Unfortunate circumstances.

R

Randy J.

Guest
As mentioned in Hal D. thread on "hooked", we have some new blood that shined on several occasions. What some may not know, Andy Buzzell, a rookie shooting out the Orrington club in Maine was the leading rookie in SSOY points, about doubling the next rookie competitor, with over 100 points earned. He was originally listed in top place as Rookie of the Year and then the list changed, moving Andy to 4th place if I remember correctly.

Here is what happened. The score committee is charged with setting the rules for both SSOY and Score Rookie or the Year. The rules for attaining points in SSOY changed as they had the past several years. No big deal there, but the rules for SROY was to remain the same. SSOY were posted, but no SROY rules. When they posted the new scoring rules for getting points, it was entitled "Score shooter of the year and Rookie of the year" with the intent to post both sets of rules. Again the ROY rules weren't posted so most of us, myself included, figured the the ROY rules would be the same as SOY rules, assuming the Score Committee consolidated how to define both. Under that assumption Andy Buzzell would be Rookie of the Year as the placements would be determined by the shooter's placement in his/her best 10 events. The rules under which Mr. Tolley was annointed as Rookie of the Year is by virtue of adding their best five scores.

All of this is an unfortunate incident with no one at fault. I believe the score committee is discussing what happened and trying to come up with a resolution that may be fair to both competitors. I hope they do. Randy J.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Steve, rookie of the year for score is relatively new, certainly within only the past 5 years or less as there were none when I started which was 7 years ago. I agree with you that the best 5 scores was used previously. And from the committee's perspective, how they wanted it this year. But when you read on the website for the rules on attaining points and it states "IBS Score Shooter & Rookie of the year 2009 Rules" and you read the it will be your 10 best events, that implies to me that the rules changed. Nothing more was stated for the entire year. Andy Buzzell was listed as being the official top rookie on the parent site for several days, until someone changed it. I know for a fact that he thought he won and I suspect he feels that he has been cheated out of his award. Remember we are talking about Rookies that have shot 2 years or less, so they don't have much perspective of former practices. They only know what they read and see. I feel real badly for Mr. Buzzell. Can you imagine how euphoric he must have been to learn he was Rookie of the Year, and then the low to know he lost it....without an explanation that seems just. I also don't think it is fair to take it away from Mr. Tolley now that he has been identified as the winner. That would be just as cruel. What does seem fair and reasonable to me in light of how this all happened is to have two awards for this year, co-rookies and award both people. Otherwise one is slighted and will always have a sour taste in his mouth. For the cost of a plaque, the problem could be solved. I hope the scoring committee sees fit to honor both. Randy J.
 
Rule changes

Keep changing the rules and the members of the commities and guess what happens? :mad:

Paul C. Ryan
 
Randy, I certainly am not arguing the point with you as I agree that the whole thing is unfortunate and I hope they come to a solution that doesn't leave a bad taste in anyones mouth. I have also wondered why they didn't just use the top finishing rookie in the SSOY points as well, It seems that it would be a better method. This whole thing was just a failure to communicate, nothing underhanded on anyones part and hopefully it won't be repeated. To Cassidy,as for changing the members of the committee's, I think we have excellent people in place and that they are doing a good job. They are not perfect but I haven't heard any of them claim to be and if you are perfect put your name in the ring for a leadership role. Steve
 
Rookie of the Year-Points or 5 Best Raw Scores

Hi to all IBS Score Shooters,

I joined IBS on 5/24/2009 and for that reason I am hesitant to give my 2 cents worth on the controversy about Score Rookie of the Year. However, the very fact that I am new to the sport may give me a slightly different perspective than the veteran shooters. I want to congratulate Andy Buzzell, who is Rookie of the Year based on having the highest point total over his 10 best events. I also want to congratulate Kevin Tolley (my brother-in-law) who is Rookie of the Year (at least in my mind) based on having the highest raw score over his 5 best matches. I can tell you that I have not read the 2009 version of the rules that determines how the Score Shooter of the Year is determined nor how the Rookie Score Shooter of the Year is determined.

If the rules for Rookie Score Shooter of the Year were changed to coincide with Score Shooter of the Year rules, then there is no controversy. Mr Buzzell won. If, however, the 2009 rules for Rookie Shooter of the Year remained as they have for the past several years, then Mr. Tolley won. If the rules were not changed for rookie shooters, but the IBS website listed the rules as being the same for rookies as for veteran score shooters, then I think that both, Mr. Buzzell and Mr. Tolley, should be recognized (could be recognized as a transition year).

From my point of view there is a case to be made for both formats for determining Score Rookie Shooter of the Year. On the one hand, it follows that rookie shooters should be judged the same way that veteran shooters are, that is, by accumulating the most points over their best 10 events. On the other hand, if you want to give more shooters a chance at achieving Score Rookie Shooter of the Year honors, then you might want to consider the format of choosing the raw score in their 5 best matches. As many of you may remember, as a rookie shooter you are trying out the sport to see if it is something that you may want to commit to. You usually start out with a factory rifle and you usually only shoot matches that are close to your home and usually only the one day events. If a veteran shooter is able to "get you hooked on HVFS/LVFS", then the money starts to flow. Most rookie shooters would have an opportunity to shoot enough matches to compete for Rookie Shooter of the Year based on his 5 best raw scores. I believe this format would generate more excitement among rookie shooters and it does encourage them to shoot more 100 yard matches (to get the high X scores). It is much easier building confidence at 100 yards than at 200 and 300 yard matches. Earlier success would be achieved at the shorter distance and further encourage rookie shooters to continue in the sport. Conversely, as I have observed with the Score Shooter of the Year format, most of us could not even dream about competing for that honor until we retire. You would have to focus a lot of attention on as many state championships as possible and it would definitely give you a leg up if you were able to compete at the national events. As most all of these events require at least 2 days and the ones that are far away would require probably 3 to 4 days to attend, most rookies would never have a chance to shoot in more than 2 of these events in a season.

Whew! That's as much as I have written at one time since college. I respectfully submit these comments with the hope that whatever format we choose for Score Rookie of the Year going forward, that it will be clear to all of us who are competing for the honor.

Wayne Spellman
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The reason I started the other thread was because of what was posted on the website a few days ago, obviously. Actually, in reading the rules earlier in the year, I never noticed a separate category for Rookie shooter this year. I just assumed Wayne France would do the calculations as it had been done in the past. I've actually been pestering him for a few weeks about it, as the winter meeting is getting close. Regardless of how the final standings turned up, obviously we have some new shooters that are on the rise. Congrats goes out to Andy and Kevin for their fine shooting last year. Another new shooter that we are all gonna see more of is Shinny Shinglock. He had a great year as well last year, and if it wasn't for the lack of some match reports being sent to Wayne, he would have finished higher on the list.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top