Sorry to here Windsor match cancelled. Can't imagine ever being dissappoiinted with one of their matches. Also I agree a forum on IPSC site more appropriate than here for some issues. I would like to see a more simple classification system. As well FULL disclosure on financials going on within IPSC organization. Mike
IPSC Ont Board Elections
- Thread starter ENSHOOTER
- Start date
Attract new people and maybe keep them? Hmmm, lessee.....
Repeal Bill C-68. All of it, and start over with a sensible licensing system and leave it at that.
Replace the entire Federal Government with regular people who are not lawyers and who actually participate in recreational target shooting.
Elimination of red-tape paperwork and unnecessary permit renewals and elimination of stupid range rules imposed by totalitarian CFO's. A single, five year ATT permit which covers all provinces, all border points, gunsmithing, etc. comes to mind.
Elimination of range nazi's who just can't deal with "a bunch of cowboys running around the range waving guns all over the place."
A basic standard of acceptable conduct and behavior, especially at the tournament level. We all spend gobs of money to do this for fun and no one wants or needs to be subjected to massive doses of unprofessional, unDIGNIFIED, discourteous, abusive, or just generally negative, energy-vampire-horse sh*t. This kind of thing can and has soured people forever and driven them out of the sport.
Reciprocity and standardization or membership fees, protocols and safety procedures throughout the club system. For instance: Join any club, pass their mandatory standardized safety course and be welcome to attend any other club as a guest (for a nominal fee) as many times as you like.
Start up our own television and radio sports network broadcasting only the shooting sports.
A marketing division promoting the shooting sports in general, and IPSC specifically as an extreme sport with a huge coolness factor. Groovy outfits would help, but we'd need some young people for those since most of us are too fat to wear `em...
Massive corporate sponsorships with Swedish bikini models "manning" trade show booths. This one will be huge for us!
Prize tables and presentations at major matches. Top three in all divisions and classes. I still see that as incentive to work harder to win, and yes, I know how difficult it is to solicit sponsors for prizes. But hell, it's my dream so I can say what I want.
More mentoring. For instance; organized club workshop days where instead of everyone just showing up, shooting a few stages tearing down and going home, we do the same thing but with the directed idea of advancing skills. Basically an open forum day where anyone can ask anyone anything about a technique, how to shoot a stage, match prep...whatever. Higher ranked shooters are there to make themselves available to answer questions, demonstrate, make suggestions, whatever. Maybe the theme for the stage or stages that day would revolve around detailing a specific skill set or technique....?
Reloading workshops, gun cleaning/tuning workshops, equipment workshops, match prep etc...
A steady source of primers, loading components equipment and parts.
A "super-pass" for traversing the Canada/U.S. border for matches.....
Ok ok, I know most of this is tongue in cheek and pretty far out there so spare me the flames. I'm just....dreaming....
We publish Financials every year and present them at the Ontraio AGM...IPSC Canada does the same at the Canadian AGM. Are you talking about the top Level of IPSC (The International Governing Body)?
If every IPSC club held a charity match every year and donated the money to a local organization, the ensuing publicity would be excellent for the sport and would very likely attract new participants. Almost every city/town has a home for battered women comes to mind. One only has to look at EESA to see how well this works locally.
This is all great. Every year we are getting new guys and every year when Bud does his membership update around March we drop down to 800 members.
This question is actually not to you Quig but to all of us. What can we do, to keep old guys staying, new guys coming?
And BB is more of a safety training then actual training where shooter can improve skills. Where am I getting.... What can we, who love this sport do to help new guys? Yes, they can spend between 300-600 bucks on training with our bests, but that is a lot to pay when you getting into this sport. I am the best example of a person who didn't know how to start this sport. It cost me a lot, till I learn, till I took a course from best shooter.
Equipment is expensive, ammo if not reloading is expensive, even with reloading still cost around 12-14cents a round for .40cal.
I am thinking about mentoring program, where we (current members) should take a newbie in IPSC and show him basics of basics, like draws, mag changes, transitions, how to hold the pistol and so on...
And hey, for someone who is just getting into the sport it doesn't matter that much if he has a help from a B shooter or GM. The difference is in money. B shooter will do it for free. When newbie acquire some skills, then he should think about taking the course from someone who has been doing this for years and has the knowledge, experience and is a good trainer.
Just few ideas of mine
You can't buy the good PR they generate every year at the charity matches.
Exactly.
When it comes to retaining new BB course grads, I think we need to take stock of ourselves for a minute.
I have no reason to question Quigley's figure, suggesting an average of 150 new grads a year, but a net gain of only 50 members per year.
In the rest of the world, that's still regarded as growth. Yes, there are some signifigant disincentives associated with this sport, and we do need to try our best to prop up and shelter those green sprouts. However, reality is that many people take up a sport only to abandon it or set it aside.
