This week on the podcast, I discuss approaching questions from a novelty-focused versus mastery-focused perspective, and discuss a few case studies, including Nationals, Limited Optics, and the classifier system.
#93: Rule Changes (2023)
This week on the podcast, I cover all the rules in the March 2023 changes that you might run into at a match, as well as cover the interview that Scott Arnburg did 24 hours after attending his first board meeting. To subscribe to the podcast, search “Short Course” in your podcast app, or add https://berryshooting.com/short-course.xml by URL.
How Good Could A Nationals Livestream Be?
USPSA as it is now is not really set up to be a spectator sport, and would need some significant changes to be close to as TV-friendly as something like basketball or football. That said, if we are doing the work to run a livestream of shooters from Nationals, and people are willing to watch it, what can we do to make it as good as possible? Last fall, during the Carry Optics Nationals, I was watching the YouTube livestream. It was boring, with brief moments of interesting content. I got to thinking what might make it better. With no … Read More
Does Staff Reset Need Better Branding?
I’ve been trying to convince people that staff reset is the way to run major USPSA matches for a while now. The match benefits from being able to get more shooters through the stage in the same amount of time. The ROs benefit from having a consistent reset process that reduces reshoots and questionable rules calls (“Was that hole pasted?”). The shooters benefit by being able to just focus on their shooting and have confidence that the score they got is the score they shot. And around here, the momentum is growing. The North Carolina Section match has been staff … Read More
#76: Tyler Turner on Participation vs Development
This week on the podcast, I had Tyler Turner on to continue the discussion from last time about what the goals of the sport should be: shooters developing and getting better, or just more warm bodies in matches? Here is an automated transcript of our discussion: Ben: Tyler Turner. Welcome to Short Course. Tyler: Thank you. Thank you. I’m happy to be here. Ben: People who’ve listened to the previous episode, know that you are the one who kind of kicked off a discussion. And this was shortly after the vote to remove Mike Foley and the discussion started to … Read More
#75: Mason Lane on Participation vs Development
This is a lightly-edited transcript of the episode. Welcome to Short Course, Episode 75 for September 22nd, 2021. I’m your host, Ben Berry. I know this podcast has been a little sparse recently. I’ve been taking all the content that normally would be these solo episodes and writing them up as blog posts, which has been a generally a good thing. It’s been working out. And I see that continuing. But as we’re in an interesting chapter for the sport, I thought it might be an interesting chance to take the podcast and turn it into something a little bit … Read More
My Recommendations To The Incoming USPSA President
I’m publishing this post the night before the Board meets to vote whether to remove Mike Foley as USPSA President. I’m assuming (and hoping) they get the votes required to do that. By my reading of the bylaws, the Vice President will be acting President until an election can be held to fill the position for the remainder of the current term through the end of 2023. The number of people talking about running is truly wild, but we will see who actually puts their name in and how the election shakes out. This article is my best effort to … Read More
What USPSA Nationals Could Be
I think the way that Nationals has been run for a while is broken. Instead of being the premier event of the year that the rest of the season builds up to, it’s a series of multiple events throughout the year, each one of which is on par with a state level championship, with many Area matches being higher quality. The match that people should be eager to shoot because there’s nothing else like it instead has anyone with a credit card signing up to maximize participation. Although there are facets of USPSA at the local level that make it … Read More
2021 Locap Nationals Wrapup
So, the second weekend of May has come and gone, and with it Nationals for Production, Single Stack, Revolver, and Limited 10. Timing First, the match was Mother’s Day weekend. You can say it’s a greeting card holiday sure, but this was just such an unforced error. A week earlier or a week later wouldn’t have worked? You don’t schedule matches on the weekend of major holidays if you can avoid it, and minor ones should be avoided where possible. Of course, the problem is they have to find three different weeks on the calendar for three different Nationals this … Read More
#66: 2019 Production Nationals
This week on the podcast, I talk about the 2019 Production Nationals in Frostproof, Florida. I talk through my thoughts about the match compared to previous years, review my personal performance, and raise my two big concerns with the way Nationals are being run in recent years. Match video of all 21 stages is here.
#42: How I Would Do Nationals
This week on the podcast, I talk about some discussions I’ve had around Nationals and if I had the opportunity to change things, what I would do differently.
#41: Lessons From Nationals
This week on the podcast, I talk about three areas of improvement I’ve identified from Nationals, and how I dealt with them at a club match this past weekend.
#40: USPSA Nationals 2018, Part 2
This week on the podcast, I continue the discussion about USPSA Factory Gun Nationals. I talk about how well the match flowed, what I thought of the stages, why I liked the prize table this year, and give some early conclusions of my performance.
#39: USPSA Nationals 2018
This week on the podcast, live from the hotel room the night before the final day of Production Nationals, I talk about how things have changed in the last year, and what I’m looking to get out of shooting Nationals this year.
#26: IPSC Nationals, Part 2
This week on the podcast, I talk about US IPSC Nationals, why I am interested in shooting it, some interesting aspects of the IPSC stage breakdown, and give some thoughts on the similarity of Production and Standard under IPSC rules.
#25: IPSC Nationals 2018
This week on the podcast, I talk about how shooting the 2018 IPSC US Nationals went, the lessons I learned, and coming out of it, how I’m approaching training for the rest of the season.
#7: Flying to Nationals & Purpose of Big Matches
This week on Short Course, I talk about my experience flying to the USPSA Nationals in 2017, particularly my mistake of trying to fly with my ammo. I also discuss what I look to get out of a big match like a Level 2, and what isn’t all that important to me.
#4: Planning Your Major Match Schedule
This week on Short Course, I talk about how I look at the different types of matches, based on the level of competition they offer and the resources required to shoot them. I outline a plan to decide which matches to shoot in a give year based on where you are as a shooter and where you can make the most useful progress. As an illustration, I apply this idea to my own 2018 match schedule. If you want to get future episodes automatically, subscribe to the podcast feed.
#2: IPSC Nationals
On this episode of Short Course, I talk about shooting IPSC Nationals in 2017: why I wanted to go, some of the changes I had to make to prepare for it, and the experience of shooting. I talk about an interesting experience at the equipment check, and a shooter using video evidence to get a controversial call overturned, which IPSC allows. If you want to get future episodes automatically, subscribe to the podcast feed.
Thoughts on IPSC Nationals 2017
Two weeks ago, I shot the 2017 US IPSC Nationals the biggest (and only) match in the US under IPSC rules, the international version of USPSA. The rules of the two are mostly the same, but the small variations can make key differences. For example, the IPSC rules about walking the stages the day before you actually shoot the match are the same, but are enforced differently. Where the US defaults to allowing competitors to walk stages any time the range is open and there’s not a squad on the stage, IPSC goes the other way: competitors are not allowed … Read More