Handing Over $20 to Shoot the January New Holland IDPA Match

Back in December I put together a blog post outlining my thoughts on Local IDPA Clubs Raising Match Fees. Since that post was published, I’ve been going back and forth on how I want to handle the situation.

A part of me felt that I voiced my displeasure and should just suck up the $5 increase and get on with shooting. Another part of me wanted to stick to my guns, no pun intended, and take my money elsewhere. There is no shortage of IDPA Clubs in my area and finding another club that presented a better value shouldn’t be all that difficult. The biggest downside to turning my back on these clubs would be that I would also be turning my back on the people that I enjoy shooting with.

After thinking long and hard, I decided that I needed a little variety in my shooting. Rather than going to the January New Holland IDPA Match, I would instead take a drive out to Guthsville Rod and Gun Club and see what their IDPA program had to offer. Both matches were held on the same day and NEPA IDPA Scores listed a similar average stage and round count. On paper it looked as if I would be shooting the same match but only paying $15 to shoot at Gusthsville.

I was genuinely bummed out when I made the decision to pass on the New Holland IDPA Match. It meant that I wouldn’t be shooting with the Angrypig Shooting Team, Matt Olinchak, or Mark and Annette Evans. The part that stung the most was the thought of walking away from Mark and Annette’s program. I’ve shot USPSA with them, respect them, and want to support their program at New Holland.

My decision was made and I was going to shoot IDPA at Guthsville Rod and Gun Club. That was the plan right up until I received an email alert from NEPA IDPA Scores which explained Guthsville would not be running any IDPA Matches until their Spring Classifier. this meant that if I wanted to shoot a match that weekend, it was going to be New Holland or no match at all. I buckled and handed over $20 to shoot the New Holland IDPA Match.

Icy spots in the pistol bays meant stages with minimal movement. There were eight stages in all with what I believe was a ninety round minimum. After the match there was discussion of adding regularly occurring side matches, as result of positive feedback from the Rifle Side Match held in December. I’m glad to see that New Holland is offering more for the money and I hope that 8 Stages (Before the side matches – pretty please?) becomes commonplace.

I realize that I’m making a big deal out of a $5 increase but as I said before, it is the principle of the matter. New Holland has a good program with very little to complain about. The Match Directors pay attention to the wants and needs of their shooters, scores are generally posted within 48 hours, and there is very little in the way of standing around at matches. If the stages continue to be as fun as they were this month (and as plentiful – before the side matches that I’m not sure I’ll participate in due to lack of long-guns), you won’t hear another complaint out of me about the price of admission.

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