2.3 Modifications to Course ConstructionJust for the record, the basic concept under discussion is fairness. Every shooter at a match has the expectation and right to course challenge equality with every other shooter. To insure that equality, the match organizers are required to establish the physical construction of the stage, and the written stage procedures prior to anyone shooting the stage. If modifications to the stage equipment or written requirements are subsequently made, for clarity, consistency, or safety [3.2.3], any change in competitive requirement must be negated by requiring earlier competitors to reshoot the stage, or, if that is impossible, the stage and all associated scores must be deleted from the match [2.3.4].
3.2 Written Stage Briefings
There are probably as many different ways to verbally describe a course of fire as there are ROs and shooters viewing it. The rules attempt to get stage designers to crystallize their concept of the stage by stipulating at least a minimum of information that must appear in the written stage briefing.
3.2.1 A written stage briefing approved by the Range Master must be posted at each course of fire prior to commencement of the match. This briefing will take precedence over any course of fire information published or otherwise communicated to competitors in advance of the match, and it must provide the following minimum information:
- Scoring Method
- Targets (type & number)
- Minimum number of rounds
- The handgun ready condition
- Start position
- Time starts: audible or visual signal
- Procedure
Note that Start Position and Procedure are the crux of a course of fire. These are often what makes or breaks a COF. Every shooter attempts to follow the written word, while gaining a competitive advantage if possible. In those cases where savvy shooters find a unique way to save time or increase shooting efficiency, they can produce hit factor results superior to the other shooters, and gain a competitive advantage. The course designer, for his part, tries to write the briefing to constrain the shooter to a pre-conceived set of options. These competing goals are an integral part of the game we play.
However, when one shooter does identify a competitive advantage, you can be sure that subsequent shooters will also use that method, if they have the equipment, physical ability and/or skills necessary to make it work. [E.g., a ‘sweet spot’ for an open shooter might be totally useless to a revolver shooter, because the open shooter might need the precision of optical sights and the bullet capacity of a 170 mm mag, while the revolver guy in the same spot would have to do multiple standing reloads and engage distant target with iron sights.]
This competitive advantage situation is the REASON that the rulebook includes restrictions requiring written stage briefings before anyone shoots the course, restrictions on modifications during the match, and stipulations to insure competitive equality if and when modifications are necessary.
Case Study of How Not To Run A Stage
[Note: While drawn from real life, the below scenario is fictional, as I wouldn’t want to characterize anyone with the derogative term “Range Nazi” undeservedly.]
The stage is a typical field course. We’re going to concentrate on the starting position and engagement of the first array after the start signal, concentrating on how the COF writeup started, how it evolved, and the concepts of fairness that were trashed along the way.
At the back of the bay is a typical cafeteria table, with a soft floppy doll prop on it. To the left of the table about 5 feet is an L-shaped barricade, with the short leg parallel to the 180 with a port in it, and the long end headed downrange. From the table, you cannot see the array of 3 targets which are visible through the port. After shooting this array, the shooter is expected to drop the doll in a bin attached to the barricade, then travel further downrange through the gap between the table and the barricade. In that free fire zone, they engage additional targets and poppers, but that is extraneous to this discussion. For distance estimation, someone standing at the middle of the table is a good 10 feet from a point where you can see the 3 target array.
On Saturday, stages are being set up for the match, and the ROs plan to shoot the match, so they can handle the “regular” shooters on Sunday. For this particular stage, the written Start Position is: “Standing behind table A, holding doll prop in weak hand.” The Stage Procedure is: “Upon start signal, draw and engage array A [the 3 targets], then deposit doll in the bin, and proceed to engage remaining targets as they become visible.”
On Saturday, after the stages are set up for the match, the ROs begin shooting the match, and the first few shoot this stage by standing at the table, picking up the doll, and waiting there for the starting beep, then running over to the port to shoot the first array. Shooter C, who is a RM and experienced shooter from another club, has been helping this relatively new club’s match staff learn the ropes of putting on a match. When given the instruction to ‘Load and make ready’, he picks up the doll, and proceeds to walk over to a position with a clear view through the port in the barricade of the target array, but which is behind the rear edge of the table, where he indicates, “Shooter is ready”. [See green box in picture below, where a green line indicates the rear edge of the table.]
Of course, the RO says, “You can’t do that.” And likewise, Shooter C counters with the news that (1) he is behind [to the rear of] the table, and (2) nothing in the stage description says he has to be near the table, so (3) this is where he chooses to start the stage. There is an obvious time advantage to starting the stage from that point, as he can engage and shoot the array single-handed [as intended by the stage designer], and not have to spend precious time running from the table laterally to the port before starting to shoot. Needless to say, every subsequent shooter in the RO squad choose to start the stage in the same manner.
This is where we get into “fairness”, “equal competitive advantage”, and the rules governing changes in stage procedures. On Sunday, Shooter C is in attendance with several other shooters at this stage. The RO reads the stage description, and says the starting position is, “Standing behind table A, holding doll prop in weak hand, with strong hand touching paster.” And now there is a paster on the right rear corner of the table!
