TargetTalk

SPPcoach wrote:
This is what will KILL youth enthusiasm for ANY sport. An overbearing adult fixated on rules that were not published in the event guide.

I'll bet that I can name the "official" ....

Anyway, this is an interesting conversation, especially having a daughter going through the High School shooting scene over the past couple of years. She LOVES the sport but it has been extremely confusing.

I have a ton of observations. I will write them up and post.

You can go ahead and name that official. I won't take offense.

Each year at PPP nationals we are told what rules we will work with. I have nothing to do with that decision. I do recommend rules to the governing body, and sometimes they actually modify their rules per my input. But not always. But when I show up, they tell me what they are going with. That's the way I run the match.

Last year there were no specific USA Shooting rules as they opted to go by the ISSF rule book and did not print their own version of the rules. USA Shooting has long prohibited camo on the range at the OTC. Still do. So that's what we went by. The PPP Rules have long stated that USA Shooting and the NRA are the governing bodies for PPP.

As a side note, the USA Shooting store sells a lot of camo stuff. Some of it is marked "Not legal for USA Shooting competition" but not all of it.

Now this year (2018) a Match Director's bulletin was published in which item 4 states:

4. Prohibited clothing during training, competition, and finals for coaches and athletes
includes: Camouflage clothing, sleeveless T-shirts, shorts which are more than 15 cm
above the center of the knee when seated, ragged cut-off shorts, trousers with patches or
holes, shirts or trousers with inappropriate messages. No types of sandals. Shoes must
always be worn and must be a matching pair.

Then at match time we were informed that camo would be allowed. No problem. As long as I know what I am supposed to allow and not allow, all is well. And guess what?! Nobody wore camo.

I know that it upsets coaches and athletes when I inform them that they need to change clothes at the last minute. But, what would it be like if we have rules and 80% of the student body wishes to abide by those rules and the rest don't. It is not fair to those who chose to abide by the rules. Each year we have a coaches meeting before the competition where rules are discussed. Many coaches don't show up for that, as Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, etc are more interesting. But we try to let folks know what we are doing.

So, yes, I'm that guy. I'm the guy on the day before the matches, during open training, that is informing shooters of what they can and can not do so that it is no surprise on match days. But, invariably, someone slips by and we end up making someone upset.

I know I am not the most popular guy at the range, but I try to be fair to ALL competitors by enforcing the rules we are given to work with.

Marc Orvin wrote:You can go ahead and name that official. I won't take offense.

Darn... you were not the guy I was thinking of... lol

Marc Orvin wrote:It is not fair to those who chose to abide by the rules.

That's what many shooters and coaches don't understand.

We are not applying the rules to penalize shooters, we are applying them to support the shooters who abide by the rules.

David Levene wrote:

Marc Orvin wrote:It is not fair to those who chose to abide by the rules.

That's what many shooters and coaches don't understand.

We are not applying the rules to penalize shooters, we are applying them to support the shooters who abide by the rules.

I've found that many rules serve no other purpose than to be abided.

David Levene wrote:

Marc Orvin wrote:It is not fair to those who chose to abide by the rules.

That's what many shooters and coaches don't understand.

We are not applying the rules to penalize shooters, we are applying them to support the shooters who abide by the rules.

Yep - You hit it on the head there.

I always enjoy seeing well coached youth whose parents and coaches not only teach shooting fundamentals, but teach them the rules as they go along.

shawn706 wrote:

I've found that many rules serve no other purpose than to be abided.

I would have to agree with you there. Just like the shorts being 15cm above the knee. I wouldn't care if they they wore beach wear on the range. (Except for some of the pistol events with brass flying about). I was on the pistol jury in Munich many years ago. Back then the rules were different. I approached a French woman shooting air pistol about how short her skirt was. (Barely covered her behind). She told me it was perfectly legal. I thought for a minute and realized she was right. The rule back then stated no SHORTS higher than the shooter's extended fingertips with arms at the side. It wasn't shorts she was wearing, so she was perfectly legal. To that point I had never seen anyone but Middle Eastern women wearing skirts or dresses on the firing line. And what difference does it make, really??

