had EVERYTHING ready to go. No chance of anything going wrong. It's nice when people like him step up and take on responsibility. We really appreciate it. Running a match takes away from your shooting, so when people step up, they usually take a hit on their scores. With Alan knocking on the door of Master class ( remember when he was a B?) Taking on all that shows he is in and part of the future of the sport. Thanks Alan, and thank you to all the other match directors.
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Jason
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Re: match director in training

Post by Jason »

curmudgeon wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:09 pm My only complaint is the designer of the score books - how the *beep* does anyone write the scores legibly in those tiny boxes.

This experience reminded me to appreciate the experienced match directors that make the matches run smoothly with no apparent effort.
Thanks for stepping up and joining us in the ranks of match directors, even if as a substitute! ^:)^

Next, I agree with you on the books. They are the most annoying part of being a match director for me, for lots of reasons.

Lastly, running match is never without quite a bit of effort, even if the shooters may not all be aware of it. Those that do notice and help out make it a lot easier, though, and those that say thanks for running the match make it worth it. :D
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Re: match director in training

Post by teetertotter »

I sometimes got mixed up with who was, "squad 1 or squad 2," or light rifle and heavy rifle. I always got "Squad," corrected and would say: Thank you! We always interchange back and forth and all finish at the same time. Two 40 rounds each rifle. We'd have 10 light rifle shooters and maybe 4 heavy rifle out of the 10 group. I retired 4 years ago and others took over, which was nice! I show up when my physical condition says okay, not often.

curm......the others sure appreciate your stepping in to run the match. Many don't realize what is involved with running NRA Tournaments, but you do it b/c you want to, and to keep things going. O, ya, forgetting to say, "FIRE!" lol
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