Events

23^rd November 2011

Officiating information on each specific discipline:

ISSF/IPC

Service

WA1500

PA Adopts International Rules

· WA1500 is a ‘holster’ event involving the holstering and drawing of loaded handguns. Within Australia all shooters who shoot (and/or train) for this event MUST have current PA Holster Accreditation.

· As with all PA events, the hierarchy for the rules covering WA1500 events is:

o PA Constitution, then

o PA GTRs, then

o The event rules

· At this time, only the 150-shot and 60-shot events have been approved for competitions in Australia.

· The 2011 rulebook is can be downloaded here (left click to open, right click and ‘save as’ to save to your computer)

WA1500 officiating

Holster Accreditation

Range Officials for WA1500

Scoring WA1500

WA1500 and PA

PA brings WA1500 to Australia

PA Affiliation to WA1500

International Classification (Grade) Database

PA Adopts International Rules for PA Competitions:

PA adopted the new (1/1/2011) WA1500 rules at the AGM/ECM 25/04/2011.

As with all PA events, the hierarchy is:

· PA Constitution , then

· PA General Regulations & General Technical Regulations , then

· The WA1500 event rules

The targets:

· Description: Description: webtarget.jpg The WA1500 target measures 580 x 1120 mm overall compared with 470 x 780 mm the PA Service/Black Powder target. This is considerably larger than the PA Service/Black Powder target that we have been using and will not readily fit on the turning target mechanisms that most ranges have in place. Full details of the target.

· It was agreed at the AGM/ECM 25/04/2011 that PA Affiliates can continue to use the PA Service/Black Powder targets for WA1500 until stocks of the WA1500 targets are available.

The Guns and Events:

· The PA Championship events are Revolver 1500 and Pistol 1500

· The ONLY other WA1500 events that we can conduct in Australia are;

o Distinguished Pistol Match

o Distinguished Revolver Match

o Open Match

The 48 and 40 shot matches are NOT approved for PA

· Calibres are limited to 9.65mm maximum by Australian legislation

· Barrel lengths are limited to a minimum for revolvers of 100 mm and 120mm for semi-autos by Australian legislation

Description: Description: wa1500 weight.jpg

Trigger Weights:

The trigger weights for WA1500 are 2½ and 3½ pounds. To avoid confusion at Equipment Control I suggest (strongly!) that you get weights manufactured from hexagonal stock (see pic).

Who can conduct WA1500 in Australia:

1. PA is the ONLY organisation authorised to conduct WA1500 in Australia. PA authorises the PA Affiliates (and nobody else!) to conduct the WA1500 matches.

2. Competitors must be affiliated to PA and must hold a current PA Holster Accreditation.

PA brings WA1500 to Australia as an approved national event:

To provide another international pathway for PA-affiliated members WA1500 was introduced to Australia by PA as a as a demonstration event at the PA Championships, Belmont in 2005 and included as a PA National Championship event in 2006.

State Championships are conducted by the PA Affiliates.

The first National Champion was Davey Oates with a score of 1482-80x.

The current National Records are Revolver 1492-96x (2010 Nationals, Brisbane) held by Don Pollard and 1482 / 82x (2009 Championships, Cessnock) also held by Don Pollard.

PA Affiliation to WA1500

Pistol Australia is the ONLY Australian body affiliated to the international controlling body WA1500 World Association

International Classification (Grade) Database

The international controlling body maintains a listing of shooter classifications (i.e. grades) for all affiliated nations. PA has 300+ affiliated members registered on the international database. PA affiliated shooters can have their grades registered on the international database.

Shooters can have separate grades for revolver and (semi-automatic) pistol.

Development of the WA1500 Event rules

The WA1500 international controlling body was formed Nov. 11, 2000 when the World Indoor Championships were hosted by the BDMP in Germany at the Shooting Center, Leitmar.

From 2000 to 2010, WA1500 operated on rules that were more in the mode of guidelines than the formalised rule structure of most other events.

In November 2010 WA1500 distributed a draft rulebook for comment to the affiliated nations. Subsequently, the WA1500 issued ‘Rulebook WA 1500 Issue 2011-01-01’.has been circulated.

Holster Accreditation

WA1500 is a ‘holster’ event involving the holstering and drawing of loaded handguns: as such, within Australia all shooters who shoot (and/or train) for this event MUST have a current PA Holster Accreditation

Range Officials for WA1500

Given the similarity between PA Service Pistol and WA1500 (they have the same lineage, both being developed from the old FBI 90-shot training course): plus the reality that in Australia most who shoot/officiate/organise either, do so for both, PA Range Officials (RO and Judges) are qualified for Service Pistol are automatically.

Range Officers must adhere to the standard commands as per the WA1500 RO Guide

Scoring WA1500

1. The target

§ If the target used for PA competitions is the PA Service Pistol target with an X-ring, and

§ Shots outside the 7-ring are scored as zeros

2. The Overlays/plug gauges

§ For WA1500, shots are gauged to the bullet diameter

§ ISSF/Service Pistol/Black Powder gauges (plug, skid or overlays) are NOT used for WA1500: they are to different diameters!

§ For WA1500 the gauging diameters are: .32 calibre = .310"–.314", 9mm/38/.357 = .355"–.359"

§ For WA1500 the skid gauge dimensions are: .32 calibre = .465”-.471”, 9mm/38/.357 = .532"–.539"

§ At PA competitions, only a Jury member can use a plug gauge.

3. Close groups

Despite popular misconception (hope?), “...the shooter will automatically be given the benefit of the doubt and scored hits for the non-visible shots, on the assumption they passed through the enlarged hole” is NOT the first step if all the shots cannot be readily located on the target.

§ The first sentence of the rule is quite clear: “...As a general rule only those hits which are visible, will be scored.”

§ Then comes “...An exception will be made in the case where the groupings of 3 or more shots are so close that it is possible for a required shot or shots to have gone through the enlarged hole without leaving a mark and there has been no evidence that a shot or shots have gone elsewhere than through the assigned target. In such case, the shooter will be given the benefit of the doubt and scored hits for he non-visible shots, on the assumption they passed through the enlarged hole”
I have seen scorers jump to the conclusion that they ‘give the benefit’ despite:

· Unnoticed shots on the target, or

· Notation on the target that the shooter did not get all the shots away, or

· Notation on the target that one (or more) of the shots missed the target.

Makes you wonder.

Scoring Xs

The number of Xs and 10s (that are not Xs) are recorded separately on the score sheet – i.e. the X count is not included in the number of 10s.

In practice, this enables:

· The number of shots in each scoring zone (Xs, 10s, 9s, 8s, 7s and 0s) to be totalled and checked against the number of shots expected on a target, and

· Saves having to double count the 10s (including Xs) and Xs.

4. Open W has the option to ‘include Xs in ten count’ (a box found in ‘Competition options’ in ‘competition details’)

NRC resources for WA1500

The NRC has prepared a number of resources for use at PA competitions, including many for ISSF pistol events. For a complete listing, refer to the NRC’s resources page.

WA1500 – Guide for Range Officers