These rules supersede those of September 2011. The changes relate the following subjects:
Match Fees
Eligibility
Course of Fire/Range Capacity for Visitors
Awards
The OVPL was established in 1960 to provide a means of local competition among the target shooting clubs of the Ottawa area. It serves that purpose by scheduling head-to-head matches between club teams in a league format, which results in the declaration of an annual champion. The League also serves to introduce improving club members to inter-club and open competition in a friendly, low cost environment.
Please note that range availability might make it necessary to alter the schedule, the course of fire and/or the format of the league in mid-season.
Schedule of Matches
Unless an unbalanced schedule is used, each team is scheduled to meet each of the others twice, one time as host and once as visitor. Our season runs from September to the end of June. All the clubs have events of their own so no matches will be rescheduled by the League. In the event of a team wishing to change the date of a match, it will be up to that team to persuade the other team (that was ready to meet at the scheduled date).
Course of Fire
OVPL matches will be conducted using two relays. Excepted, are matches run at locations such as Arnprior. Smaller ranges can use up to three relays, because experience shows that the extra relay can be run and the match will still finish in about three hours altogether. This allows the match to accommodate a good number of shooters, despite having a small firing line.
The League’s usual course of fire combines rimfire and centre‑fire shooting for competition between teams. The course of fire for each club is detailed in the table, “Courses of Fire,” below. Women and Juniors may shoot Sport Pistol, in place of Centre-Fire, at their discretion. Men may do so as well, but restrictions might apply (see Scoring).
When a range permits only .22, or when one of the teams shoots only smallbore, all shooters will shoot ISSF Sport Pistol.
Match Fees
The host team will collect a nominal fee per shooter at each match ($5.00 for 2014-15). It may be paid by the individuals or by the club involved. The fee is waived for anyone shooting their first OVPL match. Juniors shoot free of charge, for all their OVPL matches. The fees are used to provide the awards at the conclusion of the season. Of the fees collected, $1.00 per entry will be sent to the Legal Fund of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA, formerly the OHA).
Note: If fewer than two complete teams attend, and it is decided not to shoot, the fees must still be collected and submitted. To qualify for individual awards, a minimum number of matches must be attended. Report the names and submit the fees and credit for attendance will be assured. If no one attends from the host team (Yes, it’s happened), the visitor must submit the report.
It is the responsibility of the host team to ensure that:
Match fees are collected and submitted;
Targets and Range Officers are provided;
Targets are scored;
Results are submitted, with a copy provided to the visitor;
Refreshments are provided.
The results and fees are to be submitted to the League Secretary (see Deadline, below).
Team Composition
Any current member of a club may shoot in that team’s match when invited by the team, provided he or she has not already shot a match with another team that season. In some circumstances, a non-member may also be permitted to shoot for a team. To avoid conflicts, appeals and retroactive decisions, the League Secretary should be aware of the proposed addition to the team, well in advance of the match. All the teams should be advised. This provision could increase the number of shooters on a small team. It could also afford an interested individual the opportunity to participate without persuading his/her club to field a team.
A regulation team is one with at least four members present. However, teams must respect the maximum team size that can be accommodated by the host’s range. The table of clubs, courses and capacities lists maximum size of teams.
Competition Rules
The League’s rules follow the competition rules as stated in the ISSF and NRA/CDN 1800 rulebooks, but with a number of modifications. This is to be expected with conditions of time, space, equipment, etc. as restricted as they are. Please consider the spirit of the rules and the nature of the League when resolving any questions that might arise.
One rule requires special attention, at this point. Among other relevant requirements, a safety rule indicates that no ammunition be placed in any gun or magazine before the command, “LOAD!” Unless otherwise specified, this rule applies to all OVPL match relays,
regardless of the official rules for that type of relay. This means that it applies to NRA style relays, in addition to the ISSF ones.
OVPL matches do not provide sighting shots.
“Are you ready?” is Gone
Some time ago, a change to the rules for Standard Pistol, Sport Pistol and Centre-Fire removed this question from shooting series’ commands.
Each series now begins with an announcement of the series and the command, “Load.” After one minute, in Standard Pistol and the Rapid Fire stage of Sport/C-F, the call is “Attention!” Seven seconds later, the signal to commence firing is given. Note, under normal circumstances, no further announcement is required between “Load” and “Attention!”
The Precision Stage of Sport Pistol/Centre-Fire begins with the commence firing signal, following the load time. The time limit is 5 minutes per series. If a malfunction occurs in this stage, the unfired rounds are fired afterwards. The time limit is 1 minute per shot.
The rules can be read from the ISSF site on the internet at:
http://www.issf-shooting.org/theissf/rules.ashx#/315/
Equipment
The targets used for League matches must be similar in colour and quality to those sold by the SFC and the NRA. Simple photocopies make scoring very difficult.
A blend of the rules is used to specify the permitted guns. ISSF restrictions apply to sights and calibre; barrel length, sight radius and trigger weight must comply with the 1800 specs. No barrel venting is permitted.
Malfunctions and Alibis
In the NRA style relay, one alibi is permitted in the combined Timed and Rapid Fire targets. In the Slow Fire target, an individual may clear a jam personally, and continue.
For the ISSF courses, one malfunction will be allowed during each three target relay. This differs from the official rules, which regulate the number in each stage.
In 2005, the ISSF rules removed the provisions for re-fires related to non-allowable malfunctions. Once a malfunction is ruled ‘non-allowable’, the series is complete.
The ISSF has offered an interesting clarification for scoring a target, which is incomplete because of a malfunction during a re-fire. From the ISSF,
“The Spirit of the Rules is that no shooter should be able to gain any advantage after a malfunction (hence the need to fire all five shots within the time allowed in any repetition situation). However, it is not intended that any shooter, having had one ALLOWABLE MALFUNCTION (AM) and having to count the lowest value shots, should be further penalised.”
