Clarity and Forward Motions
We love this community’s involvement in the sport and are thrilled to see so many connections being made.
With the latest feedback, I am here to put some concerns to rest. When NRL22 was designed, I had envisioned it to be as affordable, inclusive and welcoming as possible. Is it competitive? Yes, it is, but, in my mind, safety, a relaxed atmosphere, and fun, were higher priorities than competitiveness. For the first two years, this recipe worked. Now, we are experiencing some hiccups whose fault is set solely on our shoulders. I have come to realize that this sport and our awesome community have grown faster than anyone could have anticipated. MY vision and priorities are not everyone else’s. At its root, this is competition. So, we are going to step up and provide the clarity that everyone is demanding.
Everyone falls back to what they know (or their training so to speak). Professionally, I am a Fire Captain. My style of leadership is to empower others. In my mind, this type of leadership creates others who are more invested in what we are trying to accomplish. It then allows the invested followers to be leaders themselves. Also, I believe that 10 people providing different perspective is far superior than one person.
Advisors Page on Facebook: We created the Advisors group page to allow the MDs the opportunity to help shape the rules. It evolved into a place where new MDs can get pointers from more experienced MDs. When I work on the next seasons rules and would like perspective, I ask, but it is made very clear that I am working on the rules. We do have discussions in there, but in no way shape or form is it a super secret place where we are altering rules month to month. People have asked my opinions on rule interpretation and I have shared it (people ask in NRL22 Members group page as well). This was a mistake on my part. I won’t make that mistake again.
Rules: The rules have never changed mid-season, and at least while I am the Director, they never will. I have included the rules in this for you for review. They won’t change until the next season, which starts in June. What we do change every single month is the COF. Each COF outlines what support gear is allowed for each stage. Starting in December, the COF allowed support gear will look much different. Pictures will be added to the Supplemental page to clarify what a bag, rifle, and sling are defined as. Every exclusion I can think of will be mentioned.
Arca rails on Base class rifles: The base class rules are very specific on what can be added to a base class rifle. Arca rails are not on that list. The exception would be if the rifle came from the factory with an Arca rail.
Match Director related communications: A Forum has been created on the website since the beginning; however, many don’t prefer it. Over 90% are on Facebook. I have heard that we are excluding people who do not have Facebook. While most all information on precision rifle and shooting sports in general are now communicated on Facebook, it is not a requirement. Any communication that needs to occur publicly has always been on the COF informational page (1st page) or on the website. This message will also be attached to next months COF for December.
Other clubs: Please stop worrying about what other clubs are doing. Folks see pictures of other clubs doing things against the rules and lose their minds. Rather, let’s be open minded, as we don’t know what their situation is. I have asked MDs repeatedly to be as inclusive as possible. If an older person can’t lay down, shoot off a bench. If a Young Gun can’t get hits on positional, help hold the rifle. I know my priorities are not your priorities, but I am not flexing on this one. You compete against your own club, in your own conditions, and under the direction of your own MD. That’s it. We simply don’t have the bandwidth to chase down every club who isn’t following the rules, and further, we don’t want to. This is a community. People are out there shooting. That is important! Especially considering the current climate. Let’s stand together.
While NR22 stages remain challenging, we have also encouraged MDs to run additional stages. It is their match for their community, if the MDs’ ranges have more distance, we welcome them to add longer distance stages, include different targets, custom props/barricades, the use for additional support gear, etc. that further suits your community, should they choose to.
Our priorities may not be everyone else’s and we get that now. Our sincerest apologies. The rules are posted. The COF will be clearer, and we will do better to create less interpretation.
Thanks very much for your patience and reading all of this.
We look to continued support of one another in this growing community.
Tyler Frehner
National Rimfire League
Director of Match Operations
2019/2020 Rules: https://nrl22.com/about/rules
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