3 Gunners

I've competed, volunteered and directed matches in IPSC, IDPA and Service Conditions.
The lack of volunteers and people willing to commit has and always will be an issue, regardless of club or shooting sport.

But here is the rub...if you get people willing to donate their time you need to treat them right.
With IDPA as an example, we waived match fees for match officials and organizers as a small token of appreciation.
Most sour pretty quickly to doing all of the work - organize a match in such a way that all competitors help out with something (at least the teardown).
It doesn't take much to burn out with people's busy private lives, so if the 'regulars' are flaming out, hand over the reigns to others or accept the help or curtail the match frequency - this can be difficult for those that have control issues. Nobody wants to be treated like a mule, and if folks put in the effort they likely want to have some feeling of 'ownership' with the event.
And lastly, if you get people willing to volunteer their time, brushing them off pretty much assures they won't be stepping up in the future.
Ymmv.
 
Stevo said:
Scheduling around work, family and holidays makes the two day matches hard to get to, especially in the summer months. It is quite a commitment. I spent more in diesel than I did in ammo to tow the trailer to the last GP two-day.

You need to keep in mind that we draw out of about 150,000 people in the Peace Country. How many are there withing 2 1/2 hours of Calgary or Edmonton? The numbers say you should have larger matches but I haven't really seen that in what I read here.

We did have a couple guys from Edmonton and one from Wainwright at the last GP two-day. 80% of the shooters at the PR team match will be from more than 2 hours away.

In PR we didn't do prizes for the two single-day matches this year, just a raffle draw. The team match will probably have $5000-6000 worth of prizes on the table. We award prizes based on random draw otherwise the same 3 or 4 guys would win everything.

For me, two day matches are a social event more than anything else. Being able to hang our around the campfire until the wee hours drinking rum and eating pork chops is the highlight.
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I was thinking that the prizes for the top 3 competitors in each division would be a trophy or plaque or something along those lines. The reason for this is that some people really do consider this a sport that they are working very hard at being competitive at.

I do realize that (right now) the same few guys would probably win the majority of matches but, it would be a great incentive for others to practice and participate. I love the random draw idea as well because, well, not everyone wins.

I also really enjoy the camaraderie with fellow 3 gunners around the campfire and think that it makes the weekend better but, it is not the main reason I would travel to an event 4-8 hours away.

I personally would travel to an event (that has a considerable cost accompaniment) to compete against other competitors.

Thank you for info that you have provided and others as well. I hope that people will keep contributing to this thread as there is a lot for me (and my young 3 gun league) to learn here.
 
We've had 20-ish MP3G events just in the last two years. There are no plaques or trophies. The lack doesn't keep the top guys from putting in the work to finish up there.

And we have some very fast and very dedicated shooters.
 
Stevo, fair enough. Just thought it would be cool to reward those who win. Maybe it doesn't really matter and maybe most just shoot for fun and don't really care if they or win or not.

Anyways, its still a blast and I have enjoyed shooting all the matches that I have attended and will continue to do so (even without trophies...lol).
 
bluesclues said:
Stevo, fair enough. Just thought it would be cool to reward those who win. Maybe it doesn't really matter and maybe most just shoot for fun and don't really care if they or win or not.

Anyways, its still a blast and I have enjoyed shooting all the matches that I have attended and will continue to do so (even without trophies...lol).
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Don't get me wrong, a plaque or a trophy is a great idea if you have the time or money. They point I was making is that up here the bragging rights of first place is enough to get the fast guys motivated and the shoot-for-fun guys will come out regardless.
 
beltfed said:
I've competed, volunteered and directed matches in IPSC, IDPA and Service Conditions.
The lack of volunteers and people willing to commit has and always will be an issue, regardless of club or shooting sport.

But here is the rub...if you get people willing to donate their time you need to treat them right.
With IDPA as an example, we waived match fees for match officials and organizers as a small token of appreciation.
Most sour pretty quickly to doing all of the work - organize a match in such a way that all competitors help out with something (at least the teardown).
It doesn't take much to burn out with people's busy private lives, so if the 'regulars' are flaming out, hand over the reigns to others or accept the help or curtail the match frequency - this can be difficult for those that have control issues. Nobody wants to be treated like a mule, and if folks put in the effort they likely want to have some feeling of 'ownership' with the event.
And lastly, if you get people willing to volunteer their time, brushing them off pretty much assures they won't be stepping up in the future.
Ymmv.
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This is very good info.

It is a serious commitment to volunteer and compete in the shooting sports and it should not be forgotten that our volunteers do have lives outside of the range.

We are also looking at ways that we can look after our volunteers, for example, fee reduction for matches and range memberships etc.

Thank you for your experience.
 
Stevo said:
Don't get me wrong, a plaque or a trophy is a great idea if you have the time or money. They point I was making is that up here the bragging rights of first place is enough to get the fast guys motivated and the shoot-for-fun guys will come out regardless.
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Valid points.

Bragging rights are where we are right now as well.

Maybe this just day dreaming but, it would be very cool to one day see 3 gun rise to the level of IPSC. Where there would be provincials and Nationals.
 
bluesclues said:
We are also looking at ways that we can look after our volunteers, for example, fee reduction for matches and range memberships etc...
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Don't underestimate this component. Volunteers at our matches shoot for free. We also usually provide a small gift for each volunteer: we've had shemaghs, tactical pens, tools, hats, etc. Lunch is also provided. Our events simply wouldn't happen without a terrific team of people so it makes sense to look after them.

Like Stevo, division winners get bragging rights. Every participant (who doesn't DQ) gets a shot at the draw prizes.
 
Runningfool said:
Don't underestimate this component. Volunteers at our matches shoot for free. We also usually provide a small gift for each volunteer: we've had shemaghs, tactical pens, tools, hats, etc. Lunch is also provided. Our events simply wouldn't happen without a terrific team of people so it makes sense to look after them.

Like Stevo, division winners get bragging rights. Every participant (who doesn't DQ) gets a shot at the draw prizes.
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In Peace River our MD and SOs shoot for free. We don't exclude DQs from the prizes if they stay at the match with their squad.
 
Stevo said:
... We don't exclude DQs from the prizes if they stay at the match with their squad.
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We do...extra incentive not to do dumb chit :d
Actually that is not exactly true. We do the draws for regular prizes 15 mins before they shoot - that way we make sure everyone is there for the safety briefing and walk-through because they are warned ahead of time that if they want a prize, they better be ready to rock 15 minutes before their squad time. Major prizes are drawn at the end of the day and to be eligible for those, you need to have not DQ'd.
 
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Another thing we do is give advanced registration to those shooters from other clubs who go to the trouble of putting on matches. We all like shooting matches but only some step up to the plate and work to put them on so why not reward those folks?
 
Runningfool said:
Another thing we do is give advanced registration to those shooters from other clubs who go to the trouble of putting on matches. We all like shooting matches but only some step up to the plate and work to put them on so why not reward those folks?
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Nice touch. Does that mean you have limited registration space at matches? We've never capped here.
 
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