[Sunuva]

Ok what makes a good match from a stage design point of view to you? Is round count
Number of stages types of stages the classifier or other?

Thanks.

[Chris Keen]

YES!

[Sherwyn]

Sunuva, on May 20 2007, 09:01 PM, said:

Ok what makes a good match from a stage design point of view to you? Is round count
Number of stages types of stages the classifier or other?

Thanks.

Round count can be a deciding factor, but if stages are truely freestyle, not set up to control the shooter, with multiple options, that is the biggest thing for me.
With gas pricing going higher, lower stage count will make a drive less attractive as well.

Sherwyn

In most cases - "Have gun, will travel"

[Sunuva]

Im with ya on the freestyle, that’s the one of the things I have been really working on with my stages.

[Chris Keen]

Open gunners LIKE ROUND COUNT!

But with that said, even a match with only 4 or 5 stages is still a great match when the stages are exciting, or contain props or design ideas that are fresh and new. Bringing in some new blood to design stages is always good. Running the same old "so and so" match every month is B-O-R-I-N-G.

Classifiers are fine, but after running the same ones time and time again, they get old. Again .... new ideas are what make matches fun. Just finding the classifier that no one ever sets up can be tricky, but will bring excitement among the shooters, and they may even talk about it for the next week, without end.

[Pharaoh Bender]

Robert, everyone loves a high round count.

You have done an excellent job with setting up the matches locally Bob. Freestyle is groovy, and as long as you aren't running Triple Choice every-freaking-time you are MD, classifiers are not an issue.

[Bluemax29]

I think during the summer months, short, fast, and moderate round count stages are the way to go. If most shooters can show up at 0900 and packing up by 1200-1300, you will have shooters show up. We try and setup or stages depending on the season of year and it works pretty good.

I guess this would depend on where you live also.

This post has been edited by Bluemax29: 20 May 2007 - 10:08 PM

[Joe4d]

efficiency in running the stages, getting everyone moving and resetting, RO's paying attention and keeping things moving helps alot with the time. A club that routinly takes forever for the same amount of shooting will loose shooters if there is a more efficient club in the area.

[Skywalker]

My 2c worth.

A good stage (from the design point of view), is a stage where you can shoot on the move, with no more than 5/6 shots from each view or location, mostly open targets with one or two though shots (steel beyond 20m, or partials @ 15/20m): this will force most shooters to slow down and change mindset in a fraction of a second (from raw speed to accuracy).

I'd like this to be a 15/20 rounds stage, where you don't have to run for a mile.

In such a stage you have to shoot and move very smoothly and coordianted, otherwise you loose a lot time to the stage winners.

Oh, of course this shall be freestyle, where everybody is entitled to solve the challenge his own way.

If you can setup a match with a few of such stages, with a good mix of short, medium and long courses, then this will be a nice match I'd love to attend.

This post has been edited by Skywalker: 20 May 2007 - 11:04 PM

[Jim Norman]

Bluemax29, on May 21 2007, 01:07 AM, said:

I think during the summer months, short, fast, and moderate round count stages are the way to go. If most shooters can show up at 0900 and packing up by 1200-1300, you will have shooters show up. We try and setup or stages depending on the season of year and it works pretty good.

I guess this would depend on where you live also.

Different strokes.

We start set-up by 0800, walk through at 1000, we generally get it all put away by 1700. Normal turnout is 60+ shooting 7 stages with generally 160 rounds approximate.
We run mostly field courses, even if they are only 15 rounds. we will usually have sevral that push the 32 round count sugestion.

If we pushed everyone out by 1300, I think we'd lose half our shooters.


Oh, did I mention that we run a carbine side match AFTER the regular match?

Jim

[GENE S]

Whats this 1700 stuff...........

[joseywales]

Good stages (movement, moving props, navigation options)
Round count is important (higher is usually better), but good stages can make up for a lower round count.
Related thread about "what keeps people coming back"

This post has been edited by joseywales: 21 May 2007 - 08:03 AM

[shred]

Round count is OK, but three or four wide open targets side by side at 7 yards isn't any more fun than two.. Good stages with options (note: not head games or memory-fests) are the key.

Also keep in mind that given the cost of ammo, we could be driving away shooters that shoot factory ammo.. 100 rounds of factory .45 ACP is bad enough, but 200 cuts into the beer budget pretty good nowdays..

