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This was about my fifth Carolina Cup, and the squading actually decreased the wait for stages overall. There was one squad on Thursday that became too large due to walk up registrations. There were also a group of shooters who did not start with their assigned squad, and overloaded the already oversized squad. That caused a backup behind them for a couple squads. I think I was two or three squads behind them. The "lost" group was reunited with their assigned squad after a few stages, and order was generally restored. Adding to the delay was the fact that the SOs had not run any squads prior to Thursday and they were still trying to learn one another and become more efficient at moving shooters. There were SOs from around the country supplementing the local SOs. Two stages had SOs primarily from other states who may not have been as familiar as the regular NC/SC SOs of how to move large numbers of shooters efficiently through the bay. In past years, SOs were only responsible for one stage per day. This year, they were responsible for two stages back to back. In short, shooting assigned squads worked very well and increased the number of shooters who had an opportunity to shoot the match. The down side was an occassional delay. Routine delays of an hour would shock me. I don't believe it happened, but if it did, it will not again. All shooters finished ahead of schedule yesterday and today. I have no doubt they will finish ahead of schedule tomorrow.

Running a match with over 300 shooters is quite an undertaking. Notes were taken and some lessons learned. The fact is, if you ever shot the Cup unsquaded, there were both positive and negatives to leaving people to their own plans. Squading allowed for more shooters to participate. Face it, some squads are fast and well organized and some are not. Some shooters are a human rain delay and some are ready before being called. Just think about the guy in the bowling league whose turn it is and he is always getting food, beer or in the bathroom. Those people shoot too. Not many thankfully.

When I shoot a major match, or any match, I assume I am responsible for everything I need to shoot that match including food and water. If there is anything provided, it is a pleasant surprise. The match announcement says, "Awards and a Carolina-style pork barbecue dinner will follow the shooting on Saturday, June 21st. The dinner is free to all shooters and their guests." Different matches spend their money different ways. Some buy raffle prizes, some spend money on quality stages, allow SOs to shoot for free, pay for hotel rooms for out of town SOs, and provide a meal for all participants and guests before the awards. There was food and drink available for purchase on site for a very fair price. That money belongs to the people who ran the concession.

Finally, the match fee was $125 for what is widely considered to be the best match in the country, not $150. It isn't a cheap match, but in this case, you do get what you pay for. I'm sorry you had to wait to shoot. I'm sorry I had to wait to shoot. I wasn't at all surprised, but I was glad I only had to wait a little bit, a few times rather than a free for all and waiting at every stage. I'm pretty sure squading is here to stay at the Cup. When people are in squads, additional resources can be applied to reduce the wait. Frank had a bull pen of unassigned SOs to help out as needed on either backed up or overworked stages. The range master applied "encouragement" when the pace slowed on certain bays.

Judgement calls, where do I start? SOs are not paid. Some approach their task from a different perspective than competitiors would like. That is human nature. Each year decisions are made about using or not using individuals. Some individuals are accepted on the recommendation of known out of town SOs. Some repeat, some don't. When your labor force is volunteer and required to give up at least three days work to provide free labor, you need to treat them well and try to keep the judgement calls in the hands of known SOs. However, all CSOs run their own stages and it is their responsiblilty to make sure calls are consistent and correct. If you have a problem with a call, take it up with the CSO on the stage. You can always take it to the range master, but it is unlikely that the judgement on the bay is going to be overruled. The best you can hope for is consistently bad calls or consistently good calls. You do need consistency for the match to be fair.

I need a drink.

Bob