2024 CD MATCH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Posted By: Zak Smith on January 6, 2024

Online registration for 2024 CD events is open NOW.

http://competition-dynamics.com/

The big change for 2024 is that we shuffled around the Team Safari schedule so it’s now in September, and we moved the SAC a couple of weeks earlier than last year. Also, in order to keep shooting at Blue Steel Ranch, it is imperative that we get high attendance numbers at the Steel Safari and the Team Safari.

2024 EVENT DATES

STEEL SAFARI June 7-9, Logan, NM
BURRIS OPTICS TEAM CHALLENGE June 20-23, Douglas, WY
TEAM SAFARI Sept 5-8, Logan, NM
SNIPER ADVENTURE CHALLENGE Oct 10-13, Benson, AZ

STEEL SAFARI: The Original Hike And Shoot Match. The Steel Safari is the archetypal “hike-and-shoot” long-range rifle match. It tests a wide spectrum of skills involved in getting to a shooting location, identifying targets, and engaging long-range rifle targets with only one shot each. Some of these skills include target recognition, ranging, wind doping, ballistic data management, marksmanship under field conditions, non-standard shooting positions, rudimentary trail skills.

BURRIS OPTICS TEAM CHALLENGE: A hard team match! This match is an extreme test of practical field shooting of rifles, carbines, and pistols, and supporting activities. Two-man teams will be required to navigate rugged desert / mountainous terrain, recognize, locate, range, and engage challenging rifle targets from compromised shooting positions, communicate with their partner and the range officer (RO), and do it under time constraints.

TEAM SAFARI: This is a team “hike-and-shoot” rifle match for long-range rifle, semi-auto “carbine,” and pistols. It will test a 2-man team’s ability to locate, range, and engage practical targetry spread in the terrain using both weapons systems. Some of the skills involved include target recognition, ranging, wind doping, ballistic data management, marksmanship under field conditions, non-standard shooting positions, rudimentary trail skills. You can think of the Team Safari as a Team version of the Steel Safari. This match is much easier physically than the TBTC and is more on-par with the Steel Safari.

SNIPER ADVENTURE CHALLENGE: The Premier Tactical Adventure Race. You and your partner will undergo tests involving: land navigation; practical shooting with long-range rifle, carbine, and pistols; fieldcraft; problem solving; and other related tasks. Two-man teams will be required to navigate 30-60+ miles on foot to complete the course. Along the way, there will be a series of tasks to accomplish to gain additional points. These tasks may include: shooting problems with long-range rifle, carbine, and pistols; problem-solving; physical challenges; fieldcraft; communication; target recognition; memory; and other tasks. We are now in our second year at our new Arizona venue — last year it was very challenging and this year we are also moving to the 48-hour format we used in ’21 and ’22.

Please go to the CD web site for match info and registration http://competition-dynamics.com/

We are also looking for RANGE OFFICER volunteers for all of these matches. Please see our Here’s an overview of our Range Officer (RO) Program and then contact zak@competition-dynamics.com if you’d like to volunteer

 

2023 SAC RESULTS

Posted By: Zak Smith on November 6, 2023

Congrats to everyone for a very successful 2023 SAC! Just doing the preparation and showing up shows a level of dedication and drive that is sorely lacking in the modern world. Actually thriving at the SAC indicates an truly exceptional level of personal and team accomplishment. This year we had zero “rescues” and no significant medical issues– I think our medical staff taped some feet and made sure a few people drank enough water after they went dry on the way back from a mission. This marks a significant improvement in the ability for teams to “take care of themselves” during the race, compared to 5+ years ago. Well done! Thank you all for coming.

The SAC can’t happen without RO’s. Thanks to all the RO’s who came to help: Neil, Walt, Jonathan Thornton, Chris, Seth, Charlie, John Phillips, Mark, Chad, EJ, Aaron, Vinessa, Ben, Tony, and Rick. And of course, Stan. Special thanks to our medical staff: Doc Bruce, Stewart, Monique, and Cheryl. Hunter McWilliams, who had RO’d for us at SS and TS several years, volunteered to be an Assistant Match director at SAC this year. I put a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, with Jimmy being out due to an emergency, and he really stepped up and did a great job. Thanks to our landowners and hosts: Owen, Matt, and Carmen. Having prior year SAC competitors come back and RO in their “off years” is a great help since they “get” what the SAC is and how it works. Thanks again guys.

