IPSC Shooting | IPSC Accessories | IPSC Equipment | IPSC Holsters | IPSC Shooting Video

Thursday, October 23th, 22:30pm
Greetings all,
We have just arrived in Bali - at our very beautiful Ramada hotel right on the beach. It has been an eventful two days to getting here, but all in all , it certainly went well.

Eli and I left my home early Tuesday Morning for the 100km drive to Schipol airport, which I can usually do in just over an hour, but I knew there would be traffic, so I left early. As it turned out, we got stuck in one of the worst traffic jams in recent memory, and two and half hours later we were still not at the airport, and I was seriously worried we were going to miss our flight. After all the planning and arranging and preparing - we would miss our flights!
fortunately, the gods were on our side. We found a way around some of the traffic, and got to check in with just minutes to spare, and onto the flight.

We had to make a two day stop over in Singapore, as traveling with Israeli passports to Indonesia requires a special Visa which could only be issued in Singapore or Bangkok. We were forced to change our travel schedule to allow for this extra time in Singapore, and contact a local agent to help us get in done in a day. The Match Directors from Bali throughout were extremely helpful, came through with the visa approval and put us in touch with a good agent in Singapore, who got it done for us as promised, in one day. For a not-so-small fee of course.

This stop over gave Eli and I the chance to see Singapore, which otherwise we would not have, and it was a most enjoyable visit indeed. We had time to walk around the shopping district (expensive and exclusive labels), China town and the harbor area. Really a magnificent and extraordinary city, certainly well worth a visit. We were even invited for an excellent lunch and a drive to the airport by local shooter Matthew Lee. Thanks Matt!

So here we are in Bali. The WS organization did an absolutely fantastic job for all shooters arriving at the airport. When we walked off the plan we were immediately met by the WS representatives, who whisked us through passport control and helped us check our guns in with the airport police, then escorted us out through customs, and to a waiting van to take us to the hotel. Full VIP treatment the whole way. no small feat when you consider how many shooters they have to meet. Well done!

Tomorrow morning I will take care of registration and head out to the range to watch some of the pre match, decide on camera positions on all the stages, and generally get familiar with the area. And of course try to start to get accustomed to the 35 plus degrees and sticky humidity. Hemm, that won't be fun.

I will report at the end of the day tomorrow, and try to send some pictures from the range.
I'm off to bed,
Saul
 

Friday, October 24th, 22:55pm
Our first full day in Bali.
I am just back at my lovely cool air-conditioned hotel room after our first full at in Bali. And what a fine day it was.

Registration
First, after a hearty breakfast enjoyed out on the terrace by the fish ponds and waterfalls of our hotel, we walked the 5 minutes to the main match hotel for registration. Everything was ready and well organized, with a huge staff just waiting to serve us. Signing up was quick and efficient, after which we were able to take possession of our guns and magazines, which we are allowed to keep in hotel room safe. That?s a relief to everyone. Each of the main hotels is converted into a kind of ?gun safe?. When you bring your gun to the hotel, you hand in a green label which is hung on a special board, and indicates that those guns are at the hotel. When you leave with the guns, you change the label for a green one, and take the red with you, which indicates the guns are out. Kind of cool? the ammo though, has to remain at the range, but access to it was easy, and I even got in a few practice rounds. So the afternoon was spent at the range.

   

The Range
Eli and I decided we would rent a car after all. For less than $300 we could rent a decent car with AC for 10 days, and that lets us come and go as we need. The bus shuttle works for sure, but it only runs a couple of times a day, and we want to be more flexible. Plus waiting in line is something I really would rather do with out. So we have our own wheels. Just have to be very careful of all the scooters zooming around ? some with as many as 5(!!!) people on board. I kid you not! Today I saw an entire family on a 125cc moped ? father mother and 3 kids ranging from1 to 5 years old. No protective gear of any kind either. Scary!

The drive out to the range should be less than half an hour. It took us over an hour today, as road signs are almost unheard of here it seems, and so we had to kind of ?use the force? and the smell of gunpowder to help us find the place. But we did eventually.
Once there ? you are left with no doubt you have arrived ? literally thousands of banners and flags are up all the way from the turn off to the range and all around the large well laid out range. It is very hot and humid, but each stage has shade and chairs for the competitors, and a huge central sponsors area and impressive food court in the middle of it all.
The area has a strong breeze blowing, which is a blessing in this heat and humidity. Still hot, very hot, and one will have to drink and drink a lot to stay upright.
The ground is hard, not sandy as I expected which is a pleasant surprise too.

