FRONT SIGHT - uspsa

y Dave Arnold, IROA CHAiRMANH ave you ever watched adog chasing madly aftera car? I used to wonderwhat the dog would feellike if it caught the car. After beinginvolved in a World Shoot, I beganto have a really good idea of whatthe dog might be getting itself into.In the previous issue, I discussedthe frantic first year of operation forUSPSA/NROI, and I related how itcame to pass that the United Stateswas to serve as host for the sixthWorld Championship of the InternationalPractical Shooting Confederation.Now allow me to take a fewminutes of your time to share withyou how the event developed.After getting over the initialshock of having this major eventdropped into our laps, it was time tostart immediate planning. We hadjust nine months until September1983 when shooters from all comersof IPSC would descend on theChesapeake Bay area of Virginia.While nine months seems neverendingwhile waiting for the birth ofa child, when it comes to planninginternational events it's a small dropin the bucket of time. Our first orderof business was to gather intelligenceon previous events. RegionalDirector Jake Jatras had attended aworld championship and severallarge international competitions.Obviously he would be a primesource for the details required tomake this thing happen. With penand notepad handy, I placed a callto Jake at his Iowa office. The conversationwent something like this.Jake - "Ahhh, hello? What is it?Huuhh?"Being approximately 10:30 localtime in downtown Iowa on a Mondaymorning, one would expect Jaketo sound a bit more awake. Beingever optimistic, I decided to press onin hopes of getting off to a good startwhile I was all fired up.Dave - "Good morning, Jake. It'sDave, and I need to ask you a bunchof questions about the world championshipwe're having."Jake - "The what ship? Who isthis?" At this point I began to thinkJake might be on medication forsome health condition. He soundedrnore disoriented than usual.Dave - "Jake, it's Dave Arnold.And I need details about the big pistolmatch you spoke up for lastweek."Jake - "Dave who?"Further questioning revealedthat Jake had returned from a matchin Nebraska the previous eveningand had indeed taken some medicationto stave off the possibility ofpneumonia while crossing the GreatPlains back to Sioux City. I determinedthe medication was providedhy August Busch and Jose Cuervo,SPEEDMASTERThree Models• CUSTOM• OPTICAL• MATCHon\Three Calibers45 ACP, 40S&W, 38SBAR STOCK SLIDESSpeed Master • 4726 Jacksboro Hwy • Wichita Falls, TX 76302Free Brochure(940) 723-3100 Fax: (940) 723-2719iNSIDEI PSCwhich accounted for the confusion.As the cobwebs began to clear, I wasable to get more of a start on thehuge task ahead. Jake noted thatSouth Africa had done an excellentjob in the presentation of the 1981match in Roodeport and suggested Icontact Ross Seyfried for more information.in addition to winning thechampionship in 1981, Ross had becomegreat friends with severalSouth Africans.Fortunately Roggen, Colo., hadtelephones at this time so dependenceon the pony express rider wasminimized. Keep in mind that in1983 the fax machine was not inwidespread use and e-mail was unheardof. Ross was able to fill in lotsof gaps in our knowledge base. Oneof the most important things he didwas to impress upon us the importanceof international competition. Theshooters who earned the right torepresent their respective nations inpractical shooting were certainly entitledto the same courtesy and considerationafforded those participatingin recognized Olympic contests.Ross further suggested I contact theSouth African Regional Director,INSIDE NROI continued on page 71.Dealer Pricing AvailableNovember/December 1998 • FRONT SIGHT 5