RESULTS – TOP 5
1. AAL / SIMPKINS
2. WAX / STEPHENS
3. BARTON / HUGHES
4. HOM / HOM
5. FRANTZ / SCARBOROUGH

LINK TO FULL RESULTS: PDF OF FULL RESULTS

For anyone who wants to check out the SPOT tracks, here they are 2023 SPOT TRACKS. I will do some analysis of the leaders for mileage later this week when I catch up.

SPECIAL THANKS TO COMPETITORS

After the normal awards, the competitors and RO’s presented Jimmy (in absentia) and I an award of appreciation for running the SAC for 12 years, which then enabled the community to group up around it. At the first SAC, I don’t think any of us knew what we were getting into– as competitors or as staff. Many of us have made lifelong friends competing in or staffing the SAC. The group of people involved is just so solid. In any case, thank you to Murph, Travis Wills, the Dodds, and all the other competitors and staff who made the award possible. It means a lot to Jimmy and I. Thank you guys. It’s humbling to be a part of a group of such virtuous Americans.

 

SAC TEAMS - SEND SPOT IDSNOW

Posted By: Zak Smith on October 17, 2023

ACTION REQUIRED FOR SAC PARTICIPANTS – DUE BY THURSDAY OCT 26th

Like last year, we are going to use live SPOT tracking of competitors during the Sniper Adventure Challenge for safety, logistics, and spectators.

In order for this to work, we need a link to each team’s “Shared Page” from the SPOT site. Here are the instructions:

  1. One team member please complete and send us the following:
  2. Log into the “My Account” section on findmespot.com
  3. Click on the SETTINGS AND BILLINGS tab
  4. Scroll down to almost the bottom of the page; find the section named “XML FEED”, and then click “VIEW/EDIT”
  5. If you have more than one, select the specific SPOT device from the list
  6. Make sure the XML feed is ACTIVE by clicking “ACTIVATE”
  7. Click the “VIEW DETAILS” drop-down on the right-hand side — of the specific device you are using (if you have multiple SPOTs registered with them)
  8. Look for the text that appears, “Your XML Feed ID: 01Mxu7bdPjdMxqUkUDN93I6QuABFHfjAB
  9. Save that highlighted part — you have to send that to us.
  10. Turn on your SPOT tracker, and put it somewhere where it has good GPS reception
  11. Press and hold the “Footprint” button until it blinks with the POWER button/light.
  12. Let the SPOT sit in a good-reception area for 1-2 hours.
  13. SEND US THE XML FEED ID from STEP #8, along with your Confirmation Code. Your confirmation code is the 4-digit code you got when you registered for the SAC.

    Note: only send us the email after the SPOT has been on and the footprint button/light flashing for 1-2 hours

    For example:

    TEAM: Smith / Sanchez
    CONFIRMATION CODE: 1324
    XML ID: Your XML Feed ID: 01Mxu7bdPjdMxqUkUDN93I6QuABFHfjAB

    SEND TO zak@competition-dynamics.com

These steps will allow us to get everyone’s SPOTs into our tracking system and tested prior to the event so we don’t have last minute technical difficulties.

SPOT II/Gen2 or SPOT III/Gen3 recommended. As far as we know Spot Gen4’s will work too. You need to be able to activate “TRACK MODE” via a button on the device (the “Footprint” icon). Other models may not work well or be compatible with our tracking system. A SPOT that requires another device (such as a phone for bluetooth) is NOT RECOMMENDED. NOT RECOMMENDED: SPOT Trace, SPOT Global Phone, SPOT Connect, SPOT HUG, SPOT X.

REMINDER – TEAMS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO DEPART THE RACE WITHOUT A TRACKING SPOT. “I.T.” PROBLEMS WILL BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE ONCE ON SITE

 

2023 ACCUFIRE TEAM SAFARI RESULTS

Posted By: Zak Smith on October 16, 2023

Thanks to ACCUFIRE for being the title sponsor!

TOP 5:
1. ZACH MEYER COLT MEDLEY
2. Mike Dowd Connor Dowd
3. Justin Garay Serge Ducourneau
4. Top Jimmy John Phillips
5. DORGAN TROSTEL NICK MERTZS

FULL RESULTS: PDF of full results

We have one more event this year, the SNIPER ADVENTURE CHALLENGE. If you don’t want to compete, maybe come RO it!

 

Bounding Box SAC 2023

Posted By: Zak Smith on October 6, 2023

Hi, a few of you have asked about the “bounding box” for this year’s race. The race will be entirely within the rectangle defined by these two corners. That is, this box is larger than the race map that you will be issued:

top left corner:
31* 54′ 13″ N 110* 20′ 28″ W

bottom right corner:
31* 45′ 13″ N 110* 11′ 54″ W

 
     Older blog posts...