[Jim Norman]

GENE S, on May 21 2007, 09:53 AM, said:

Whats this 1700 stuff...........

Gene, When Mickey's big hand is....

Actually it is easier to type 1700 than to type 5:00 PM at least for me.

It is Pizza time after we put it all away. This time of year I get home in daylight. in the winter months, I leave in teh dark, get home in the dark, and before anyone else says it, yes I am generally in the dark.


So will we see you on Sunday? Our normal match is scheduled, 7 stages and likely a sidematch. Check the website.

Jim

[wide45]

Quality, first last and allways.

I would rather have a well thought out, and constructed five round stage, than a half-assed 30+ round waste of time.

This post has been edited by wide45: 21 May 2007 - 02:08 PM

[JFlowers]

Options - Stages that can be shot in several different ways, both within the same division or across divisions.

Equal - Especially at big matches you want all the stages to be more or less equal. A much larger or smaller stage will change the flow of squads and cause problems.

Round Count - Yes, most of us like it HIGH. But you don't want it so high that the poor L10, Prod, SS, and wheelgunners are hurt.

Staff - In a major (State, Section, Area, etc) good staff will make or break your match. Take care of them! Good staff will work thru lunch to get backlogs handled, take them lunch. This summer, TAKE THEM WATER! Treat your staff well and they will come back. I love to work matches when I know Linda Chico is running things.

Facilities - Make sure you have enough. Porta-Johns and water... shade if you can.

[Sunuva]

WOW thanks for all the great input and the link,

[Pharaoh Bender]

Another great match tonight Robert! Since Paul has given the go-ahead for summer OUDOOR matches, I look forward to more ;-)

[HSMITH]

A great match to me is like a great golf course. When I have to use every club in my bag and have to shape most shots to play the hole I feel like I have played a truly great golf course. When I shoot a great match I want to have to use ALL of the skills (clubs) I might posess and I want to CHALLENGE (shaping the shots) those skills. I want to hose up close a little, and I want some long tight shots that make me shake in my boots. I want movement, and shooting on the move. I want to move forward, backward, left to right and right to left. I want to come away from the match thinking that it was a challenge to make it through but still fun.

I really dislike stages where everyone shoots them the same way. I want to see the shooter challenged to figure out what approach suits their game best.

[Jim Norman]

To expand a bit on my earlier comments.

We have tight shots, either HC or NS. We have 25 yard plates and/or poppers. We have wide open targets close enough to blow the pasters off and movers at 25 yards. We have stand, draw and shoot, with movers, 9 rounds, no reload required and we have 32 round track meets, (allthough since we don't have football field size pits, the running is kept to a minimum.) We have stages that offer multiple solutions including the dreaded "Start standing somewhere in the FreeFire Zone" starts. we use drawers, doors, windows, posrts that require opening, props that require carrying and occasionally standards.

About the only thing we don't use is the Turtle Target. and we have actually used them on a few occasions.


Our matches draw from GM to D and U and upwards of 65 shooters is sort of normal. Heck in the rain we get 30! Round counts are usually around 160. THis of course varies quite a lot.

Lately, we have been trying to assign round count "Suggested Maximums" to certain pits. Stuffing 32 rounds into a 8 x 20 yard pit is just a cramming exercise. Likewise, 12 rounds on a 50 yard pit is generally a waste of real estate.

Jim

[Sunuva]

Pharaoh Bender, on May 21 2007, 08:31 PM, said:

Another great match tonight Robert! Since Paul has given the go-ahead for summer OUDOOR matches, I look forward to more ;-)

Thanks too you Pharaoh and every body else that helps out on Monday, I have been getting a lot of help, Im not doing all the Sunday matches we are very lucky as a club to have great Ro's and stage designers like Paul, Keen,
Anderson and others it will be a great year.

[bobert1]

Nothing lower than 5 feet will work for me.

[Sunuva]

LOL I here ya Bob!!

[Chris Keen]

Nothing OVER 5 feet ....... remember Michelle !

[Pharaoh Bender]

I'm still fired up about having a Monday outdoor league. All of the groovy cats that I've met from the A6 have matches like that all the time.

I'm the MD for July...and already have some crazy funk sketched up!