I apply the rules.
It is doing a beginner no favor to not apply the rules. Telling him why he
is getting a procedural (Or a DQ, I had to tell an SO who was going to give
the guy who had swept me "a good talking to" that that was not enough and
either the offender was leaving or I was.) is common courtesy and should
motivate him to learn the rules. As I frequently say, learning the rules
one Procedural Penalty at a time is a slow process and a little study will
save you a lot of points.

There is another category, the beginning IDPA shooter. He may be a well
trained SWATcop or more likely an IPSC shooter looking for trigger time, but
he can be a good enough shot that not holding him to the rules places him
ahead of members doing it the right way. That is not certainly not fair to
the regulation shooters.

I think that most handicapped shooters take pleasure in overcoming their
limitations and would rather take a penalty than an accomodation. We did
have a rather deaf guy who benefited from a tap at the buzzer, no problem
there. As to "explosive movement", my detonation rate is about like old
time serpentine black powder, not PETN, but it is still compliant with every
CoF I have shot.

Jim w.



----- Original Message -----
From: "John Warsaw" <johnwarsaw@...>
To: <IDPA@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:13 AM
Subject: [IDPA] Different Rules for Different Shooters?


> There is an interesting article in the third quarter Tactical Journal
> ("You
> can always get a waiver...", p23) about giving new shooters breaks at club
> level matches. Basically, the author approves of the idea. I know I've
> done it when I was SO. Not safety rules, but such things as equipment,
> stage or game rules.
>
> Last match we let a kid shoot a .22 at his first match. Recently, at
> another club, we had three LEOs with duty gear trying a match for the
> first
> time. They could shoot well enough, but didn't know the rules of the
> game.
> One of them dropped a partial mag. My scorekeeper gave him a procedural,
> and tried to explain the rules. I discussed it with the scorekeeper and
> officer, and we agreed to let it slide this time but not in the future.
> (Ignorance of the law WAS an excuse!) On a stage that required explosive
> movement on the draw I've told shooters with limited mobility that I would
> accept whatever they were able to do. There is a fellow who shoots
> regularly who I tap on the shoulder because he simply can't hear the beep.
>
> So, what do you think? When is it OK to "help" new shooters, or even
> experienced shooters with physical limitations? When do you verbally
> remind
> a shooter to do something? Does it matter if the shooter in question is
> beating people? How do some of you SOs handle these situations? Any MDs
> care to chime in?
>
> John W in SC
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
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