During the C-17 days, when IPSC membership held the potential for retaining your normal cap mags, I was the IPSC rep for my club. We had at best, one opportunity a month to host a BB, and I tried very hard to make sure I kept up a roster of instructors and helpers to get those newbies through.
Over the course of 18 months, Brian Mc.,MrClean, Lorne R, Cory V, Bud, Pat B, and other instructors put on often multiple BB courses with an average of 9 guys per course. My list of interested members started at 90 people, and never did get below 50. As fast as I'd scratch 9 names off the list, I'd have a bunch of fresh names added to the bottom.
If 20 of those 100+ guys are still active, I'd be surprised.
People think IPSC is cool. They sign up, pay thier money, and get the training. That's a good thing. Now we just need to try and keep more of them.
I have no reason to question Quigley's figure, suggesting an average of 150 new grads a year, but a net gain of only 50 members per year.
In the rest of the world, that's still regarded as growth. Yes, there are some signifigant disincentives associated with this sport, and we do need to try our best to prop up and shelter those green sprouts. However, reality is that many people take up a sport only to abandon it or set it aside.
During the C-17 days, when IPSC membership held the potential for retaining your normal cap mags, I was the IPSC rep for my club. We had at best, one opportunity a month to host a BB, and I tried very hard to make sure I kept up a roster of instructors and helpers to get those newbies through.
Over the course of 18 months, Brian Mc.,MrClean, Lorne R, Cory V, Bud, Pat B, and other instructors put on often multiple BB courses with an average of 9 guys per course. My list of interested members started at 90 people, and never did get below 50. As fast as I'd scratch 9 names off the list, I'd have a bunch of fresh names added to the bottom.
If 20 of those 100+ guys are still active, I'd be surprised.
People think IPSC is cool. They sign up, pay thier money, and get the training. That's a good thing. Now we just need to try and keep more of them.
Perhaps, as part of the IPSC course instructors can give people some basic advice on how to keep in the sport. I recall my instructors shared some ideas on that with us, e.g. find a buddy you'll go to the matches with and can compete to. Though not all of us can find a buddy like that and maybe IPSC organization could somehow help with that as part of the mentoring program if every new shooter would had assigned a more experienced guy from his area.
As part of the mentoring course...Rachel o's to maost of the BB courses (as time allows) and give's new shooters that guidlance.
Step two of that process is hooking new shooters up with existing members (mentors) Not all new shooters are intersested in that part...but we are seeing some retuen on that effort.
That being said...the program will only be effective if people feel welcomed when they actually go to match.
I think for the most part that happens...but we (that's all of us) can always do better
Step two of that process is hooking new shooters up with existing members (mentors) Not all new shooters are intersested in that part...but we are seeing some retuen on that effort.
That being said...the program will only be effective if people feel welcomed when they actually go to match.
I think for the most part that happens...but we (that's all of us) can always do better
Agreed. This is incredibly important. Many new shooters are reticent to approach the more experienced people and ask questions. Fear of asking a stupid question, fear of interrupting someone's thought process, fear of.....I dunno. As well, they may not even know what questions to ask so they just keep mum. But I find that often times if I make the first move and break the ice they tend to relax more and feel more welcome.
Not only that, but also how the followup to the match is done. Awards, match scores (not only overall, but also per-stage scores), responding to various questions about match, stage design, etc.
Few times I felt that match organizers don't care much after I paid the match fee. I will think twice if I would want to go to that club again... But with others you can't just get enough, matches organized by Dave H, Ron M, John E and the crew at Wentworth come to mind. Please keep up the great work guys! Maybe we can get some kind of the match feedback form going where people would see some kind of rating and at the end of the year best match organizers get some kind of award
I'd rather have a more professional and content orientated magazine once every 6 months, than just a paper copy of the match scores that I currently get every month..
maybe have some pictures in it of shooters at matches.. maybe a paragraph write up of big matches etc..
maybe have some pictures in it of shooters at matches.. maybe a paragraph write up of big matches etc..
stormbringer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S.W. Ontario
I think that Bud would be ever so happy to print such items.
The trouble of course is finding people who will ACTUALLY DO THE WORK!!.
That is all covered in our finacial reports. We only go so many levels deep (so our members can read them without being a CGA) but all of that info is included.
I've said it before...I guess one more time won't hurt.
We have many members (probably in the hundreds) that are really no longer active. Their only connection to IPSC Ontario is Sitrep. However...they still pay thier fees (and complian alot less thean some of you folks
)Cutting a paper Sitrep out is cutting off thier lifline to IPSC Ontario...and we will no doubt lose many of those members.
Be carefull what you wish for...
Anyone who thinks Sitrep in paperback has no value...really hasn't thought it out very well...
