How to: fix UK tournament ball

[Robbo]

Limited paint isn't a practical way forward for several reasons not least of which is the paint companies' dislike of capping paint usage at events ... it's not really their cup of tea.
Mind you, it would certainly force people to use their heads a lot more if they wanted to win games but I'm afraid we must look elsewhere if we are to fix UK ball.

One thing though, if you were to sit down and outline what would be needed to draw up such a rescue plan, it would undoubtedly begin with choosing the right people to create this plan of action.

If I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and a pen then the names I would select would be the following in no particular order :-

Ledzy
Jimmy Frensham
Chris Lacey
Steve Bull
Jay Wijnhold [Buddha from this site]
Ged Green
Gassy
Owen Ronayne
Gill Chapple
Jackie/John Sosta
Barry Fuggle or Steve Baldwin

For those of you in the know, that list bears a striking resemblance, though not exact, to the Federation board with a few exceptions which should, just about now, start ringing a few alarm bells ..
Now why should they be ringing?

Coz, it kinda suggests we've already done it ... or at least tried it .. and that'd be right, we have, and for the most part, we failed, miserably.
People can argue the toss all they like but that's about the strength of it which makes this thread somewhat academic in that we can talk, discuss, debate, argue and so on but the bottom line is this ..... our sport [tournament paintball] will limp toward the future with no predetermined direction whatsoever.

Our near total lack of commitment to any cause will sentence us to what's best understood as 'default progress' .... this is where we throw our fate open to circumstance and in this case it means we are hostages to what the promoters wanna do instead of the other way around ... and trust me on this next point .. the promoters are not necessarily the best people to safeguard our interests .... and if you need this point confirming, I'll say but two letters to you in the hope it drives home what I am suggesting ... MS ......

The irony is, the MS could be great working partners.... but a partnership implies two bodies working together .... the MS are of course one .... but I don't see any others lining up to sit across the table.
It might be an idea to ask yourself why ....

 

[stongle]

Fix UK Tournament Ball??

Define "fix", more competitive internationally or more people playing???

"ramping", "side loan coaching" etc??? Fcuk me, if we left planning D-Day to you Jon, we'd all be speaking German and eating sauerkraut today. You can't fix UK Paintball by dicking around within the fast dwindling player base can you? Not exactly people lining up to get into the "sport" is there....

I don't think you fix UK Tournament Paintball by going in the direction the "participators" (by that I mean playas) think it will. I think you also have a problem with the list of names Pete, getting to where the "participators" think it should be.

Ledzy
Jimmy Frensham
Chris Lacey
Steve Bull
Jay Wijnhold [Buddha from this site]
Ged Green
Gassy
Owen Ronayne
Gill Chapple
Jackie/John Sosta
Barry Fuggle or Steve Baldwin

So, growing it:

Internally led change & investment rarely works and is proven to be difficult and problematic at the best of times. Paintball is not a sport, for the majority of people on that list it's a business (the wants, needs and whims of the internet "pro-playas" are irrelevant), there has to be some juice in it. The same rules that apply to business (small and large), apply to Paintball. It could be possible to change UK Paintball via outside support / help / guidance. This is the same way a lot of businesses change - they bring in investment / change management / consultancy professionals. Now I'm not advocating we rock up at PWC, Deloittes or KPMG and hire in a few management consultants on 2 bags a day (it would help, but we've as much chance of seeing rocking horse sh*t), but I see the issue of an incomplete list and potentially competing agendas.

This then limits any capacity for change / improvement. No change or improvements = little ROI, then you're fcuked for outside help. The problem any outside sources of help, guidance, "Venture Capital" and "Angel" investing has, is partnering the list of potential "in-industry" faces you name and small / low returns. Minority holder investments - particularly in this arena are an absolute c**t to get your money out off, and the smart money knows this. A couple of names on the list are interesting, but that would come at the expense of others. There's no win win, for all those names, certainly not with the MS involved.

Even then, one has to ask what they are delivering, better / bigger events? More subsidies to players..... Where's the return in that????

If I get what you also saying above Pete, I think that yes; that ship has sailed.

Alternatively, shrink it:

You could fix Uk tournament ball by doing fcuk all, or actually less than currently. One hypothesis is, we are overrun with teams and events in a crowded market place. The UK player base could probably only support 5-8 serious teams, so cut events and "incentivised" support for the non-serious players. In that way only the truly dedicated, able or rich enough play events everyone else goes back to supporting their local sites.

This might actually have the effect of creating 1 or 2 "super teams" able to compete / dedicate enough time and resources & training to compete. It also regrows the Rec / Hobbyist base appropriately without the displacement caused by the mental approach we have to selling bullets in this country.

Just my 2pence (or £1500 + VAT if I was at KPMG).

 

[Rat]

heeey, wheres my post dissapeared too?? lol

 

[Robbo]

I think any sport has to have the correct ratio of particpants and industry involved for there to be any coherent plan of action for the future.
The promoters have clearly shown they're in it for their own ends despite whatever cr@p you might hear from their mouths .. but what we can do is assign limits to their indulgence and the only way this can be achieved is by organising ourselves.
This of course implies a body of people first wishing to help and then committing to help which are the first two fences we tend to fall at ... we just don't care enough ... but we sure as sh!t say we do

 

[Rat]

or is it a case of caring enough but for the wrong reasons? (ie lining pockets)?

 

[stongle]

I think any sport has to have the correct ratio of particpants and industry involved for there to be any coherent plan of action for the future.
The promoters have clearly shown they're in it for their own ends despite whatever cr@p you might hear from their mouths .. but what we can do is assign limits to their indulgence and the only way this can be achieved is by organising ourselves.
This of course implies a body of people first wishing to help and then committing to help which are the first two fences we tend to fall at ... we just don't care enough ... but we sure as sh!t say we do

Well, like PE said "Show, Show Em whatya you got", and errrm "Shut em Down"....

If I was in some of their shoes, I'd be sh*t frikkin scared right now. Especially if we are to start on finances and liquidity provision to to the Paintball market. That's one for a fireside chat one day Pete.....

Paintball don't exists in a vacumn and ain't immune to how business actually works....

 

[Rat]

If anything I'd say due to the closeness of the industry/busniess to the sport its more affected than other sports/outfits. all it would take is one paint maker to hike prices soo high it could wreck the game in total.

 

[Nathypie]

If anything I'd say due to the closeness of the industry/busniess to the sport its more affected than other sports/outfits. all it would take is one paint maker to hike prices soo high it could wreck the game in total.

However if one manufacturer was to put their prices up, surely the others wouldnt necessarily follow suit as keeping their own prices low would see a shift in the number of players buying their paint as opposed to the more expensive one?

 

[stongle]

If anything I'd say due to the closeness of the industry/busniess to the sport its more affected than other sports/outfits. all it would take is one paint maker to hike prices soo high it could wreck the game in total.

But people are buying bullets at a level unsustainable for the growth and development of the sport. Goobers buying cheap paint are the architects of UK Paintballs destruction.

And anyway, 100quid a case gentrifies paintball.

 

[Robbo]

or is it a case of caring enough but for the wrong reasons? (ie lining pockets)?

We 'care enough' when that care means nothing more than sitting on our ass typing ...when it comes to declaring how much this sport means to us all, frikkin hell, we'd all be world champinos at caring .... but hey, it's not enough to just care - caring about something has to be the foundation from which you move forward ... we care alright ... but that 'care' has no backbone or substance to it ...