One of the more pervasive problems faced by IDPA match directors is not having enough safety officers. Typically, only a very small percentage of competitors volunteer to serve as safety officers at non-sanctioned IDPA matches. This is true whether the match is a monthly match, or one held weekly. As a result, a relative handful of dedicated volunteers are being overworked and are burning out. This is both unfair to the volunteers, and a loss to IDPA in general.
The reason many people give for not serving as a safety officer is a lack of training and experience. PSC-IDPA and a master class IDPA shooter have teamed up to provide a unique training opportunity that will allow any IDPA shooter to become an active and valued member of a core group of safety officers for PSC-IDPA monthly matches. If we could recruit a safety officer corps of only twenty (20) men and women, then each of them would be called upon to work only one match every five (5) months. Obviously, they could work more matches if they wish.
Steve Vandermolen has kindly agreed to offer a 3 hr. safety officer training class at the PSC Shooting Club, Inc. on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008 from 9:00am until noon. The class will consist of classroom and range time and it will cover IDPA rules and how to safely and efficiently run shooters, squads and bays in PSC-IDPA matches.
While SOs certainly must know the IDPA rules in order to properly work a match, doing so efficiently requires much more than a knowledge of the IDPA rules. Steve's class will cover techniques for running squads/shooters efficiently, while making sure the competitor doesn't feel rushed.
Please note, this is not an IDPA SO School. This is a program designed for shooters wishing to serve as match safety officers at the monthly PSC-IDPA matches held at PSC Shooting Club, Inc. This class will not certify SOs to work IDPA sanctioned matches like regionals and state championships. Whether other local clubs will "honor" the PSC-IDPA safety officer class for their non-sanctioned matches is unknown, but the monthly PSC-IDPA matches are growing and the need for additional safety officers is reaching the critical point.
This is a chance to get involved with running of the PSC-IDPA monthly matches and help them grow. If you would like to attend this safety officer class, please send an email to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Thanks,
Chas.
