I spent the better part of the weekend near Rome, OH at a workshop to become a certified Range Officer within USPSA, and left the house at 6 AM both days to get there on time… I learned a thing or two.
A Range Officer in a USPSA match is a lot like an umpire in baseball, or a referee in any other sport. Our main goal is to keep the game safe, while also keeping track of time, hits on target, issue eventual penalties, and make sure the match is run efficiently and on time.
You can see where this is attractive to me already!
I’ve spent the last two years or so volunteering at my local club as a shooter with RO duties, and felt it was time to get officially certified so I can help work regional or national matches, too.
If you wanna see what it looks like, here’s a clip from last summer. I’m in orange, and the guy behind me with the yellow / red shirt is one of the Range Officers for that stage, and the guy timing me. Watch him move in sync with me…
One of the main takeaways from this weekend was the need to make the call, and report what you saw.
Oftentimes, our perception of something may differ from someone else’s, and especially so when you’re moving at a high rate of speed, and the pressure is on. The RO’s call can’t be challenged by the competitor (they can challenge the rules, and some other things…), and while there’s an arbitration process, the need to see the action, and report what happened is crucial.
And not… to report what could have been if… or should have been if… or…
You get the idea.
If we make assumptions about something, we’re not reporting what actually took place. This is why eye-witness reports are so weak in court… they almost never hold up. We forget, we make up, we adjust and add to our own memories over time. Even in a match stage it’s hard to remember how many rounds a competitor shot before reloading – and that was just seconds ago!
So the next time you’re retelling an event, or pull up a memory from the past – what really took place?
Emelie (our firstborn) said it best the other day: “There are some things I think I remember, but I don’t think I really do… I’ve seen pictures of that event, but it happened when I was two years old, and I don’t think I actually could remember something from then…”
What do you think? Can you report what you saw or heard 5 minutes ago with 100% accuracy?
And if you saw me this past week – what kind of pants did I wear? And for extra bonus – did you notice me reload in the video? When? And did you notice on the first viewing?
-Andreas