And why do your shooting boots have to match? And why can't you wear shooting boots in prone? And why does the rule state that the shoes worn in prone have to be "athletic" shoes. A fellow range officer told a kid from Montana or Wyoming (forget which) that he couldn't wear his cowboy boots in prone. Told him they had to be athletic shoes. The kid promptly told the RO that where he comes from, those are athletic shoes!! He had a point. Rodeo is a high school and college sport in a lot of states.

Pants seat patches, side blinders, boot flex, hat bill dimension limits, buttplate depth limits (to consign the Anschutz 2002 to the trash heap), tape on rifles, definition of "anatomic" fitting, stickers on rifles, patch locations, on & on & fricking on.....

I believe many of the rule changes are done in order to justify the existence of the rules committee.

No, television .... which they do not broadcast (at least here in the USA)

The Student Air Rifle program in Missouri is picking up more support. It has three new sponsors each contributing $500 to reduce the price of the 'kit' to run the program. This makes it much cheaper for a start-up program to get engaged. It is not the Olympics but it gives them a taste of precision. If they are smart, someone is teaching them about future opportunities in ROTC, American Legion and NCAA precision air.

https://airgunwire.com/air-rifle-grants ... 22%2C+2020

Student Air Rifle wrote:
Air Rifle Grants Available for Missouri Schools
OCTOBER 21, 2020 BY TOM MCHALE

Student Air Rifle Program logo

Imperial, MO – The Student Air Rifle Program (SAR) is excited to announce a three-way partnership providing equipment grants for Missouri schools.

“We are thrilled to be working with three different partners in Missouri to provide a nearly 50% reduction off the purchase of a full SAR equipment kit”, noted Pam Rowe, Missouri SAR Coordinator.

The Conservation Federation of Missouri, the Missouri Youth Sport Shooting Alliance, and Whitetails Unlimited, are each contributing $500 for new SAR schools who purchase an entire equipment kit. This results in $1,500 off the purchase of a full kit, which runs approximately $3,200.

The grant application can be found at http://www.studentairrifleprogram.org/e ... t-overview.

“We have already had several Missouri schools take advantage of this opportunity recently and are excited to work with more within the limits of the grant,” added Pam. For more information on MoSAR, or to fill out a grant application, reach out to Pam at pam@studentairrifleprogram.org.

Glad to see this program growing.
Like any program out there they rely on volunteers.
Anyone interested in helping could contact them and contribute their time to getting more kids in the shooting sports pipeline.

Student Air Rifle wrote: National Student Air Rifle Program Celebrates 5 Years
MARCH 8, 2021 BY TOM MCHALE

Imperial, MO – Incorporated on March 9, 2016, the Student Air Rifle Program (SAR) is elated to celebrate 5 years as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

“From concept to creation, the journey of developing an air rifle program for schools has been incredible,” noted Jake Hindman, President and Founder of SAR. We built SAR to provide a solid curriculum, impactful training, and standardized equipment so teachers could facilitate target shooting education in a safe, easy, and fun way. It’s been a wonderful experience to watch the program grow and carry out it’s mission.”

Here is a highlight of SAR’s accomplishments to date.

Trained over 75 schools reaching over 11,000 students.
Partnered with Pennsylvania Game Commission, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Tourism to coordinate SAR in their respective states.
Partnered with multiple Girl Scout Councils to deliver SAR.
Conducted over 20 Basic Air Riflery Instructor (BARI) trainings certifying over 200 instructors in five different states as well as over 20 BARI Trainers.
Conducted 10 tournaments for SAR students in Missouri.
To help celebrate, SAR is giving away an Umarex Embark Air Rifle, the official air rifle used in the SAR curriculum. Visit https://woobox.com/9ssm8r to enter the giveaway by March 31, 2021.

“We would like to thank participating schools, organizations, teachers, our instructors, and our many partners who have helped make our 5 years of providing a basic introduction to shooting sports possible.” noted, Hindman. “We are thrilled as we look to the future and continue our effort to help students shoot for success.”

https://airgunwire.com/national-student ... 11%2C+2021