thinbluelinesc.org

Okay folks, no more procrastination!  It is time to register for this year’s big match!  Custom Images, our tee shirt sponsor, needs to have the sizes before they start printing our shirts.  Unless you will fit in a size Large you better get on the ball!  Go to the Regisration Form link, http://www.thinbluelinesc.org/data/tbl_registration_form.pdf, print it out and fill it in and then fax it to me or mail it.  If you are unable to send the registration fee right now, no problem, you can bring it the day of the match.  What is critical is that I get you registered early enough to get your tee shirt ordered.  I need to also plan the meal for enough people.  As of right now I can pack sandwiches for the few who have already signed up!  

Our sponsors are hanging with us again this year and we have added a few new ones!  Unfortunately, Remington has backed out.  You know times are hard when the largest gun manufacturer on the planet can’t pony up even one shotgun!  We do appreciate their past support of you guys and hope that maybe they wilol come back onboard in the future.

As always, you can email me at ron@rmgcollects.com if you have any questions about this year’s match.  I have intentionally gone outside of the law enforcement community for stage designs this year.  That should quell any controversy about one team being more familiar with the stages than the other teams.  Robert Holleman, Match Director of the SPSA, has put together some really great stages this year.  For the first time in the Thin Blue Line Charity Challenge there will be a shotgun used in one of the stages!  We will provide the shotgun and the ammo.  All you need to bring is your speed and accuracy for that stage.  I will publish a total round count on this blog within a couple of weeks so you can budget your ammo.

I really do look forwad to seeing all of you on October 29th at the Skip-J in Anderson!

Ron

Things are progressing nicely for our match!  While at the Carolina Cup in Oxford NC I was able to secure a sponsor - the Target Barn - for our Safety Officer Contest.  I was also able to confirm that EOTAC will again be clothing our Safety Officers for 2010.  Frank Glover of The Range in Oxford will be coming to Anderson with a crew of his own safety officers and a pretty dandy stage for you to shoot.  I hung out with David Baker of The Arsenal and they gave us 3 shooters prizes right there on the spot.  Good things are happening, folks!

So far I have not received a single registration.  None, not any.  Whatcha going to do, wait till the last minute?  I have updated the registration form on this website so please, please take a minute, download it and get it to me real soon.  140 is the max number of competitors we can shoot thru in a single day event.  We got pretty close to that last year so if you want to secure your team’s slot, register early.

The date is set for this year’s event.  Plan to be in Anderson on Friday, October 29th! 

I urge you to register early this year.  We want to make sure that we are well prepared to accommodate everyone who wants to shoot.  I have put in my order for decent weather, too!

Some changes:  First off we will start with some rule changes regarding equipment.  Seems the only two complaints I get every year are about my stale jokes and the gear used by some of the shooters.  Well, to fix those two problems I am trying to come up with some new jokes AND the Thin Blue Line will be adopting the NRA’s TPC gear rules.  The rules that we are going to incorporate are rule 4.2.1 regulating handgun allowances and Section 5, rule 5.1 thru rule 5.2.9.3  Here is the link to the NRA TPC Competition area where you can review those rules.  http://www.nrahq.org/law/competitions/tpc/standards.pdf

I have asked Brad to create a page on this website to post those rules but until then you can use this link and review them.  I believe that the implementation of these rules will enable all competitors to know what equipment is appropriate for this event and answer most equipment questions that you may have.  We want to ensure a level playing field for all shooters and this will help us achieve that goal.

Another change in the TBL for 2010 is how we are handling the charity aspect of this match.  We are not a big money maker for our charities yet.  Most of our sponsors donate product rather than cash so the actual total raised for the charities is pretty low.  I have been approached by our match co-host, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #10, about donating to C.O.P.S..  Rather than donating small amounts to so many charities, this year we will be sending the match proceeds to Carolina C.O.P.S.  I am sure all of you are very familiar with this organization and will agree that it is a very worthwhile law enforcement oriented charity.  You can visit their website at http://www.carolinacops.org/.

Para and Blackhawk will share the match sponsorship for 2010.  They are really good folks who embrace what we are doing and are generous in their support of the TBL.  Look for some great prizes from them again this year!

Okeyfine, lads and lasses.  That is it for now.  Register soon and tell a friend about the TBL!

I hope you will continue to watch the website and check out my updates.  Big things are happening for the 2010 Thin Blue Line!  First, Para has not only agreed to be our Match Sponsor again next year, they are doing another Special Edition gun just for us!  This time it will be a Thin Blue Line Edition of their popular and innovative TTR-XAS 5.56 Assault Rifle.  This is a high-end top of the line black rifle, folks!  You can see the TTR-XAS by going to http://www.para-usa.com/new/product_pistol.php?id=74 .  Not only will they be donating one at the 2010 match but they are also working up some very special pricing for those of you who want to own one!  Thanks to Para for embracing the TBL match and being so generous in their support!

There will be more news and announcements in the very near future plus a new look for this website, courtesy of Brad Whitfield, Electric City Consulting.  FYI…Brad created the website, maintains it and hosts it all at NO COST to the Thin Blue Line, known in the future as the Thin Blue Line LE Charity Challenge.  If any of you or your departments need any advice or assistance with your webiste, check Brad out.

