Volume: 17, Issue: 1 (1st Quarter 2013) - IDPA.com

From a Woman’s Perspective
IDPA Club...”
by Kitty Richards A18564
me shoot his Glock. I had my pistol permit since 1998
but never did anything with it. As soon as I shot his
Glock - I was hooked and the next week bought my
Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm. That is when I meet
Trish as she is in charge of the pistol permits, we hit it
off instantly!”
Starting an IDPA Club was a great idea, and
Trish explains how they began. “My friend, Keith,
convinced me to shoot an IDPA match in Dutchess
County after we had completed our first shooting
lesson. We attended IDPA several times, which is
where we met the match director, Russ Leibler and
professional shooter, Mark Redl, who shoots for Colt.
I enjoyed the competition so much that I wanted to go
every chance I could. However, it was tough to make
it to the club matches on time after work because it
was over an hour away. I began looking for similar
shooting sports in our area and found none, so I
approached Keith about helping me start up something
in Hudson. I was already a member of a club, it had
a good range, and I knew that I could recruit a ton of
people who I would meet through work. All I needed
was the experienced shooter to be a safety officer and
Keith was more than willing. Russ and Mark came to
our initial meetings to present IDPA to the Board of
Directors. In less than two months we were up and
running and held our first match with 23 shooters in
attendance.”
Trish was motivated by what she saw at work:
“From my position as Pistol Permit Clerk, I have seen
a huge increase in hand gun owners and daily requests
for information on where people could go to learn
how to shoot. The fact that large numbers of people
who carry did not have a clue how to properly draw,
shoot and move with their gun in a safe manner was a
concern to me. The recent surge in permit holders, (a
large percentage being women), gave me the idea to
address the issue in such a way that it was seen as a
need to be safe and a fun sport.”
(Continued on page 32)
IDPA Tactical Journal First Quarter 2013 9