Although I may not agree with Arancio about being R.O'd by non-shooters (Hell I don't see any official of any other sport being a competitor and game official at the same time... I would argue that our sport is unique in this manner).
He does bring to mind (at least my limited mind) the restrictions of BB qualification in Ontario ...one other section,I believe BC, requires x number of matches per year to maintain qualifications (please correct me if I'm wrong).
I know It's been covered in other threads before but it touches on "Spirit" of this thread. If Safety is the paramount concern for the requirements of re-qualifying for BB... more than 2 years review by BBI over 3 refresher course and over 4 or 5 yrs retake complete BB course.
However, someone who hasn't fired a shot for 5 years or more but has maintained membership can walk onto the range step up to the firing line and we should all feel safer because s/he has maintained their membership??
Is this person any safer than the person who chose to play in a different sport? or because of the Messed up classification system in Ontario chooses not to renew membership until it's been fixed and in the meantime shoots local club matches only which follow the same safety rules as sanctioned IPSC matches?
I understand that there is no way that this can be tracked or verified.
My concern is that if BB qualifications can be maintained solely by paying membership dues and not being a competitor validates the fact that your BB qualification never expires and it's not a safety concern at all but an issue of money, because if members are not required to update or maintain their skills by participating in x number of level I's per year then past BB qualified shooters reneweing after 5-10 years shouldn't have to jump through hoops to rejoin.
Keep it the same, if you've been away from competing for more than two years whether because of not being a member or a member but not being able to participate due to lack of interest, costs, or physical limitations you either need to demonstrate abilities or you can't shoot or the reverse as long as you have successufully completed the BB course in the past you are good to go.
I've been an R.O., Competitor, local league director , IPSC local Rep,MD for Level II and all around general helper Patching score keeping and coffee getter...
sorry for the hijack but I felt I had to speak on this... so let the flaming begin