| USPSA 14th Edition Rules |
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Occasional disputes are inevitable in any competitive activity governed by rules,. It is recognized that at the more significant levels of competition, emotions run high, and the outcome is much more important to the individual competitor. However, effective match administration and planning will prevent most if not all disputes.
Protests may be submitted for arbitration in accordance with the following sections for any matter except the actual scoring of targets. However, protests arising from a disqualification for a safety infraction will only be accepted to determine whether or not an infraction as described by the range official was in fact unsafe. The commission of the infraction may not be protested.
Decisions are made initially by the Range Officer. If the complainant disagrees with a decision, the Chief Range Officer for the stage or area in question should be summoned and asked to rule. If a disagreement still exists, the Range Master or Match Director must be summoned and asked to rule.
Decisions are made initially by the Range Officer. If the complainant disagrees with a decision, the Chief Range Officer for the stage or area in question should be summoned and asked to rule. If a disagreement still exists, the Range Master must be summoned and asked to rule.
Should the complainant continue to dispute the decision they may appeal to the Arbitration Committee by submitting a first party protest.
A complainant may inform the Range Master or Match Director of their wish to present the case to the Arbitration Committee and may request that the officials retain any and all relevant documents pending the hearing.
The complainant is responsible for the preparation and delivery of the written submission, together with the appropriate fee. Both must be submitted to the Range Master or Match Director within the specified period of time.
Any match official in receipt of a request for arbitration shall, without delay, inform the Range Master or Match Director and shall note the identities of all witnesses and officials involved and pass this information on to the Range Master.
Range Master or Match Director will, upon receiving the report of the pending arbitration, convene the Arbitration Committee in a place of privacy as soon as convenient.
Composition of an Arbitration Committee should be:
IPSC President or their appointee as Chairman of the committee with no vote.
Three experienced arbitrators appointed by the President or the Match Director with one vote each.
When possible arbitrators should shoot the entire match and should be IROA Officials.
Written requests for arbitration must be submitted to the Range Master or Match Director within one hour of the disputed incident or occurrence. Failure to present the required documentation within the time specified will render the request invalid and no further action will be taken.
The Committee must reach a decision within 24 hours of the request for arbitration or before the final match scores are posted, which ever comes first. If the Committee fails to render a decision within the prescribed period, a first party complainant shall automatically succeed and a third party complainant (see 11.7) shall automatically fail in their arbitration request. Any late decision will result in the return of the fee to the complainant.
For International Matches, the protest fee to enable a competitor to go to Arbitration shall be $100.00 (U.S. funds) or local equivalent. The protest fee for other matches may be set by the Match Organizers, but may not exceed $100 (U.S. funds).
If the Committee's decision is to uphold the protest, the fee paid will be returned. If the committee's decision is to deny the protest, the fee paid will be held forfeit. Forfeited protest fees along with the submission and decision for National events will be forwarded the National Range Officers Institute (NROI). Forfeited protest fees along with the submission and decision for International events (Level III and higher) will be forwarded to the International Range Officers Association (IROA).
The Committee will study the written submission and retain on behalf of the organizers the monies paid by the complainant until a decision has been reached.
The Committee will then require the complainant to personally give further details of the submission and may question him/her on any point relevant to the dispute.
The complainant will then be asked to withdraw while the Committee hears further evidence.
The Committee will then hear match officials as well as any other witnesses involved in the dispute. The Committee will examine all evidence submitted.
The Committee may question witnesses and officials on any point relevant to the dispute.
Committee members will refrain from expressing any opinion or verdict while a dispute in progress.
The Committee may view any range or area related to the dispute and require any person or official they regard as useful to the process to accompany them.
Any person attempting to influence the members of the Committee in any way other than evidence may be subject to disciplinary action.
When the Committee is satisfied that they are in possession of all information and evidence relevant to the dispute, they will deliberate privately and will reach their decision by majority vote.
When a decision is reached by the Committee, they will summon the complainant, the official, and the Range Master or Match Director to present their judgment.
It shall be the responsibility of the Range Master or Match Director to implement the Committee's decision. The Range Master or Match Director shall advise the appropriate match personnel who will post the decision in a place available to all competitors. The decision is not retroactive and will not affect any incidents prior to the decision.
The decision of the Committee shall be final and may not be protested, unless in the opinion of the Range Master or Match Director new evidence received after the decision warrants reconsideration.
Decisions of the Arbitration Committee shall be recorded and shall provide precedent for any similar and subsequent incident during that match.
Appeals may also be submitted by other persons on a "third party protest" basis. In such cases, all provisions of this section shall otherwise remain in force.
Interpretation of these rules and regulations is the responsibility of IPSC. The IROA offices will issue any required explanations and clarifications as necessary.
Persons seeking clarification of any rule shall be required to submit their questions in writing, either by fax, letter or by email to IPSC.
All appendices included herein shall form an integral part of these rules.
English is the official language of IPSC. Should there be discrepancies between the English language version of these rules and versions presented in other languages, the English language version shall prevail.
| USPSA 14th Edition Rules |
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