The Stages
The range offers huge bays, but many are used for 2 stages side by side. The stages seem a little simple and rather single dimension. Lots of ?run to this window, shoot these targets? and then ?step over there, shoot two?. Very little tactics and very little diverse skills required. Most targets are mid range 15-20m with some closer targets too. There is accuracy required, mostly in the form of rather small 10? plates, some of which are out there?
It certainly looks like it will be fun to shoot, but, I would have preferred it a little more complex and complicate. Some stages do offer very nice decoration for sure ? but does that make for a good stage?!
On the up side, I am sure everyone will enjoy the shoot! Nothing here is too difficult, and many prefer that. I think it will open up the field and we may be surprised by some of the results.
Certainly everything is well organized and ready for the shooters. It will be a good week of shooting!

 
 
The town
Is everything you would expect in a typical tourist-trap town: lots of restaurants (very reasonably priced, but not dirt cheap, and the food seems very good) Lots of markets and stores, and a huge business of pirated DVDs music and software of any shape and size. You can buy anything for about $1! It seems Indonesia has no copyright protection laws at all, as the shops are big and clearly ?real? businesses. I wonder if they have any DAA DVDs? I?ve not found any yet.
It?s a friendly and happening place, and a pleasure to walk around and meet shooting friends from around the world. That is, after all, a big part of the fun in at any WS.
Eli and I had an excellent dinner, with top class service, and a truly enjoyable first day in Bali.

Tomorrow is actually a day off for us. We did all the work today preparing the camera positions on each stage, so that?s ready. Tomorrow we can take it easy, sit by the pool and go sightseeing. Sounds good to me.

I'm off. More tomorrow

Saul

  Saturday October 26th, 21:40pm

Today was the first day one could really feel the WS was well underway. Everything was done on the range, all the competitors have arrived, and in the afternoon - the opening ceremony was held.

9am this morning I took a drive out to the range - once again taking a wrong turn on the way, making the 20 minute drive into 30. Oh well, we had time enough, and I believe we know the way now for tomorrow. (we had better, as we have to be there at 6:30 tomorrow morning...)
We drove in to do a little practice and sight-in on the very practical wide practice range, able to accommodate at least 20 shooters or more side by side. A $5 fee got you two targets, and basically as much time as you wanted, and your ammo stock allowed. I did not factor in much practice here this week, so just shot a couple of hundred to sharpen up and make sure the gun is shooting where it should. It was.
the range was HOT, and HUMID. Everyone shooting had their shirts stuck to their backs, and sweet dripping into their eyes while trying to shoot. I hope the single bottle of progrip I have with me will see me through this week...

At 14:30, right on time, the buses left from the match hotels to take the 1100+ competitors to the site of the Opening ceremony, which was in a huge park about 45 minutes North of town. A lovely spot with an impressive temple overlooking it. A long drive though. Lucky we have a fleet of police cars escorting the convoy of busses (must have been 50 buses and mini buses), so we could cut through traffic and through the red lights. Nice!

The ceremony itself was short and simple, with a quaint local flavor to it. It started with the traditional march in of the delegations, lead in by a 20 strong band. After all the delegations found their spot, a few short speeches were made and then some local performers and dancers took charge. Nothing too fancy, but in good taste. After that, a large bar of refreshments was laid out for all - and kept well stocked - unlike previous occasions, where unless you jumped in first, you got nothing.

Tomorrow is our first full day of shooting. My squad shoots in the morning, which is my preference, as we will be done by 12. It has been raining the last few mornings, so I sure hope its not too wet early on. I will report tomorrow from the first day of action on the range. Meanwhile, I leave you with some pictures of the Opening ceremony, courtesy of Sharyn Cohen.
 

I'm off. More tomorrow

Saul

  Monday October 27th, 17:30

Today was the first day of competition, and what a day it was.
I was shooting on the morning squads, in area 3, stages 13-18. We were greeted on the range with a downpour, the likes of which I have not seen since the WS in the Philippines! It was POURING!! We were scheduled to start at 7am, but when we got to the range the rain just got worse and worse. All we could do was hide under the tents and try to keep our range bags in the shrinking dry area on the ground. The tents are large, but are there mostly for sun protection, and they do not do very well in rain. We were getting wet!

