2003 Winter Matches at S&W

People keep asking "what's up with the winter matches at S&W for 2003?". The short answer is "nothing, no one has stepped forward volunteering to do the work."

Update

December 19, 2002

Unfortunately, I was unable to make arrangements with Smith & Wesson. Read details here.

How about one big one?

I have submitted a proposal to Smith & Wesson requesting use of their range for one large mid-winter match. Assuming I am able to obtain a commitment from S&W, I will arrange this match on if sufficient clubs step forward agreeing to build and staff a stage.

How it would work

Details have not yet been finalized, but here is what I have in mind:

Shooting on both Sat and Sunday. All shooting to be done in 1/2 day. I have not yet determined if we will have one or two squads on Sunday.
Advance registration and payment required.
Cost of the match to be about $50, plaques only.
This will be a partnership of equals. All profits after expenses to be split evenly between clubs on a per stage basis. If we have 6 clubs each run a stage, each club will get 1/6th of the profit; if one club runs two stages, they get 2/6th of the profit, etc. Clubs are not limited to running just one stage. A full financial report will be published with the match results.
Each club which agrees a stage will be responsible for:
- Arranging a staff schedule for both days of the match. The match will need to provide the Match Director with the schedule, however, the club, and not the match director, is responsible for making sure everyone on their team shows up when expected. The match director will need a firm commitment from the club that the club will assume the responsibility for delivering a stage and staff.
- Handling any staff reimbursements. The entry fee is intended to provide sufficient funds for out of town clubs to subsidize the hotel bill for their staff. Each club's share of the profits will be paid directly to the designated club contact.
- Each club gets an even share of the profit based on the number of stages they run. I cannot guarantee this will cover every last cent of the hotel bills, however, the upside is that your club gets to keep any that is left over.
- No free shoots for staff. If a club wishes to reimburse their staff's entry fee out of their share of the match profit, they are welcome to do so.
- Clubs will not be required to account for their expenditures. How a club spends its share of the proceeds is their business, provided of course, that they deliver and staff a quality stage.
I hope to have results calculated on the spot, however, the posting period will remain open until the Wednesday after the match so that shooters do not need to wait for an on-sight posting to check their scores.
We will have a pre-scheduled snow date in case of a large storm. I'm not talking about re-scheduling if there is some snow - only if there is a huge storm which paralyzes the region. Any information on cancellation would be made available by a phone answering message available 24x7 and web site.

What does it take to make it happen?

Two things:

An acceptable arrangement with Smith & Wesson, which I am currently pursuing.
Commitment from clubs to staff 5-6 stage by the end of December, 2002. This will need to be a firm commitment to deliver a stage (including presence at the Friday setup) and match staff, not a vague "we think we can help out."

I will be contacting clubs as soon as I have an arrangement worked out with S&W.

This match will not happen unless several clubs agree to pitch in and help make it happen. If everyone waits for someone else to do the work, we won't have the match.