Greetings all,

I have said it before, and I will say it again, this is one of my very favorite matches anywhere in the world! There is just something about the Rio Salado shooting range that make you feel you are at the very heart of IPSC shooting.
In very few other places will you find such a large group of shooting enthusiasts all working together the make their match a success. And the props at their disposal seem endless: Cars, helicopters, houses and walls, and all the stages set up with the stunning wild background of the Arizona desert, with its unique cactuses and plants. Truly beautiful.

The desert classic has become so popular a match, that the slots are gone the first day registration opens. In fact, the organizes had to revert to raffling the slots among all those who sign up. No choice really, but many were left out and unhappy. This raffle was perhaps in part why many of the top shooters did not attend. Although, having said that, there were over 35 GM shooters, which is a respectable number for any area match.

For me, this was my 4th time competing at the Desert Classic, and I had finished 2nd twice before. This time, it was mine to win! I shot a good clean match, without any major errors, and was steady enough to win overall Open against a strong field of young and hungry GM shooters. Granted, US champions Max Michel and Chris Tilley were not there, but still I am proud to have won my first Area match in the USA!

The match itself was run like clockwork in near perfect weather. It is often cold in the desert in the early morning, and we did start early, shooting the first stage at 06:50. But this year, even that early, a sweater was hardly needed at all, and most showed up in their T-shirts and shorts from the start. Blue skies all day long, goes without saying.

The match challenged the shooters with 11 interesting stages, of which only one small stage, two medium and all the rest large stages of 28, 30 or 32 rounds. The big stages were great fun, although, perhaps not as tactically challenging as in previous years. Rumor has it that some competitors in previous years were complaining that the stages were too tactical and too difficult to memorize, so the match designers made it a little easier for the average shooters this year. A pity in my opinion, as the tactical stages are the most interesting to me. Oh well, still a great match, with very good stages indeed.

For example on stage 3 the shooter started seated on the edge of a helicopter ( a real one, although not in flying condition?), ran forward shooting left and right, with some tough precise positions. Then was forced to climb thought a truck type vehicle, in one door, out the other side to engage the front part of the stage. The front end of this stage was where things became tactical, as there were multiple ports and multiple options to engage the targets. Great stage!

Most matches in the USA allow the competitors more time on the stages than we usually get in Europe, and it's a good thing too! Some stages are too tough and stressful to try and figure out in just 5 minutes, so most of us were out the day before, to study the stages and learn the target positions. An important thing to do when possible.

No report about this match could be complete without a few words about the prize table. I believe it is probably the biggest in any USPSA match, although, having not shot them all, I may be wrong. Rows and rows of tables loaded with tens of thousands of dollars of product awaited the shooters at the awards ceremony, there was a separate table for each division and shooters were called up in order of finish to take their pick. There must have been well over 50 guns on the prize table, reloading machines, even a kiss bullet feeder. And so much more. On the negative side, I would mention that there did not seem to a "big" prize for the match winners in each division. I ended with an XD pistol, which is nice of course, but so did 16th place in Limited? So that was a little disappointing in a way. But then again, we don't shoot for the prizes, not in this sport!

For me, this trip was more than just the match. I also took the time to visit my sister and her family in CA, and then after the match Angus and I borrowed some motorbikes (thanks John, you're the best!!!) and had a blast riding around for two days, up to Sedona and back.

So now I am on my way back, were lots a work awaits. But I totally enjoyed this match and my 5 days in Phoenix, and look forward to return again.

Oh, and by the way: Double-Alpha Academy will be producing a new match DVD from this event! I shot the match with a new hat cam which produces better quality video than I have ever used before! We have 2-3 camera's on all stages - and I promise you this will be one of our best match DVDs yet! So if you were there, or, if you would like to see what this GREAT match looked like - stay tuned for the announcement of our newest DVD. I expect it have it ready by the end of December, early January.

Gotta run to cath my flight out of Atlanta,
I wish you all great shooting,
Saul

Results:
 

Pictures:

Hat Cam clips:

Stage 1 (7MB)

Stage 3 (7MB)

Stage 5 (5MB)

Stage 7 (6MB)