Want to help with stage suggestions for 2010?  I would really appreciate any ideas you have for stages you would like to see in the 2010 match.  If you don’t want to actually lay the stage out then just send me your idea and I will see if I can lay it out and get it back to you to see if it looks like what you had in mind.  Come on…I know many of you have some good ideas for TBL stages…

More to follow…

Ron

Thanks for being patient.  The scores are now verified and the winning team is Dorchester County!  As the numbers will support, several other teams were on their tails but Dorchester was the well deserving winner of the 2009 Thin Blue Line!  Congrats to all of you!

Ron

The 2009 TBL is now in the books.  I hope you all had a great time in Anderson!  I have gotten many positive comments about the event.  The unofficial scoring results show the winning team as the

DORCHESTER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

I want to say congrats to them for a terrific match!  They came to play, played hard and took home the TBL Cup! 

I hope to have all scores verified and posted here within a very few days.  Seems our scores are on a laptop computer that is taking a few days off in Myrtle Beach!  I should have access to the data by mid-week and will make scoring verification my #1 priority.

I would consider it a favor if you folks would post your comments about the 2009 TBL here on the website.  They will not be for public consumption, just for my edification.  If you prefer you can email me your thoughts, comments and suggestions at ron@rmgcollects.com  I want the 2010 match to be better than the 2009, which I hope was better than the 2008.  Your comments will go a long way in helping me tweak the event so that it is the best for YOU that I can make it! 

By the way…I am very aware of the problem of shooters whose equipment may have been outside the rules.  Steps are being taken to prevent that from happening at any future TBL matches.  I am on it.

Thanks to all for showing up and hanging out in Anderson for a day.  I hope you don’t mind me constantly calling you my heroes but that is exactly what you are to me!

Ron

Our big match is just around the corner and things are looking really good!!  As of this writing we have 104 shooters registered for the event.  We have had a couple of sponsor hiccups but nothing we can’t get around.  Sig backed out on us at the last minute but other vendors have stepped up to make sure you folks have a great time in Anderson on the 23^rd. 

Please try to be at the range by 7:30 so that we can get that pesky registration stuff out of the way and not delay the start of the match.  The weather forecast is in our favor…so far.  Pictures!  We have a match photog who will be taking team photos before the match begins so please hang with your team members until she shoots you!  She will also be roaming the range and taking some pix while your gun is still smoking. 

Please remember to rate your Safety Officers, too.  This is really important to all those great folks who give their time and talents to help make sure you have a fun and safe time.  I am proud of the entire SO staff and can proudly claim that they are the best in the biz…ALL of them!  But one team will stand out from the rest and it is your task to identify them for me.  Thanks in advance for your cooperation!

I look forward to seeing each and every one of you Friday morning!!

Ron

Okay, okay….so I am a little tardy in updated this page.  My bad!

EOTAC has again generously agreed to outfit our SO’s for 2009.  If you are going to SO but have not emailed me your sizes, best put a huge rush on it! 

I have arranged with the Skip-J management to hold an IDPA match on Saturday, October 24th so that the SO’s can shoot this match - all 8 stages - unrushed and just for fun!  The match will be considered part of the TBL and, as such, the proceeds will go to the charities (proceeds will be 50% of the money collected at registration - the range gets the other half).  You will shoot it for free; non-SO’s will pay $15 to shoot.  Hopefully we can make this an annual match and raise even more money for the TBL charities!

As you should already know, Armor Ammo is YOUR sponsor this year!  SO’s have never really been sponsored or even recognized beyond an Thank You at the end of the match.  This year will be different!  Your SO Team will be “graded” and voted on by the people you are there to serve…the shooters themselves.  The winning team of 3 will each get 500 rounds of ammo and a free dinner at Outback Steakhouse, another of our great sponsors!  How about them apples?

I can’t thank you people enough for contributing your time and skill to make this match happen.  I have been hanging around the shooting sports for 35+ years and I truly appreciate Safety Officers.  This event would not be a success without YOU.

Hi all!  Registration time!  The match is less than 2 months away so NOW is the time to get registered!   Our sponsors are lining up nicely, too!  We have Para, Smith & Wesson, Glock, Sig, Remington, just to name a few.  Important note:  When completing the Registration Form please be sure to include the address and contact info on your charity!!  I had some real problems last year in locating a couple of them!

Please get registered today!  I need to make sure I get tee shirts ordered for everyone and Custom Images will want some reasonable lead time, okay?  I want to try something a tad different this year, i.e., a lunch break for everyone at the same time.  We have been able to move shooters along very well in the last two matches and I think a midday break will work and not slow us too much.  During that lunch break we can make sure everyone gets to meet the vendors, collect their “prizes” and meet and greet their brother and sister officers.  Another addition to this year’s match will be the way we treat out Safety Officers.  This is HUGE…for the first time ever we will have a sponsor for our SO’s!  Armor Ammo, Coats, NC, has donated 1500 rounds of ammo for the winner of our SO competition.  That is 500 rds each for the SO team that comes in 1st.  Now let me explain the rules of the competition.  Each team of shooters will be asked to submit a secret ballot on each stage.  The team will collectively rate the SO team on a 1-5 based on their professionalism, courtesy and attitude.  One entry per team is to be dropped in a sealed box.  At the end of the match the SO team with the highest score will win!  YOUR participation in this is crucial!  I urge each team leader to take responsibility for voting on each stage.  30 seconds is all it will take to confer with your shooters, wrtie down the number and drop it in the box.  The identity of your vote will not be disclosed!  Help us recognize these hard working volunteers who come out on their own time, their own dime and work their butts off to give you this special day, Heroes!

OK now….REGISTER!!!