Lucky, the heavy rain only lasted about an hour, and we started just a little late, with the first shooters shooting with plastic covers over the targets.
By 9am it was hot, and the evaporating water just made the humidity worse, and it was a tough day for all. Especially for the RO's who would have to keep just right on going through the afternoon as well. I was able to head back to my air-conditioned room by 2pm, which was a real pleasure. A shower never felt so good!

The stages may be simple, but they are not easy. we shot some long shots, and some tough swingers around corners. The small plates seem to be a real issue for some, and will certainly prove a deciding factor in the match. Shooting clean will count!

I had a good day, not spectacular on everything for sure, but no major mistakes or mishaps either. I had Jorge Ballesteros to shoot with, which was a pleasure, and someone to gauge against. By the day's end we shared the 6 stages 3 each, but he's ahead, having really shot amazingly on the biggest stage of the day.

Rumors have it that Eric has opening a small lead over KC who is in second in Open. In Limited the word is that Travis is ahead, but all that is hearsay, so I can make no promises. Besides, it is very very early days.

I have a relaxing afternoon to enjoy, and a late start tomorrow, which will be nice, although I would rather shoot in the morning. to get out there at 12, in the hottest hour and start is not easy at all.

The filming is going well, Eli is working hard standing in the hot sun longer than almost anyone else. I shot all stages with the hat cam, and god super footage. can't share that now though, as the match directors insist that the hat cam angle may not be viewed until the match is over. Part of why no one else is allowed to film with a hat cam.

I leave you with some picture below from the range today.
Thanks for checking in,
Saul

I am shooting well, no major mistakes, and for the most part, good points. Eric seems to be running away with it again, so no changes there.

So what's the range like?
It is very well laid out - with a big food court in the center offering some 10 booths selling various plates, most of the Asian brand. Good too! It is one of the best food tents I have seen at a world shoot, and most shooters seem to have lunch there, either before or after they shoot.

the RO's have their own separate lunch buffet tent, which they well deserve. No question at all about that - what they are doing here is tough - working in this heat from sun up to sun down, I certainly don't envy them. they deserve a good lunch.

I am also including in this report a few pictures from the sponsors tent. The Sponsors have been busy - certainly during the transitions hours mid day as all the shooters pass through then. Seem to be shopping a lot, which is good. Each sponsor invested heavily to be here, so they deserve a return. It's nice to see a very good response to our new DVDs - 3GM2 and the 2008 Steel Challenge which are being sold by CED, and going fast, just a few copies left I believe. The presales of the match DVD are coming in too, but unfortunately the shooters did not get the flyer they should have in their packs, so many, I feel, don't know about it. Hope world gets around during the week.

Tomorrow I have a late start again, which means I can sleep in, that will be nice! I will report again tomorrow. I leave you today with some pictures of the range - food court, RO's tent and sponsors area.

Sorry  about not uploading video - the internet connection here is just not good enough for that.

Saul

The Sponsors area:
   

The Ro's lunch tent
 

the shooter's food court
    

  Friday October 31st, 13:30

Sorry about not posting a report yesterday, I just got back to the hotel too late and too tired, and had an STI Team dinner to go to as well. Just couldn't find the time.

Today is the 5th day of the match, one more day left tomorrow and it will be all over. We shot in the morning squads, so are back early to the hotel. Great - finally a couple of hours to relax and spend some time at the pool. Actually, we plan to go walk around the town a little, see some of the arts and crafts shops of which there are many.

Denpasar is an interesting place. A real tourist town. Lots of large resort hotels, which seem to be closed off to all but guests and hotel employees. Lots of security at the gates, and everywhere else, for that matter. The hotels are indeed very nice, true four and five star hotels. The Ramada where I am staying is a lovely hotel, with palm trees everywhere, a beautiful pool and right on the beach. Although, not the nicest beach I have seen. Who has time for the beach this week anyway?!

Walking around the town, down "main street" where all the hotels are situated side by side is an experience in its own. You can't get 10 paces without being approached by one salesman or another: "boss, boss, you want massage/transport/disco/girls?". The one thing one does not get offered here are drugs. there is a death penalty here for the smallest drug trafficking offence, and I guess that is taken seriously by all.

The street is lined with hotels on one side and restaurants on the other. The food is excellent, mostly Thai and Asian, and reasonably priced, but not dirt cheap. The place is clean, more or less, but not very well maintained. The side walks are a dream for any US attorney - broken side stones and deep holes - you have to keep your eyes down and alert to see the potholes, you could easily hurt yourself just walking down the sidewalk. But is seems a happy place - both the kids and adults are very warm and welcoming to tourists - as they know we are their source of income here. It can be a little tiresome though, as if you want to look at anything in a store, you will have a hard time getting away without buying something. they just jump all over you!

