I didn't have the misfortune to shoot this championship so not taking any sides in the quality of the targets, refereeing, organisation etc, enough has been said here and elsewhere so we can get a pretty good idea it wasn't a resounding success. I do think though that some of their problems owe a little to the nature of their set up so here I just want to highlight some of them and maybe naively make some suggestions.
I have always felt that the mechanical side and process of shooting Southdown feels slow compared to most other places and that is probably not helped by the nature of the very narrow track which makes up the main portion of the ground. Basically this means people are in each others way a great deal of the time, the other thing is the very odd build of some of the stands including at least one platform where it is impossible to see the birds unless you climb up to the top, in fact even to merely hand in your score card you need to brush past several people rubber necking on the steps (not ideal at all).
Should this platform not have been built with steps a lot wider to allow free flow of people ? Should the vegetation immediately around the platform be trimmed to avoid people clambering to see things before their turn ? Would it make sense (for regular reg shoots anyway) to have 2 score card boards, one at the foot of the platform where newly arrived shooters can quickly place their cards and simply swap boards with the ref as the one in his hand empties ? Would it be possible to alter some platforms to have a clear IN and OUT route ?
I have noticed also that they have several gun racks which are wholly unsuitable for the job owing to the fact that being belt and braces means you need to manipulate a closed gun under and into the rack. I can understand their desire to avoid being sued by someone whose gun falls and gets damaged but if they're not being used then get rid of them as space around the stands seems to be at a premium anyway.
Next is the bizarre set up of some of the benches, huge well constructed things that are turned tight in and facing the birds so as to make actually using them impossible; if you're lucky the ref may be occupying a part of it but a useable bench it isn't, why not just have single chairs for the refs if you don't want people to use the benches ? Get rid and open up the space.
Another stand I can think of involves stepping down and features a very narrow passage with the inevitable bottle neck of waiting shooters trying to spot a suitable time to hand in their card to the ref tucked away below and sat in the corner of another unuseable bench !
Yet another stand is all but invisible from the track and which is accessed by a twisting narrow walkway with barely enough standing space behind it to even allow the following shooter to get a look see ??!! Here you regularly see people having to wait for others to pass and I bet it has a disproportionately high number of people asking to see pairs.
Those quads look larger than some others I have seen, assuming the ground has had the foresight to place enough clay boxes at the foot of the traps needing to be refilled, then could push bikes be enough to get staff around, at least on the narrow track areas ?
Finally, not a time and motion issue but this business of sun affected stands, is it really that hard to ensure that areas of the ground affected by the sun are NOT used for throwing anything too high ?
I have always felt that the mechanical side and process of shooting Southdown feels slow compared to most other places and that is probably not helped by the nature of the very narrow track which makes up the main portion of the ground. Basically this means people are in each others way a great deal of the time, the other thing is the very odd build of some of the stands including at least one platform where it is impossible to see the birds unless you climb up to the top, in fact even to merely hand in your score card you need to brush past several people rubber necking on the steps (not ideal at all).
Should this platform not have been built with steps a lot wider to allow free flow of people ? Should the vegetation immediately around the platform be trimmed to avoid people clambering to see things before their turn ? Would it make sense (for regular reg shoots anyway) to have 2 score card boards, one at the foot of the platform where newly arrived shooters can quickly place their cards and simply swap boards with the ref as the one in his hand empties ? Would it be possible to alter some platforms to have a clear IN and OUT route ?
I have noticed also that they have several gun racks which are wholly unsuitable for the job owing to the fact that being belt and braces means you need to manipulate a closed gun under and into the rack. I can understand their desire to avoid being sued by someone whose gun falls and gets damaged but if they're not being used then get rid of them as space around the stands seems to be at a premium anyway.
Next is the bizarre set up of some of the benches, huge well constructed things that are turned tight in and facing the birds so as to make actually using them impossible; if you're lucky the ref may be occupying a part of it but a useable bench it isn't, why not just have single chairs for the refs if you don't want people to use the benches ? Get rid and open up the space.
Another stand I can think of involves stepping down and features a very narrow passage with the inevitable bottle neck of waiting shooters trying to spot a suitable time to hand in their card to the ref tucked away below and sat in the corner of another unuseable bench !
Yet another stand is all but invisible from the track and which is accessed by a twisting narrow walkway with barely enough standing space behind it to even allow the following shooter to get a look see ??!! Here you regularly see people having to wait for others to pass and I bet it has a disproportionately high number of people asking to see pairs.
Those quads look larger than some others I have seen, assuming the ground has had the foresight to place enough clay boxes at the foot of the traps needing to be refilled, then could push bikes be enough to get staff around, at least on the narrow track areas ?
Finally, not a time and motion issue but this business of sun affected stands, is it really that hard to ensure that areas of the ground affected by the sun are NOT used for throwing anything too high ?