This is where the following hypothetical dialog [or reasonable approximation thereof] ensues:
Shooter C: “Excuse me, Mr RO, but hasn’t this stage description changed since yesterday.”
RO R.N.: “Yes, I decided to tighten up the course description to eliminate gaming the stage.”
Shooter C: “Oh, then I assume that all the ROs who shot the stage yesterday have already reshot it under the new course description.”
RO R.N.: “No. There wasn’t any need to do that.”
Shooter C: “Do you realize that there is a considerable competitive disadvantage to starting the stage from that location behind the table, compared to how it was shot by most of the ROs yesterday?”
R.N.: “Yeah. So what. This is how everybody is shooting it today.”
Shooter C: “Do you realize that the stage will have to be tossed from the match unless those ROs reshoot it under the same rules as everybody is forced to follow today.”
R.N.: “Nobody’s going to reshoot it. And this squad is going to shoot it the way I say they’re going to shoot it.”
Shooter C: “I would like to see the written stage description.”
R.N.: “You can’t see the stage description, I just told you the stage description.”
Shooter C: “But I just want to check that it says what you told us.”
R.N.: [A little heatedly] “You know what? There is no written stage description. What I tell you is what the stage description is.”
Shooter C: “O---kay”.
And in this squad is a left-handed shooter. When he gets up to the table, he innocently asks, “Don’t you think it’s a little unfair that I’m 2 feet further away from the port when I have my strong hand on that paster?” Whereupon RO R.N. slaps another paster in a spot roughly 2 feet to the left of the other paster for him.
What Have We Learned
Obviously, this stage should have been tossed from the match after the stage description was changed, unless the Saturday-shooting ROs reshot it with the “touching the paster” restriction. Barring that, the stage description should not have been changed from Sat to Sun. The new batch of shooters on Sunday might not recognize the time savings of starting in the area of that imaginary green box, but that would be their failing. The course description modification, as enforced, imposed a significant time penalty on all of the Sunday shooters, requiring 2.3.3 or 2.3.4 actions to restore equal competitiveness and fairness. If the Range Nazi took it upon himself to make the modifications to the written course description [as was possible], the Range Master and Match Director should have been called into the ‘discussion’. If the RM and MD were also involved in the change, and sanctioned it, then they need to have their duties and responsibilities pointed out by a higher authority. This might be best accomplished after the fact, in a calmer environment, such as at a sectional meeting of club officials.
Basically, the main lesson is that each club should have experienced shooters in the match crew, to evaluate each stage fully before the first shot is fired. They look for shoot-throughs, possible 180 traps, possible RO traps [where the shooter is forced to reverse course or back up, possibly threatening to collide with the RO, or turning with gun in hand toward the RO]. They look for unusual ways to approach the stage which might save a shooter significant time, either by traveling less distance than others, or finding a sweet spot that allows shooting a bunch of targets with little or no movement. It also means reading through the written stage description to eliminate ambiguity. The intent of the RO should always be to provide each shooter with an identical challenge, through consistent application of the rules.
After a while, stage designers learn what constitutes a bullet-proof starting position, and fair course procedures. Usually, you want everyone starting at the same location, in the same orientation, for the start. That means setting up fixed spots for “heels touching the marks”, or, facing uprange, “toes touching the marks”, or fixed hand positions, like “palms of hands on the Xs of the barricade”. Remember to accommodate right and left-handed shooters, not only in starting positions by also in presenting equal difficulty shots through the COF for each handedness. You are never going to be completely fair to both, but you should try.
Another Addition to the RuleBook
Since we’re discussing written stage descriptions, I noticed that the proposed rules include a new section, 3.2.5, reproduced below.
3.2.5 A written stage briefing must comply with the current USPSA rules.You might think this rule is unnecessarily redundant. However, I want to tell you that many of the course changes I’ve seen at our club are taken in order to comply with the rules. And our stage designers have been doing this for a while. And many times, I’ll hear someone at another club say,
“We can do it any way we want, because this is just a Level I match. That may be happening now because of rule US1.1.5.1, which state “Level I matches are not required to comply strictly with the freestyle requirements or round count limitations.”Note that this current rule does NOT say you can ignore all the rules, even though some people are interpreting it that way. Now [if passed], rule 3.2.5 makes it explicitly clear that the rules must be followed in all stages, and this will be mandatory for all levels of matches in the U.S. [Local, State/Section, and Area/Nationals]. Also, the proposed rules are much more explicit in the section 1.1.5, describing what “freestyle” means and what is allowed in Local matches.
Example: You can’t now or under the proposed rules have a stage that says, “Engage target array with 2 rounds each freestyle, perform a mandatory reload and engage target array with 2 rounds each strong hand only, perform a mandatory reload and engage target array with 2 rounds each weak hand only." Reason: Once you go from freestyle to strong hand only, it is assumed for the remainder of the stage that your “other” hand is disabled, so you can’t later use it for a “weak hand only” requirement.
In the proposed rules, if strong hand only or weak hand only is required, it can apply only to the last shots required in the COF, and to no more than 6 shots using that handicap.
GUEST COMMENTOR:
Stanley Penkala
A-44158
Stanley Penkala
A-44158
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