Range Official Discipline Procedure

NROI maintains a two-tier system of Range Official discipline.

• Tier 1 complaints address Range Officials who have shown themselves to be out of date, have incorrectly interpreted rules, or have deviated from the Range Officers Creed.
• Tier 2 complaints concern cases where the Range Official has been involved in either a single serious breach of their responsibilities, or a continuing series of problem situations that show a disregard for either the rules or the principles of the organization.

Rule 7.2.2 of the USPSA Competition Rules and USPSA Rifle, Shotgun, and Multigun Rules outlines the procedure to be followed should a Match Official be disciplined by the RM at any given match.

The first tier’s goal will be to re-educate the Range Official. The second tier assesses progressive levels of discipline up to removal of certification, and in the most serious situations, recommendation to the Board of Directors for possible expulsion from the organization.

TIER 1

Tier 1 complaints must arise from a dispute at an ongoing match, and if not resolved during the match, must be logged immediately with the Range Master and/or Match Director of said match as follows:

1. The competitor fills out an incident report, available from the Range Master.
2. The Range Master and/or Match Director interview any witnesses and the people involved, and then forward the incident report and any statements from parties involved to the Director of NROI for processing. (Timeliness is critical for fairness on everyone’s part, therefore, complaints filed more than 5 days after the match may not be processed).
3. The director or his designate will screen incoming complaints, rejecting those complaints that are based only on the unfavorable outcome of a decision rendered by either the RO or the arbitration committee. However, if the screening authority sees a number of complaints involving the same RO, this may constitute grounds for the director or his designate to start a Tier 2 proceeding.
4. The complaint will be reviewed, the parties involved will be contacted, and the facts of the situation will be investigated (generally by a member of the NROI staff other than the director, though the director may investigate directly). Based on this review, the investigating authority will then make recommendations to the Director of NROI for action. These should be limited to the following recommendations:

a. Complaint unfounded, file closed, parties will be advised of decision.

b. Complaint has merit, but no violation of rules or policies has occurred or is unproven. File closed. Parties will be advised of decision.

c. Complaint has merit. Refer to Director of NROI for action. Parties will be contacted for additional information.

If additional information is needed, the Director of NROI may interview additional witnesses or other interested parties, and/or set-up a review panel to review the facts of the situation and make a recommendation. Review panels will be set up as an arbitration committee (see the latest edition of the USPSA rules), and must render their decision in writing with written documentation.

If the director deems action is required, the director may choose among these sanctions for Tier 1 discipline:

1. Letter of correction -- explains the merits of the complaint, and points out the errors in judgment/interpretation but assigns no further sanctions.
2. Revocation of certification.
3. Retraining.
4. Denial of certification renewal.
5. Letter of recommendation to the USPSA Board of Directors for further action.

NROI will keep a file on all Range Official complaints, whether or not the complaint turns out to be valid.

Note: Complaining via email is not a valid method of filing an official complaint, but submitting separate documents via email is permissible.

TIER 2

Tier 2 complaints concern Range Officials involved in either a single serious breach of their responsibilities or a continuing series of problem situations that show a disregard of either the rules or the principles of the organization.

The Tier 2 process mirrors the Tier 1, but can have more severe consequences. For disciplinary action to be taken under a Tier 2 complaint, the following ADDITIONAL steps must be met.

a. The documentation submitted must include both sides in review process (plaintiff/defendant)

b. The complaint must be as timely as possible, and relevant to the situation (complaints filed more than 90 days after the last occurrence will be rejected)

c. NROI must rule on the matter within 9 months of filing. Tier 2 complaints that take longer than 9 months to resolve will be voided by NROI for lack of timeliness, and a letter issued to that effect.

Should the Tier 2 complaint be judged as “complaint has merit, refer to Director for action” (see Tier 1, above). The Director of NROI may assess one of the following five levels of discipline:

Level 1: Letter of Concern. Director of NROI expresses the concern of the organization that the Range Official has shown either a failure in judgment or personal bias which does not represent the goals of the organization.

Level 2: Letter of Re-education. Request the Range Official attend additional training. Written letter on file with both USPSA Board of Directors and NROI.

Level 3: Letter of Discipline. Suspended from working as a Range Official until mandatory re-education is completed. Director of NROI will determine what level of training is required. Written letter on file with both USPSA Board of Directors and NROI.

Level 4: Letter of Certification Removal. Range Official Certification removed by Director of NROI. Board of Directors of USPSA notified by Director of NROI as soon as possible after action is taken.

Level 5: Recommendation for Expulsion. Director of NROI will make a recommendation to the Board of Directors that the person involved be expelled from USPSA.

CLOSURE OF COMPLAINTS (Tier 1 and 2)

Once the Director of NROI has decided, all parties involved will be notified of the decision, those parties will include the complainant, the party that was accused, and the USPSA home office. Copies of all decisions will be maintained by NROI in the USPSA home office.

APPEALS

Should the affected Range Official wish to appeal the ruling of the director, they must submit a document to that effect to NROI courtesy of the USPSA home office (an e-mail is not sufficient, although the document may be attached to an email).

The Director will form a review committee for Range Official level 1 through 3 concerns, and refer the request for appeal to the USPSA Board of Directors for Level 4 and 5 decisions.