I shot my first IPSC match last week

[TdC]

Hey all,

after 2 years of training I finally thought I was good enough to shoot my first match. I would have preferred it earlier but family obligations go first (dates never matched ). And then everything was shut down because of Covid-19.

Nonetheless I made it last Friday. Pretty anxious I arrived 30min before general briefing time. All the experienced shooters, match director, RO etc put me at ease - at least I thought... when I had to open the padlock on my pistol case, I pinched so hard on the latch I couldn't rotate the numbers

There were 2 ranges and each range had 3 stages incorporated in each-other (first two partial stages and the third one was all the targets from the previous two).
Do I need to say the first two stages went horribly? I had 5 mikes and a no-shoot... But... I had fun

After that I could relax a bit more and I could see my front sight again which helped improve accuracy 
I didn't mess up any reloads. I started from empty two times with a smooth loading and racking...
The last stage I was again a bit more stressed because we had to run an S-shaped course backwards which meant 3 or 4 opportunities to break the 180 or sweep my shoulder... But I even got complimented by the director because - even as a newbie - I held my pistol high above my shoulder as I should 

An experience richer I came in 18th out of 26 in standard division at 55% (myself shooting minor). I had to leave a bit room to improve.
However my goal for a first match was not to get DQ'd so I have overdone myself. And this without any practice in 6 months because my range still doesn't allow IPSC trainings because of Covid. I can only dream what I could have done if I trained properly (cough cough I would've probably gotten arrogant and DQ'd  )

Greetings
Toby

[George16]

It’s great to hear you had fun in your first match. I will never forget my first match because I slipped and fell on the very first stage of the match. The base pad and bullets all came out of the mag since I used my right hand to brace my fall. Nonetheless, I was able to keep it pointed in a safe direction, had my finger out of the trigger and prevented a negligent discharge which is an automatic DQ.

I recommend doing dry fire exercises and drills everyday so you’ll get your index when drawing your gun. It’ll also instill muscle memory which helps a lot during a live fire exercise or shooting at a match.

Good luck, have fun and be safe.

[Earl Keese]

I trained quite a while to prepare for my first match as well. So far, that's my only regret in regards to the hobby. That time would have been much more enjoyable and productive if I'd been shooting matches all along. Glad you finally made it out.

[TdC]

Hey

You are both spot on.
I should have gotten out to a match sooner. It really helps identifying "trouble areas" and is just plain fun.
And I ordered a set of mini ipsc targets to help in dry fire. So I can practice more often. 
Greets
Toby

Edited to correct autocorrect