Random Shots – latest news

As I write we have just had the great news that the Oxford vaccine works and it looks like by late Spring/early summer 2021 we may be putting aside our masks and getting down to some serious shooting. The shotgun championship at North Cotes in April beckons!

Just before the latest English lockdown I had the pleasure of working the pre-match at the level 2 Action Air match in Carlisle. Personally, I really enjoyed putting the crew through their paces on some fun stages on the Carlisle Small Arms Club indoor range. Again a brilliant job was done by the crew and especially the Match Director, Vanessa Duffy, and the Range Master Kevin Strowger to conduct the match in a COVID-19 safe way.

As many of you will know, NROI Chief Range Officer and former UKPSA Chairman Rob Adam recently passed away after a long illness. Rob was an active member for nearly 30 years, joining the NROI in 1991. A stalwart of the sport, he began shooting practical pistol but competed in many IPSC and UKPSA disciplines at the highest level. Those who knew Rob may wish to make a donation in his name to https://www.ghhospicecare.org.uk/support-us/donate

With a year of frustration and a lot of pent up energy to be worked off, I have a feeling that 2021 may be a bumper year for IPSC matches. Certainly, I am hoping to do as many UK events as possible not to mention at least a couple of major IPSC events and some handgun matches in Europe. With Christmas approaching now is a good time to sit down with an eggnog or two and plan for 2021.

Lessons from the line

 NROI Shot Timer Project

We have been looking at the shot timers on the market to see if we can work out a best in class to recommend to UKPSA ROs and clubs, and to see if we can get a better deal for our members.

The project is being led by Range Master Dave Peacock, who is working with UKPSA members Rob Brittain, Steff Davies, Mark Rayner and Rob and Moe Willis to deliver the tests in match conditions.

The testing is nearing completion and has been looking at the features, useability, and durability of commonly used shot timers and new market entrants. These have been tested with a range of guns used in Great Britain including Shotgun, Mini Rifle and Action Air.

A full report will be published soon so if you are in the market for a new shot timer for yourself or your club you may wish to hold off any purchase until the report is in!

A vision in red

NROI member and UKPSA online shop organiser, Dave Smith has been sourcing a new range of RO clothing which we will be rolling out soon including a red baseball cap, shower proof jacket and shirt. More information to follow but we plan to have these ready for the 2021 competition season.

Working abroad – get connected and get going!

One of the great joys of IPSC shooting is the fun and camaraderie you get at major international events. Travelling across the world and experiencing not just great competitions and making a global network of friends but also seeing a lot of great ideas to bring back to Great Britain. More and more NROI members are looking to work outside the region but do not know how to get started. So we are planning to organise a coffee and zoom event to help NROI members find out more and are setting up a WhatsApp group to help coordinate trips. If you are interested in finding out more contact nroisec@ukpsa.org

Register your level 1 matches

If your club is organising a level 1 IPSC match it is a good idea to get these registered with the UKPSA as this helps to avoid clashes with national events and to ensure recognition towards NROI annual maintenance points. To register your match the organiser just needs to complete the online form at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe9sl_WgVIpE_MNhL9sMako6xt49gG6kUJ0BnIk6D54vgviWg/viewform

 Getting Connected

The UKPSA are planning to have a working mobile WIFI system up and running soon that will enable tablet scoring using the IPSC Electronic Scoring System (ESS) and other tablet-based apps to be used to score major UKPSA (level 3) matches. The system is in development and it is currently planned for role out in April 2021.

Developing your Institute

New online services for NROI members

We are planning for a new online system in 2021 for recording your NROI rank and any seminars completed and to provide a place where you can fill in the UKPSA and international matches you work throughout the year.

If all goes well this will mean you will no longer need to get paper record cards completed. Instead you will enter maintenance match details directly onto your UKPSA membership record and we will then verify these from the Range Master reports.

The membership system is currently being updated to allow for this, but we need to ensure all NROI members have access. Please can you make sure NOW that you can access your record on the UKPSA membership system at https://ukpsa.azolve.com/

When you get to the login page your username is either your UKPSA membership number OR your email address.

If you cannot remember your password do not worry.

Simply press Forgot Password and you should be able to reset it.

  If you have any problems accessing the system, please can you let me know.

New ways of delivering IROA/NROI seminars

The NROI Committee has agreed that we can trial the online delivery of the classroom elements of the level 1 (RO) seminar and potentially the level 2 (CRO)  and 3 (RM) seminars. If we can get this right this will be much more accessible and cheaper for UKPSA members and will allow for extended hands on training on the level 1 at a dedicated range day.

Over recent months a huge amount of work has gone into re-designing the seminar, but it is looking promising that we will be able to commence the trial of the level 1 seminar in January 2021.

The classroom aspects of the new level 1 seminar will be delivered through three online modules which will be followed by a full day of hands on training and assessment once ranges are accessible. If this pilot is successful, we will be able to schedule the regular delivery of the modules online and regional train and test days.

We are also looking to deliver the level 2 seminar as a trial in February/March 2021 and any NROI members who have the necessary match experience points and are interested in attending the level 2 (CRO) seminar delivered as online modules should contact me at nroi@ukpsa.org