As Black Friday 2023 approaches, it’s the perfect time to gear up and prepare for your next season’s matches. Whether you’re a seasoned match director or just starting out, there are key items that can make organizing and running matches smoother and more efficient. In this post, we’ll dive into the top 5 must-have items you should consider snagging this Black Friday. These picks are designed to enhance your match directing experience, ensuring both you and the competitors have an enjoyable, well-managed event. So, let’s get started and explore these investments!
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Fire Tablet | Likely the best deals on Black Friday 2023!
One of the best Black Friday Finds always ends up being the Fire Tablets, which are great all around devices for using Practiscore to score matches. Fire tablets are very affordable and the batteries last sufficently for matches. Practiscore downloads natively onto the devices using the Amazon Fire tablet’s Appstore. We have a whole fleet of Fire Tablet 7s, but have recently been upgrading to the Fire HD 8s. These are really appreciated by our score keepers as the screens are a bit larger and easier to see but they are still very affordable, especially when picked up during the Black Friday sales and similar.
You can check out the Fire Tablet product on Amazon.com
Battery Power Banks
If your range is like mine, power is scarce. Power Banks / Batteries are essential to help when tablets are running low or to help power tech like wireless routers and similar to help with syncing the tablets on the range. There are often some really good deals on these power banks on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season. One of the ones we’ve had a lot of success with is the Anker Portable Chargers.
If you need some Battery Power Banks, check out one of my favorite ones here.
9V Batteries
If you use the Competition Electronics ProTimer, ProTimerBT or the PACT Club Shot Timers you’ll need plenty of 9V batteries for the season. I recently switched to the ProTimerBT so that our times can sync with PractiScore, but they really drain the batteries much faster when using the bluetooth.
Keep an eye out for sales on the 9V batteries for your timers on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season.
Electric Stapler
You want to keep your setup crew happy? Get electric staple guns! We bought a few of the Ryobi 18-Volt ONE+ Cordless Compression Drive 3/8 in. Crown Stapler and love them.
A USPSA stage as we know can have up to 16 targets PLUS any no-shoots. If you average 6 staples per target, you can easily be squeezing that stapler over 100 times per stage. Multiple that by six for the average stage count for a local match and you can have a tired shooting hand before the match even begins!
As stated, several years ago we picked up a few of these and never looked back. The really keep setup moving along much quicker and all of our volunteers really apprecaite them. We’d certainly suggest keeping an eye out for a sale on these during Black Friday 2023.
Wreless Router
The competitors that attend our matches are always looking for scores quickly and most importantly want to make sure the scores don’t get lost. Having wifi on the range will allow you, as a match director, to both pull scores from the tablets throughout the match as a precaution for data loss and also allow you to sync scores to upload immediately after the match ends instead of waiting until you get home where you have wifi access to sync the tablets.
Before installing outdoor wireless access points at our club, we used to use the GL. iNet Portable Mini Travel WIFI Router in tandem with being powered by the above Anker Portable Chargers listed above. This combo worked very well and allowed me to sync often and get the match scores uploaded to Practiscore quickly at the end of the match.
Conclusion
As we wrap up our exploration of the top 5 must-have items for match directors this Black Friday 2023, it’s clear that these tools are not just purchases; they are investments in efficiency and enjoyment for both directors and competitors. From enhancing the smooth operation of matches to ensuring a well-managed and enjoyable experience for all involved, these items are essential for anyone looking to elevate their match directing to the next level.
Remember, being well-equipped is key to successful match directing. As you prepare for the upcoming season, consider these items as vital components of your toolkit. Black Friday offers a unique opportunity to acquire these essentials at great value, making it the perfect time to gear up. Embrace the chance to improve your matches, and look forward to a season of well-organized, enjoyable, and memorable shooting sports events.
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