Back to the match: Well, the results are online daily, so I will not get into that. It seems Eric has run away with another one, the rest of us can only try for 2nd. In Standard Blake is doing really well, shooting with Jorge and I on squad 13, away from the hassle of the super squads. It's been a pleasure shooting with this squad, but I do miss shooting with the other top guys though. Jorge and I have a good competition going between us, I took some points off him today, so should now be slightly ahead of him going into the last day.

It was HOT again on the range today - like it was earlier in the week. Allot of the RO's are covering up their arms and hands to keep out of the sun. It's no joke - we can sit in the shade most of the time - but they are out there in the sun all day long. I do not envy them one bit, and they all deserve our thanks for their tremendous effort this week.

I leave you with some pictures of the range and the town, and will report tomorrow.

Saul

  Saturday November 1st, 23:30

So that's it, we have come to the end of the world shoot XV. Today we all shot the last 6 stages, and the final results are up. Eric won another title in Open, Adam defended his title in Production, and the world champion in Standard is Travis Thomasie. Jojo Vidanes won Modified. Congratulation to them all.

I finished 7th, just one point behind Brodie Maccintoshin in 6th. I was happy with my shooting so nothing to complain about. I shot a clean match, with no penalties and only 3 D's the entire match. A few extra shots here and there cost me some time, but I had no disasters on any stages, and that carried me to a good finish.

The match was tough! While the stages were not really complex, they were difficult, requiring a lot of aiming and a great deal of control. lots of small plates and swingers at distance, really tested the shooting abilities of all here. Many ended with more than a few misses!

Tomorrow morning are the top 8 shoot-offs, and the closing ceremony, and then it will be time for the long trip home. I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Bali, more so, I think, than any previous world shoot I have shot. Even though the weather was as harsh as I have seen. I look forward to returning to the cold crisp weather of Europe.

The filming of the match DVD went extremely well. The new hat cam worked like a charm and I have top quality hat cam footage for all stages, which will be used in the match DVD. We had as many as 4 cameras on some stages, and this DVD promises to be the best match DVD we have ever done. Eli and I will be working hard to get it edited and off to replication just as soon as possible, and we expect to ship end of December. We received plenty of pre orders here for the match DVD - and will be posting it for pre order on the DAA website this week, so that any one interested can place his order, and be sure to get his copy just as soon as it is complete. Don't miss it!

The shoot-off starts at 9am tomorrow - so I am off to bed. I will report one more time tomorrow.

thanks for checking in,

Saul

  Sunday November 2nd, 23:00

Today was the last day of WS XV. The main match was over yesterday, and today we all headed out to the range one more time for the top 8 shoot off in each division. It was hot and sweaty, but that did not deter anyone from coming out to watch the action.

The shoot offs were held for each category in each division, but things were kept moving fast with a crew of dozens of soldiers picking up and painting the steel. the entire thing was over in 2.5 hours, which was an impressive feat. All the runs, including the finals were single eliminations, which sped things up further.

I expected a "sniper" course for the shoot off with lots of small plates, much like the match was, but we were greeted by a row of 14 full size poppers, 7 each, no more than 10-15 meters away. a real full speed shoot off, and single elimination meant one mistake - and you were unloading your mags and heading for the safety area to bag your gun...

I am very pleased and proud to announce that I won the shoot off in the Open division, finally defeating Eric Grauffel in the final bout, after been beating by him in the finals of the last 2 world shoot shoot-offs. That was a particularly rewarding way for me to conclude this World shoot.

Later, we all arrived at the match hotel, on the beach, for the final closing dinner and ceremony. The place was just beautiful, with the sun setting over the water. the layout of the tables, and catering and the stage were all well done and very impressive. I don't think any of us will miss the commentating girl who ran the event. I think a better choice could have been made.

The food was excellent, and plenty of serving points meant that there were no long lines as in previous such events. the 1000+ people there all had an excellent evening, and the awards were giving out to the cheers and flag waving of the victors and their supporters. It was an impressive end to an excellent world shoot.

Tomorrow afternoon we begin the long journey back. I certainly look forward to getting home, after what has been a 2 week trip

I hope you have enjoyed these reports from Bali. I thank you for stopping by and leave you now with a few pictures from today's events.

Saul Kirsch

Double-Alpha Academy