Here’s their example:
If a Standard Pistol shooter gets “9, 10, 10, 10, Allowable Malfunction”, and then in the repetition gets “9, Malfunction”, he must be given a score of 38. That is the lowest valued four shots on the target, and one zero for the “fifth” shot that was never fired.
The clarification applies to rules 8.8.4.5.2.1.2 and 8.8.4.5.2.1.6. The result is that in the case of an incomplete series because of a second malfunction, scorers do not have to account for unfired shots from the repeated series (the ‘alibi run’).
Courses of Fire
| Team | .22 Course | C-F Course | Visitors’ Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arnprior | Gallery Course | Centre-Fire | 9 |
| NCRRA | TBA* | TBA* | 12 |
| EOSC | Standard Pistol | Centre-Fire | 8 |
| RA | Standard Pistol | Centre-Fire | 12 |
| Smiths Falls (SF Fish & Game) |
Standard Pistol | Centre-Fire | 8 |
| Smiths Falls (SF Handgun) |
Standard Pistol | Centre-Fire | 10 |
Notes:
Each of the courses listed is three targets long. Standard Pistol has one target at each time limit. Centre-Fire and Sport Pistol have one Precision target and two Rapid Fire targets.
*TBA: NCRRA’s course of fire is uncertain. For .22, it was changed to the Gallery Course at a meeting of OVPL teams in August 2008. The decision stipulated that the Slow Fire target would be fired at the same distance as the Timed and Rapid Fire targets, usually 25 yards. In 2014, clarified range facilities/rules indicated that targets at 25 yards/metres could only be used from an uncovered firing point. NCRRA will propose a course of fire each season.
Scoring, Ties and the Championship
A committee of members from both teams will score the targets. The team score is the sum of the four best aggregate scores of the team members who shot the match. Only a regulation team can win a match. A regulation team is one with at least four members present. Although a shoot may proceed for fun, a non-regulation team cannot win the match. They forfeit the event. There is no provision for adding another score should a team only field fewer than four individuals.
Except for matches where Sport Pistol is the course of fire, if a team has men shooting Sport Pistol, it may include no more than one such shooter’s score. There is no limit on the number of Ladies/Juniors whose scores may be included in the Team Score.
Example
If a teams’ shooters’ results were ranked this way:
1. A man’s Sport Pistol score
2. A Centre-Fire score
3. A Junior’s Sport Pistol score
4. A man’s Sport Pistol score
5. A Centre-Fire score
6. A lady’s Sport Pistol score
The Team Score would be the total of 1, 2, 3 and 5.
Score No. 4 would be disregarded because the team already has counted a man’s Sport Pistol score.
Only one optional man’s Sport Pistol score may be used.
A team can use as many Ladies and Juniors as they have, provided their scores rank highest. Their Sport Pistol scores carry the same weight as the Centre-Fire, but no more. In this example, No. 6 would still have to score higher than No. 5 to qualify for the Team Score.
If no shooting is done, the match could have a number of results, depending on the reason(s):
Unexpected circumstances prevent shooting: no result – reschedule the match;
Low attendance: each non-regulation team (fewer than four members) scores a loss.
If one team meets the minimum team size, they would score a win.
Other reasons: both teams score a loss.
Note: the number of losses is especially significant with an unbalanced schedule.
A date for rescheduling a match should be made in advance of the shoot. Other outcomes are possible by appealing to the Secretary. A majority decision by the remaining teams will determine the result.)
Ties will be broken by countback of the four scores for each team, beginning with the second Rapid Fire target from the C-F/Sport segment. Should the tie persist through all six
targets, the result will be a tie.
The League Championship is based on teams’ records of wins and losses. In the event of a tie, the clubs’ records against each other will be used. If the records are identical, the team scores from the matches among the contenders will be compared. If the teams are still tied, the Secretary will break the tie.
An Unbalanced Schedule is one in which each team is not required to meet each of the others twice. The teams might be scheduled to meet just once. The teams might not be scheduled with the same number of matches. Several variations of an unbalanced schedule are possible, but it might not be equitable to use the number of wins to rank the teams. If the schedule is unbalanced, the standings and League Championship will be determined as follows:
Fewest losses (unless disqualified by no. forfeits*)
Head to head record
As before, if the teams are still tied, the Secretary will break the
tie.
*With an unbalanced schedule, a team can have no more than one loss by default, to be eligible for the OVPL championship. That is, a team can be allowed to forfeit just once (bad weather, failure to host, no regulation team, etc.).
The season deadline for submitting match reports (scores and fees) will vary with the schedule. The date will be announced by the Secretary.
It takes some time to prepare the awards. Please get the reports and fees in to the Secretary promptly. Without a report, it means that no one from either team was there and both teams lost. See the host team’s responsibilities.
Conflicts and Protests
If a point of dispute cannot be resolved, a protest can be submitted to the League Secretary. If the League Rules or procedures are in doubt, the visitors should contest the match according to the host team’s position, “under protest”. The Secretary will then rule on the visitor’s protest. The Secretary may reverse the outcome of the match.
Note: target scores, as determined by the scoring committee for a match, will be final. Please consider the spirit of the rules and the nature of the League when resolving disputed scores.
Awards
The League declares its champion at the end of the season. In addition, individual awards for high average and most improved are presented. Eligibility for individual awards requires participation in a minimum of three matches or half the number of matches his/her team fired.
Optional Sport Pistol scores will be excluded from the score calculations for individual awards. Matches where a man chose to shoot Sport Pistol in place of Centre-Fire will not be included in determining his average.
October 2014