Earlier this year we requested volunteers to serve on the Stage Design Committee. We also
encouraged any of our shooters to contribute stage designs. So far only two volunteers have
joined the committee and submitted stages.
As you know, we lost Joe Ocken early this year, and lost Bill McBroom, another prolific stage
designer in 2014. Joe was able to pick up much of the slack from Bill’s passing, and even
created several original stages for Wednesday practice. Over 90 percent of our pistol stages were
provided by his creativity and energy.
While it is difficult to replace someone like Joe, he left a number of tools for the next wave of
stage designers. Among the tools he left are his previous stages, SketchUp components, and
design templates. He encouraged new designers to use his stages as starting points and to
modify them with new props, layouts, or targets. He understood that it was less intimidating to
start with an existing stage than a blank piece of paper.
Our club really needs people to step up and help with stage designs. Please don’t feel like you
have to be a Master class shooter to serve on the Stage Design Committee or to submit stages.
While we would prefer that committee members be certified Range Officers (to help insure
legality and fairness of the stages), any experienced shooter can serve.
Have you seen those commercials that say “All credit applications will be accepted”? You
immediately note that it doesn’t say “All applications will be approved”. Well, the Stage Design
Committee will accept ALL designs. Designs can be submitted as SketchUp files (preferred),
scanned drawings, paper drawings, and even (clean) napkin notes. Unlike the credit application,
the committee will work with the stage designer to correct any issues and help turn the design
into a successful match stage.
Our club consistently tries to balance the stage difficulty to challenge all levels of competitors.
We cannot achieve that balance without new stage designs from a variety of shooters. While you
will never lose your right to grumble about a particular stage, please remember that the
Malfunction Gremlin is very fickle. If you complain about a stage, and haven’t contributed to
the design or review of our club stages, you may find your finely-tuned, multi-thousand-dollar
pistol has turned into a bolt action single shot (karma).
Please help us with our stage design efforts, even if you are only able to submit a single stage,
and keep the Malfunction Gremlin at bay.