FRONT SIGHT - uspsa

FROM THEEDITORby Dave Thomas, t II\ I N.\ \\ %FRIPSC ColumnThe IPSC/USPSA relationshiphas a checkered history. At times,contention between the two organizationshas threatened to sever theties altogether. Some USPSA membershave expressed the feeling thatthe "tail wags the dog," while IPSCmembers from other countries haveresented USPSA's success coupledwith the American "take it over anddo it right" attitude.As we mature as organizations,we realize that neither of us is theenemy. As gun owners, we do notlack genuine opponents and we arecoming to realize that wasting energyfighting with each other willonly contribute to eventual victorygier-rnipontw.hr ■irpMWOrartwirm,70...70N N. -Prest Precision RPM3334 W McDowell, Suite 24 • Phoenix, AZ 85009ej.swa,‘c 602-352-1845 • www.prestprecision-rpm.comNo Production Line!I custom build firearmsto the specific requirementsof my customersOriginators of:8-Shot 38 Super S&W RevolversGhost Ring Pistol SightsPhantom Point Sights &'Rapid Deployment Lever for BipodsG02-352-1845email@prestprecision-rpm.comfor those who oppose everything webelieve in.Consistent with that spirit of cooperationand reconciliation, we areproud to announce that IROA (InternationalRange Officer Association)Chairman Dave Arnold will bewriting a regular column for FrontSight. Dave will talk to us aboutIPSC history, activities and policies,which I hope will result in a betterunderstanding of our importance toeach other. His first column appearsin this issue beginning on page 5.Dave's involvement with IPSCgoes back to 1977. He was thefounding director of USPSA, servinguntil Dave Stanford's election asUSPSA president in 1984. He wasthe match director of World Shoot•P■iir^rrirmir•Nr••Proud distributors of STI,ADCO and EGW PartsContact me for my current catalog.VI, which was hosted by his homeclub, the Lafayette Gun Club of Virginia.Since then he has served as artofficial at six more world championships.In 1988, he was given the task ofstarting IROA and in 1989 becameits vice president. In 1994, he waselevated to the position of president.In 1997, he was appointed chairmanof IROA with the task of long-termplanning.Dave is a lieutenant in charge oftraining and personnel at a large regionaljail in eastern Virginia. Pleasejoin us in welcoming Dave to thepages of Front Sight.Mail Service(?)We occasionally get calls frompanicky stats officers who havemailed classification reports to usthat we haven't received. Frequentlythese conversations turn mildly unpleasantbecause the mailer assumeswe were careless and lost his material,and we tend to assume that heforgot to mail it or rnisaddressed thepackage. Neither assumption is fair,but human nature being what it is,they are inevitable.Recently we had an object lessonon the subject. A package arrived onFebruary 24 which had been mailedfrom Berry, Ky., with a postmark ofDecember 23, 1997. The package hada note which had obviously been attachedby a postal worker whichsaid, "Found in supposedly emptymail equipment Cincinnati MTEC2/17/98."Unfortunately, the reason for thescores not being received is not relevant;we can't enter what we don'thave and we must have the originalscore sheets. A lesson can be learnedfrom this situation, however, andthat is that we should all try to havea bit more trust and faith in eachother.EDITOR continued on page 30.6 FRONT SIGHT • May/June 1998