When Do We Cancel a Match?

High power rifle shooting is an outdoor sport and our general philosophy will be to shoot the match, rain or shine, except when it is not safe to do so. In general, we’ll run the match if it is cold, or if it is raining, or if it is windy. However, there are some exceptions…

Lightning
If there is a risk of lightning in the vicinity, we will suspend the match and take shelter to get off of the open area of the range. If it looks like the storm will pass quickly, we’ll wait it out and resume shooting later. Otherwise, we’ll cancel the remainder of the match.

Very high winds
If the winds get so high that we can’t safely operate the target carriers without risking breakage or having the target boards blow out, we’ll suspend or cancel the match.

Fog
A little fog or haze is no big deal, and adds challenge to the match. But if we can’t see the targets well enough to safely shoot, we’ll suspend or cancel the match.

Snow, hail, and/or travel conditions
If there is so much snow on the ground that we risk getting stuck on the way to or from the range, or if it starts snowing such that we can’t see to safely shoot, or if it starts to hail, we’ll suspend or cancel the match.

Occasionally, the weather will be so bad, or so cold, that we may cancel the match ahead of time. However, most of the time, we’ll meet at the range at the start of the match, evaluate the conditions, and make a decision to go or no-go. If we cancel a match ahead of time, we’ll post it to the web site. You should get into the habit of bringing rain gear just in case you have to shoot in the rain, and covers for your equipment in case it starts raining while you are in the pits.

 

Registration Closes 30 Minutes Before the Match

In the match program (posted on the web site for each match), there is an official match start time, and a registration start time, usually one hour before the match start time. The match start time is the time that we will actually begin shooting. Since it takes time to squad the competitors, resolve questions, hold the safety brief, move equipment into position, seal the pits, and prepare the targets for firing, we have to have all registration and squadding complete absolutely no later than 30 minutes before the match. If a match is scheduled to start at 9:00 am, for example, you should arrive in time to start registration at 8:00 am, and be complete with registration no later than 8:30 am. If you miss the deadline, you will be turned away. Be on time.