You have been shooting for some time. Last year, you dedicated a weekend in a classroom with several like-minded shooters to attend a USPSA Level I Range Officer (RO) seminar. You may have attended with the sincere intention of giving back to the sport by running shooters to help out at your local match. Or, you may have attended simply to increase your rules knowledge and improve your match scores without receiving your certification. One of the most rewarding experiences while teaching RO seminars is when a student who was absolutely convinced they would never run shooters finishes the class with the realization of “Yes, I can” and “Yes, I will.”
However, as most of us realize, earning your RO certification is not a magic key to RO success. The real learning comes after the seminar, on the range, during a match. Although seminars and training courses cover the fundamentals of any specialized skill, applying what you learned in the classroom environment during a match hones your skills and develops a rookie RO into a reliable and capable match asset.
Picking up the timer or scoresheet to run shooters through a course of fire carries responsibility. It is not something to be taken lightly, as if any monkey could do it correctly. It takes a certain level of dedication and attention to detail. Like many skills, it needs to be developed through regular exercise and experience. Maintaining those skills also requires effort. Rulebooks are updated on occasion, and becoming familiar with any recent changes and additions is part of the job. Depending on your RO experience, and beyond the annual recertification exam, an occasional self-assessment targeting your knowledge of rules should probably be on your calendar.
Sometimes, it can take a while to become comfortable as an RO. Of course, the best long-term teacher is experience. Working a Level II match exposes you to many more shooters of all skill levels and takes you away from the somewhat less formal atmosphere of your local matches. Working a Level III (area) match takes it to the next level, with more shooters, perhaps more stages, and an event that usually takes advantage of a deeper organizational structure. Last, there’s nothing like working a USPSA Nationals match to really ride the experience elevator.
I recently received some feedback from one of my Chief Range Officer (CRO) students. He had done well in the course, accepting my critique and recommendations with good grace. This newly minted CRO went to officiate at a non-USPSA event at his club. Even though this match was run under rules somewhat different from ours, he was confident that his new CRO training had prepared him well for the responsibilities he had accepted. I quote him below:
“If this makes any sense, this weekend I felt I finally got it and understood what being a good RO was truly all about, at least for me. Most of the people staffing the match were good USPSA ROs, but the (non-USPSA) match rules vary in enough areas to really keep you on your toes if you care about doing a great job. Add to the mix a lot of shooters, many first-timers, long days, and it becomes apparent whether you really have your act together under pressure.”
“But in this match, I truly got a taste of having to make rule decisions on the fly …”
I always felt I had the safety component and the “treat other shooters as you would want to be treated” aspect of officiating down. The courtesy and fairness aspect seemed to come easy. But what I learned at this match, even though it wasn’t a USPSA match, was something that will really help me down the road. Some of the finer points of officiating, if you will.
Safety first, safety always, is a given. But those issues actually seem the easiest to deal with and focus on. Nothing new there. But in this match, I truly got a taste of having to make rule decisions on the fly, many of which weren’t completely clear cut on the surface, especially when you were run ragged and a little tired. Safety and fairness to all competitors, of course. But then comes the biggie: To be fair, you have to really understand the rules and how to apply them under any possible circumstance.
I suddenly realized that what I, as a shooter, disliked was how rules get “bent” too easily: Rules are like glass, they don’t bend, they simply break. That sort of officiating makes for a bad match and a sour experience for a shooter. Every match is a major match for the competitors who paid their money and invested time and training. The RO should officiate accordingly, with his or her best effort.
To be a good RO, and the kind of RO I respect and would want to emulate, is to know the rules cold. Clarify any potential issues ahead of time where possible. Capably sort through the gray areas on the fly and come up with the proper decision. Then, be confident that the decision was correct because you knew the rule and could interpret it properly. Be firm when necessary, but never arrogant or authoritarian and, most importantly, do not be afraid to admit to a mistake. Correct it immediately if wrong and move on, retaining the respect of the shooters. To always be able to see the forest in the midst of the trees, even under pressure, is important for me because I tend to intellectualize and overcomplicate things sometimes. As Confucius said: “Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
“This was one of those weekends where the lessons hit home.”
To sum up: a long weekend, but a great training experience.
You know what I like about competitive shooting? It has taught me some things about myself that have nothing to do with competitive shooting. And I’m a more fully rounded person because of it.
This was one of those weekends where the lessons hit home.
This candid feedback demonstrates exactly the kind of attitude that the National Range Officers Institute (NROI) attempts to teach at all levels of certification. It begins at Level I and continues through Range Master (RM) certification. It applies at your local match as well as at the USPSA Nationals. A positive, confident attitude coupled with sound knowledge of the rules is key to competency as an RO. Quality ROs are the key to a successful and enjoyable match.
If you are a certified RO or CRO, congratulations and thank you. If you are not, consider attending (and perhaps even organizing) a seminar. Simply go to uspsa.org and click the NROI link for a list of currently scheduled seminars and details on scheduling one.
Article from the March/April 2026 issue of USPSA’s magazine.
