To try to limit the number of emails that require a specific response here are some of the frequently asked questions I've received:
- Do I need to be a member of NSRA in order to take the course? No. The course is open to everyone.
- Do I need experience of scoring before I take the course? No. We all have to start somewhere!
- Can I, or our club, apply for the course on behalf of someone else? Yes. You will just need to provide registration information for each candidate so I can email them the pre-course information.
- How long is the qualification valid for? There is no expiry date for the qualification.
- Do I need to buy gauges before I take the course? No. I have some gauges that can be used on the course. If you already have some gauges you can bring them along with you. There is a range of about 25 different gauges available, depending on what cards / competitions you will be scoring, So, apart from a couple of standard ones, it’s difficult to suggest what you’ll need before the course. Once you’ve completed the course, you’ll have a much better idea, and we can discuss in more detail on the day.
- Can magnifying gauges be used? Magnifying gauges are not recommended by NSRA due to reflections among other things. I'll explain more on the course.
- Do I need to do any preparation for the course? Read the Guide to Scoring which is included in the pre-course information that will be issued about two weeks before the course starts, complete the questionaire and bring it with you to the course. If you have a chance: talk to any existing scorers you know, watch them do some scoring, see if they'll let you borrow their gauge(s) to have a go on a practice card.
- How do I pay for the course? Once you have registered on the course I'll send you a payment link to the item on our club's eShop which takes debit/credit cards, google pay. We can also do Paypal or bank transfer if you prefer, just let me know and I'll send you the details. I can issue an invoice if you club is paying for you.
- Are there any courses closer to me? I appreciate that it may be a fair distance to travel to get to a Scorer’s Course. There is only a small number in the team that covers the whole country. Enquiries to NSRA get forwarded to the team, so you may get more than one reply as we each organise our own courses. I generally cover the Southeast but am happy to travel and stay oveernight if necessary. The gaps between us tend to get filled with group courses. I have given a couple in Hampshire, one in Essex, one in Chichester, and one in Chippenham. Someone from the Midlands came down to give one of the early ones in Sussex. Even the Chichester one, which is (like me) in Sussex was a 2-hour drive each way for me.
- Will there be any shooting on the course? No. There is a practical scoring exercise as part of the course. I’ll supply prepared pre-shot cards for this.
- Do I need to do continuous scoring after I qualify? No but gaining more experience after you qualify will only help you be a better scorer. Even if you don't manage to do much scoring it will make you a better shooter as you'll know how to cope with common errors if you do them yourself so you can concentrate on the shooting rather than worrying about what penalty points you're accumulating!
If I haven't covered you question above, please email me.
Mike Kettle
NSRA Course Leader