Glossary — the terms used at a Match

Practical shooting inherited much of its vocabulary from English, and the system keeps those terms because they are the same ones used in the rules, in the spreadsheets and in the other programs of the sport. Here is each one in plain language — with a comparison to something you already know.

1. The Match and its structure

Match

The whole event, over a day or a weekend. It is what you register to compete in. the “Saturday championship” — one event, with its own date, place and registration

Stage

Each shooting exercise of the Match, with its own target layout and maximum points. A Match usually has several, and you go through all of them. each event of a decathlon: the sum of all of them defines the final result

Area

A group of Stages close together on the range. It exists to split responsibility among the area chiefs. a sector of the stadium, with its own supervisor

Squad

The group of athletes that goes through the Stages together, in the same order, all day long. When registering you choose yours — it is what determines your time slot. your wave or starting corral in a road race

Firing order

The order in which the Squad shoots. It rotates at every Stage, so nobody is always first (nor always last). the serving rotation in volleyball

Schedule

The table of times per Stage and per Squad, published by the club. the fixture list of a championship

Main Match

A split of the Match into blocks — usually by day or shift — when the event is too big for a single time grid.

Division

The equipment category you compete in (Open, Production, Standard…). Each division has its own standings: you do not compete against someone using different equipment. weight categories in judo, or engine classes in motorsport

Category

A cut by athlete profile (for example Lady, Senior, Junior), used for awards within the same division.

Team

A group of athletes from the same club or sponsor disputing a parallel standings, adding up the best individual results.

2. Registration and your day

Squad seat hold

While you finish registering, the seat you picked is held for a few minutes so nobody takes your place halfway through. If you give up, it frees itself. the cinema seat held for 10 minutes on the website

Receipt

The receipt of your registration, with Match, division and Squad. You can print it or keep it on your phone. your ticket

PIN

Your four secret digits. You type them on the officer's device to confirm the result is yours and that you agree with it. It is personal: nobody, not even the club, can see it. the card PIN on the payment terminal — you are the one who types it, and that is what makes it valid

Equipment check

The inspection of your equipment before you start: firearm, holster and accessories according to the division. It only happens if the Match requires it. the technical inspection before a race

Attendance / no-show

The record of who has arrived at the range. Marking “no-show” only says the athlete has not shown up yet — it does not eliminate anyone or zero anything. the roll call before the start

Fast Pass

A single pass for someone shooting outside their Squad on a specific Stage, without entering the group's normal rotation.

Match hub

The public page of the event: schedule, shortcuts, notices and result links. It is the address the club shares. the event page, with everything in one place

3. Scoring

Hit Factor (HF)

Points divided by time — how much you did per second. It is the number that ranks each Stage: shooting well and slowly can be worth less than shooting well and fast. average speed: distance alone is not enough, the time it took matters

Match Points

The points of each Stage converted to a common scale: whoever has the best Hit Factor takes the full value of that Stage, and the others receive proportionally. Adding up all the Stages gives the final standings. points per round in a season: the win is worth the maximum and the rest is proportional

Miss

A target that should have been hit and was not. It costs points.

No-shoot

A target that should not be hit — hitting it costs points.

Procedural (PROC)

A penalty for not following the procedure the exercise requires. a technical foul: it does not void your participation, but it costs points

Power Factor — Major and Minor

The strength of the ammunition used, measured at the chronograph. Stronger ammunition (Major) loses fewer points on peripheral hits; weaker ammunition (Minor) loses more. If the measurement comes in below the minimum for the factor you registered under, disqualification is automatic.

Chronograph (chrono)

The device that measures the ammunition speed to calculate the Power Factor. That measurement is also signed with your PIN.

4. When something goes wrong

DQ (disqualification)

Leaving the Match for a safety or conduct infraction, always with the official rule reason. Once confirmed it zeroes all the athlete's results — but the original values stay in the history, and the disqualification can be reversed. the red card

DNF (did not finish)

The athlete did not finish a Stage, or the Match. Stages with no result are zeroed, but the athlete stays in the standings — unlike a DQ, which takes them out of the competition. the “retired” note on a race result sheet

Correction

The fix of an already signed result — usually a typo — released by an official and recorded as a new version.

Reshoot

Repeating the run, when something outside the athlete's control interfered (a target that fell on its own, for instance). The previous result leaves the standings and stays in the history. a penalty kick ordered to be retaken

Appeal (protest)

The athlete's formal request to review a result, a DQ or a Stage decision. It goes to the Range Master, who answers in writing. an appeal to a sports tribunal — with a deadline and a recorded answer

Result signature

Every result carries an electronic mark of who entered it and who confirmed it. If someone changed the data from the outside, the mark would stop matching and the system would flag it — that is what guarantees the published standings are the ones signed on the range. the seal on a ballot box: it does not block access, it exposes tampering

5. Who is who on the range

RO (Range Officer)

The Stage referee: runs the course, calls the hits and enters the result in the system.

CRO / Area Chief

The person responsible for a group of Stages. Authorizes corrections and decides matters within their area.

RM (Range Master)

The highest authority of the Match: confirms disqualifications and decides appeals. the head referee of the game

Stats

The person who takes care of the results: follows progress, checks what is pending and closes the standings. the scorer's table

Entity staff

The club team that sets up the Match, handles the registrations and publishes the results.

6. Publishing, broadcast and other systems

Public results

The standings open to anyone, published when the club decides. Until then the results exist only for the organization.

Verify

The detailed check of one athlete inside the standings: Stage by Stage, with time, hits and penalties. the statement behind the balance

Championship (season)

Several Matches of the year added into a single ranking, usually dropping the worst results. a points-based league season, with drop scores

Overlay

The transparent scoreboard that goes over the picture in the live broadcast, showing who is shooting and the result. the score bug in the corner of the screen

Club big screen

The same information full screen, for a TV on the range, rotating between Stages and standings.

WinMSS

A traditional results program in practical shooting. The system generates a package in its format for whoever has to send results to a federation.

scoring.services

Public results portal in the same ecosystem. When you finalize an IPSC match, Orbit publishes the classification there (source Orbit); you can update or remove it later from the overview.

PractiScore

A platform widely used in the sport. The team export is generated in the format it expects.

Registration import (spreadsheet)

Sending a ready list of athletes into the Match, with a preview before applying.

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