Large match pre-entry...

[Emmett Dibble]

Pet peeve...

A match of any size larger than a monthly club match should go to strictly online pre-entry.

It is very difficult to plan anything when you have no idea the head count months before.

I know "back in the day" or "the way it's always been" but that was also when you have a good idea
exactly how many people were going to be there. In the last few years I've been to matches that swung both
ways. Up till the week before or even the day before, the match director has no real idea till the day of the match
how many prizes were needed, faces to feed, facilities to provide... They either have to over guess and have waste
or play it safe and go with out.

On the flip side....

If you are holding a match of any size that you want people to actually take time away from their lives and drive/fly/take time off work and attend. You need to have it released, with a entry, 6 months or more ahead of time.
People have lives and jobs that have to be planed around. If you don't want people entering last minute, you need to
give them enough heads up to make plans so they can pre-enter.

YMMV and IMHO.

[Hotrodrockets]

We need to migrate to an all online entry, scoring, and record keeping system.

Where match directors can even confirm classifications (imagine that).

Some folks have to learn or will be left behind. But it is what must happen. It is way to hard to run a match the current way.

Personally I think I am going to have to put a registration deadline about a month prior to my big match just so I know who is in and who is not. I am also just collecting payments on match day to avoid all the checks, people wanting to use paypal or venmo or something I have never heard of and would never use.

And don't even get me started on writing scores down on a big piece of paper...........



On the last moment matches. Love that stuff. (not really) No way I can go anywhere without months prior notice. I think that has to be the same for anyone who works.
It's almost like some matches only want a certain crowd of insiders to attend.

Also love the folks who schedule a State championship match the same day as my Regional just 3 weeks ahead of the match day. (even if I change the date the following year)
Then I need to issue a bunch of refunds. Such fun.

Guess I know why we started NASSA.

[Panhandle]

Having organized and run exactly ZERO big matches I offer an opinion based on said experience. Reading frustration with late entries and the logistic issues they cause it is easy to understand why and how they can be a pain in the ass. It is also easy to understand how organizing and running a big match and even club matches takes a lot of time and produces some level of frustration at times for the folks that do it. For you folks that generously do these things for our sport Thank You! I believe most everyone in our sport thanks you and appreciates you for doing what we are not. Without match organizers, club officials, range officials and general volunteers we are dead in the water. All competitors should pitch in any way they can, sometimes that is as simple as being outwardly thankful and not creating extra work for the doers.

Like most people I plan ahead for attending a few big matches each season. On occasion the planets align and I (and probably others) find myself with an unexpected free weekend and a big match being held I can now make. On an individual basis it doesn’t happen often but when it does it is sure nice to be able to participate. I also find it reasonable that if things are available to the early entry shooters that require a head count that those not be available to me on a late entry. Just a thought, the late entry may not be a poor planner but the lucky recipient of unexpected time now being available. That being said, entry deadlines and entry quotas make since for planning and go in hand with range capacity and time limitations to be able to start and finish within a reasonable time frame.

NASSA - is key to our sports continuing growth, a lot of hard work in its development and maintenance and we are all going to be better informed as a result. Thanks for the hard work and tons of personal time invested in its creation and upkeep.

[Emmett Dibble]

[QUOTE=Panhandle;n397] I (and probably others) find myself with an unexpected free weekend and a big match being held I can now make. On an individual basis it doesn’t happen often but when it does it is sure nice to be able to participate. I also find it reasonable that if things are available to the early entry shooters that require a head count that those not be available to me on a late entry. [/QUOTE]

When 50+% of the entries show up the last few weeks… that is the problem and has been the norm. People who truly all of a sudden find time on their hands and a willingness to participate are the exception. Those people are easily identifiable because they email/text/call frantically hopping they can be squeezed in.

This topic isn’t as much about chastising as asking shooters to be more thoughtful.

Huge differences can be had when you know a couple months ahead you are going to have 50 vs 25, or 75 vs 50, or 100 vs 75… As opposed to the other way around.

:)

[jbmarshtx]

Had a longish #grumpymarsh post drafted. I agree with Emmett and Hotrodrockets. It is difficult to direct a match, or at least continue to direct, when you don't know if you're going to have 13 or 30 shooters until the week of the match. In absence of a cash sponsor or a range that hosts for free, without early entries, the quality of the match suffers or the match director is effectively the cash sponsor. From where I'm at now, Texas is going to need a new director after this year...which might mean no highpower state match if there isn't another range that can be used.

I think that a lot of it has to with 'that is just the way silhouette is' attitudes. If you look at other 'precision' rifle disciplines, they do online only entries, no one worries equipment races and some of the 'production' rifles are pushing the $$ up there with the scope prices. They do have some slick marketing and the tactical/sniper appeal going for them.

I get that TX has had some scheduling issues in the past and still do since we only have 1 highpower range, and I try to work within the range calendar and other calendars...and meet the shooter's wishes of a too busy fall with matches and hunting seasons. But even with what I thought were pretty good attempts at checking the calendar and coordinating with a couple of regional matches, I had Monarch Cup end up booking Canada the same weekend in June that I had picked months earlier. So, I moved the state highpower match to May. Then a month or so later a lever memorial match in the region was announced on the same weekend. I'll lose shooters. Anyway...

All of that to say...
- online entries are not that hard to set up
- close them at least 2 weeks before the match, 50-100% extra fee for late sign ups
- no refunds
- match directors check the calendar and try to lock in dates early to try to avoid conflicts

[cecawthorne]

NASSA is currently working on a project that will help with some of these issues. We carried out some of this work at the recent Shamrock Shoot. More on this in the not too distant future as we make some headway…..

[squinty_eyes]

I am of the opinion that people should put there adult pants on. They know if they want to shoot any particular match. Just like making an appointment to service your vehicle of going to a doctor. Just commit and get it done.
I do like the ability to sign up online. I do like the ability to pay cash though when available.
Just my oh wait there's a squirrel!
Squinty