Divisions

The whole concept of divisions, classes, or whatever you want to call them, can be made way too complicated. For our purposes, we believe in the KISS principle. When ever something, whatever it is, is split into smaller pieces, those pieces are divisions of the original. When you take the entire number of shooter’s entries and break them out into different groups according to specific criteria, to us, those are divisions. Certainly, it can be said that when one of those divisions is further divided into smaller divisions, those smaller divisions could be referred to as sub-divisions. However, for our purposes, we do not differentiate between divisions, sub-divisions, sub-subdivisions, and so on. Everything is a division, even if it is a part of a larger division. Sure, you can also call them classes if you like, but we will call them divisions.

There are two basic kinds of divisions, those based on hardware, or in other words, the firearm being fired, and those based upon characteristics of the shooters themselves. The  hardware divisions may be defined by the type of firearm, such as rifle, pistol, or revolver, or they may be based upon the type of sight, or other characteristics of the firearm.

The second kind of division differentiation is based upon the characteristics of the individual shooter. Examples of this type of differentiation would include juniors, seniors, super- seniors, ladies, and defenders.

When you combine all of the possible combinations and permutations you can come up with a whole lot of divisions. In smaller matches, some of those divisions may have few if any entries. However, even if a particular division has only one entry, that entries should be shown showing the division in the final scoring. That does not mean, however, that the specific lone entry necessarily qualifies for trophies or awards.

When a class has a small number of entries, divisions may be combined at the match directors discretion for the purpose of trophies and awards. I think that this is a problem only in the short term, and that as the Association grows, so will the number of entries in the major matches.

The following chart will illustrate how the Hardware division is set up.

 

ISSA Hardware Divisions Chart 2016

 

 ISSA Shooter Divisions are as follows:

Ladies (L)

Junior (JR) – Under 18

Senior (SR) – 55 to 64

Super Senior (SS) – 65 and above

Defender (DF) – Full time law enforcement, full time firefighters, active duty military