Athena Lee Shooting

Ok. I’m going with Shooting for Short People for now until I make up my mind as to what to I will formally name it.

I want to credit Julie Golob for reminding me about this dilemma that I usually have when I see these darned high ports. Before you start grumbling about LOW ports, remember this: Taller people can go low but it is PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for a short person (like myself) to go high. Unless there’s an ARTIFICIAL WAY TO DO IT!!!!

I think the best way to tell my story is this:

Dear Stage Designers,

Not all people are built the same. Some are tall and some are short. Usually, the short ones are either junior shooters who haven’t hit their growth spurt yet or people like me who will never see that growth spurt (and no, I am not running with 6 inch high heels!). Please take this thought into consideration when you build stages and don’t tell me to suck it up buttercup because I don’t see Mr. 6 feet tall over there getting calf cramps or a charlie horse from being on their tippy-toes. It just isn’t fair and it will make me shoot significantly slower. Let’s have a happy medium. If not, then at least provide an artificial means of getting me up there. We will love you long time if you do. If not, I will look extremely unladylike on video. (This was taken in 2006 by the super-tall Henning Wallgren).

Sincerely,

Me

Dear Vertically-challenged shooters,

If the stage designers at the match you are shooting aren’t as thoughtful as my friends (see picture below), ask for a box/crate/cinder block/person to stand on. It is perfectly legal to do so (well, maybe except for the stand on the person one). I have been fortunate enough to have my request granted most of the time. I think complaining a lot helped as well 😛

Remember, it doesn’t hurt to ask….nicely.

*Update:

Thank you, Jeremy, for finding the rule in the USPSA rulebook. I went ahead and looked it up on IPSC’s rulebook as well!

Rule 2.2.2 (USPSA Rulebook) states:

2.2.2 Obstacles – Courses of fire may include the use of barriers or major obstacles to be surmounted by competitors. Obstacles used in this way must not exceed a height of 6.5 feet. Obstacles over 3 feet in height must be supplied with scaling aids to assist competitors and must be constructed to provide for the competitor’s safety in the following
ways…”

Rule 2.2.2 (IPSC Rulebook, 2012 Edition) states (same thing, just in metric…because the rest of the world uses metric):

2.2.2  Obstacles – Courses of fire may include the use of major obstacles to be surmounted by competitors. Obstacles used in this way must not exceed a height of 2 meters. Obstacles over 1 meter in height must be supplied with scaling aids to assist competitors and must be constructed to provide for the competitor’s safety in the following ways:

 

**Disclaimer: This method works for IPSC and USPSA based on the rules above and some of the 3-gun matches I’ve shot because they, on occasion, follow USPSA rules. I honestly don’t know about other shooting sports so ASK first if you are not shooting in any of the three that I mentioned!