well just like you don't understand how people can get DQ'd inspite of taking a BB course, it's plainly obvious you don't understand the sport and what's required to participate in it. The games have developed down those paths as more people prefer to shoot stages that way than the hidden way. And given the technology changes we've seen in surveillance gear, it's getting to be the same for actual tactical scenarios too. The more info the better.
Perhaps something was not conveyed properly, but I quite easily understand who people with a BB can get DQ'd. Its called being human, something many people with BBs don't like to admit when they talk down to other people who haven't done the course, for whatever reason.
PLainly obvious that I don't understand the sport and whats required to participate in it? I can read, so understand whats required isn't that hard. Am I a 10 year IPSC competitor who likes to romanticize what DVC is all about, no, but I don't think thats whats required in order to understand the sport. Its a sport. I get sports. The skills are different. Just because I have some questions, doesn't mean I don't get it or know what it takes to compete.
I find it interesting that you want to comment on the sporting nature of the sport, but can't resist making a passing reference to actual tactical scenarios, and how use of modern surveillance equipment is comparable to a stage walk through. Most sports ban modern equipment that gives unfair advantages, or any technology that causes a shift away from athletic ability being the deciding factor.
You seem to be confused about IPSC and these other sports. They are Sports; Games - and the first goal of a sport is to ensure fairness. After the first person goes through the course of fire, everyone else has an opportunity to get an advantage because people can't keep their yaps shut. At the very least the second guy just needs to listen to the gun shots to determine where and how much shooting is required and gets an advantage over the first shooter.
Then there's the issue of a re-shoot. If something goes wrong during a shooter's run (popper is overweight, mover doesn't move, etc.) then that person will have a major advantage on the run when they do it over. We can't disqualify the competitor - it wasn't their fault that things went wrong.
Seriously, If you've got someone telling you that gun games are "tactical" or "training for the real world" you need to move away from them - slowly - carefully - not making any sudden moves - maybe even offer them a 5.11 molle accessory to go with their spiffy outfit as a distraction
I perfectly understand the fairness aspects, and the safety aspects, of stage walk throughs. The vast majority of sports, now that I think about it I can't name an exception, where competitors go into a field of play without ever having seen and practiced on that field.
The only people consistently telling me that the gun games like IPSC, IDPA, 3 Gun USPSA, etc are tactical, and more specifically "training for the real world", are about half the competitors from those sports that I meet, or post on the forums. Many of them are the same CCW enthusiasts who sincerely tell you that their sport is sufficient to prepare them for real world gun fights, which I hope you will agree, is adorable. With respect, I will not distance myself from such people, because by and large they tend to be good people, with a slightly inflated opinion of a great sport that they are very passionate about.
As both you and Slavex have indicated, the sport grows and evolves to cater to new shooters just as much as the existing ones, and given how often I hear competitors in these sports routinely suggest that these practical sports are a great stand in for combat training, I am surprised that more of them aren't insisting on blind stages. Sure, people might not be able to keep their yap shut, but as a competition, I don't think its too hard for people to realize that they are only helping the competition win by blabbing.
I did a charity shoot a while back, which was a mixed bag of PPC, IPSC and IPDA like stages, but being a charity event no one took it too seriously as a competition, and just wanted to have fun. All of the stages were blind. Everyone had a blast, and the one team of IPSC die hards seemed to actually prefer the format.
Please don't mistake my curiosity for ignorance.
