Morning, muchachos.
Hola, Bret. ¿Como fue to fin de semana?
Bien, bien. Competí en un partido IDPA el sábado y disparé con precisión. Me encanta la nueva pistola, absolutamente.
Not gonna lie, I had to look up IDPA. ¿Como clasificaste en la competencia?
En la clase SSP, pistola de servicio estándar. Eventualmente pondré una óptica en la pistola, y luego tendré que competir en ESP: pistola de servicio mejorada.
No tengo idea si estoy teniendo algún sentido. Nunca he aprendido a hablar de disparar en español.
Lucky for you, I wouldn't understand this in English either. 
Standard Service Pistol is pretty much how it sounds. It's a stock pistol, with no structural modifications. Enhanced Service Pistol allows certain modifications.
I misspoke about going to Enhanced. When I put a reflex optic on my gun, I will have to compete in the newly created Carry Optics division.
I guess my question was how about score and ranking? How do competitions like this work?
Ah. Well, I'm still considerd a Novice, because I haven't had a chance to shoot a Qualifier since the pandemic began.
It's all about accuracy, the clock, and the design of the stage. Each stage is different. Sometimes the stage limits the number of rounds you can shoot, or the number of rounds you can start with in the gun. In any stage you might have "no-shoot" targets (hostages or innocent bystanders), or the targets may limit where you must place the shots (head-shots, covered zones). The stage will specify how many shots must be placed, and where, to neutralize each target. Failure to neutralize the target with the appropriate number of shots incurs a time penalty. Additionally, each target has areas defined for appropriate shots. Put the required number of holes into the ideal zones on the targets, and there is no penalty, but there are zones that will penalize you a second, or two seconds, or three seconds. Failure to neutralize the target incurs a 5-scond penalty. Shooting a no-shoot target can incur a 10-second penalty. Failing to observe tactical priority incurs a penalty, and in some cases failing to observe tactical sequence incurs a penalty. Also, violation of fundamental safety rules can get you disqualified and escorted off the range. There are also procedural penalties for shooting too many shots, or for violating faultlines, or for leaving magazines on the ground with ammo in them.
Confused yet? It's simpler than it sounds.
Essentially, it's about neutralizing all the targets as quickly as possible without incuring penalties. Accuracy is more important than speed, because the penalties hurt, but winning is about completing each course as quickly as possible.
