My theory...
- Thread starter Stephen
- Start date
To become BUCS recognised will presumably first need to be recognised as a sport, to be recognised by Sport England needs a number of criteria - and paintball (even tournament paintball) does not meet the criteria.
One of which is to have a membership of 1800 people supporting the recognised paintball body:
http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/want-paintball-to-be-recognised-as-a-sport.154628/
http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/paintball-for-the-olympics.149819/page-3
http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/compulsary-ukpsf-membership-that-makes-us-a-sport.154703/
http://www.ukscenario.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=98&t=35466
That's not what's holding it back though. There are plenty of other sports that cost way more, yet attract large crowds of spectators and participants.
This. So much this.
In fact, if the Millennium Series made a point of coming back to Amsterdam/Holland again each year, I would have a mahoosive career thanks to paintball. And I wouldn't even have to hold a marker, or lift one box of paint.
You don't have to spend big money to play paintball.
Gun £100 - £200
Goggles £30 - £50
Electric hopper - £30 - £50
Air cylinder £30 - £40
6 Pods < £15
Pod belt £15 - £20
£220 - £375
Shop around, ask for deals or buy some second hand then you save more.
For the price range of a paintball gun you could buy a set of golf clubs, or a compound bow.
Football is cheaper - but boots can be anything from £50 to the price of a paintball gun the average rugby boots are cheaper
Paintball is not a cheap hobby, however most hobbies are not cheap.
Money is short for people these days, but disposable income still exists. There are areas of paintball that are doing fairly well these days. Scenario provides a lot of choice to the player, and people are playing the games and spending their money as they wish.
New shiney guns come out costing £1000+, hoppers come out costing £100s
People buy them
The average person with a disposable income can play paintball, the average person without disposable income cannot.
Very good points! But you also have to factor in the cost of playing as well. A walk on is around £50 for yourself and 2000 paint. Then theres just average days where you buy 400-1000 paintballs which range from £25-£50. if you want to do this twice a month it comes to around £1000 a year!
But you right when you think about it, season tickets for watching football are in the hundreds and things like golf and going to the gym are in the hundreds for a year.
I just feel that the cost may be one of the factors holding potential players away!
Costs of playing paintball are covered here:
http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/what-paintball-costs.153010/
Another cost factor for the scenario or for any other events across the country are travel
& accommodation costs. Camping can be free but not always available and you may not feel like sleeping in a tent due to weather or you like your cosy bed & shower. Some people are in the extremes of the uk and either fly or drive hundreds of miles for one game. These costs dwarf the actual cost of playing.
Cost will be a factor in keeping some people away.
But there is nothing that can be done about it - cut prices and sites will make losses.
The cost of punter paintball is the right price to run a paintball game, provide the right facilities and give a good day out to the customer - when they go home happy then they may return, and people do return to sites as casual players. If they want to play more they work their way onto buying gear and paying less for paint, they can either save some cash by paying walkon prices, using the same paint quantity as punters and put the balance to equipment. Add a newbie friendly site that provides rentals to walkons and you have the stepping stone to allow players to gradually progress from punter to own gunner walkon.
It would be nice to have more money and for the things you spend it on to be cheaper, but that's not life.
Paintball is much cheaper then in its early days, by all reports its in a decline on the tournament circuit, it would probably be news for paintball site owners if I said they were booming, but they are attracting customers. If they charge the right price and keep their sites fresh then they can remain in business.
Every fortnight for most of the year is a lot of paintball. It's not only the cost that will stop people from doing this, there are other life commitments and other hobbies that take people's time.
For the tournament side of paintball there will be this kind of commitment, which will have had an affect. People won't be able to always be able to commit the time and money to regularly practice and compete, with walkons and scenarios people can make less of a commitment and play as much as they can afford or put the time in.
The argument of paintball being too expensive and stopping potential players is often heard, it's similar to all those potential professional footballers in pubs who hurt their leg once, and that's the only reason they are not now making millions.
Paintball is affordable to play once for anyone with some disposable cash. They can then decide if they are interested and then see if they can balance their income with expenses and other life needs then see if they can fit in paintball.
Being a professional paintballer is also available to people with a bit of talent - but it again takes some balancing to do, including making the commitment to take care of themselves, warming up to prevent injury, making other sacrifices and not getting hammered the night before a game
http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/what-paintball-costs.153010/
Another cost factor for the scenario or for any other events across the country are travel
& accommodation costs. Camping can be free but not always available and you may not feel like sleeping in a tent due to weather or you like your cosy bed & shower. Some people are in the extremes of the uk and either fly or drive hundreds of miles for one game. These costs dwarf the actual cost of playing.
Cost will be a factor in keeping some people away.
But there is nothing that can be done about it - cut prices and sites will make losses.
The cost of punter paintball is the right price to run a paintball game, provide the right facilities and give a good day out to the customer - when they go home happy then they may return, and people do return to sites as casual players. If they want to play more they work their way onto buying gear and paying less for paint, they can either save some cash by paying walkon prices, using the same paint quantity as punters and put the balance to equipment. Add a newbie friendly site that provides rentals to walkons and you have the stepping stone to allow players to gradually progress from punter to own gunner walkon.
It would be nice to have more money and for the things you spend it on to be cheaper, but that's not life.
Paintball is much cheaper then in its early days, by all reports its in a decline on the tournament circuit, it would probably be news for paintball site owners if I said they were booming, but they are attracting customers. If they charge the right price and keep their sites fresh then they can remain in business.
Every fortnight for most of the year is a lot of paintball. It's not only the cost that will stop people from doing this, there are other life commitments and other hobbies that take people's time.
For the tournament side of paintball there will be this kind of commitment, which will have had an affect. People won't be able to always be able to commit the time and money to regularly practice and compete, with walkons and scenarios people can make less of a commitment and play as much as they can afford or put the time in.
The argument of paintball being too expensive and stopping potential players is often heard, it's similar to all those potential professional footballers in pubs who hurt their leg once, and that's the only reason they are not now making millions.
Paintball is affordable to play once for anyone with some disposable cash. They can then decide if they are interested and then see if they can balance their income with expenses and other life needs then see if they can fit in paintball.
Being a professional paintballer is also available to people with a bit of talent - but it again takes some balancing to do, including making the commitment to take care of themselves, warming up to prevent injury, making other sacrifices and not getting hammered the night before a game
What can be done to make paintball cheaper:
Sites charge less - the site make less money and either at a loss or spending less on the site and staff
Shops charge less for equipment - the shop makes less money ...... Go out of business etc
Sponsorship supports more players - it costs less or items become free, but why should the shop/site/manufacturer fund the players game?
'Supporting deals' are available to every player in paintball in one form or another - these are effectively a discount, the benefit to the shop is a multiple sale. (Cash flow and a single transaction)
Sponsorship is a rarer item - this is a two way street between player and business. The business gives their side of the deal, and the player reciprocates. There must be value to the business or they are just burning money. There is no point in giving away the products they sell to their customers for nothing, but there is a benefit in supporting someone who shows the products in a good light. If a tournament team always wins when using certain products then it is an advertisement, or they help the company with products - testing and helping develop etc
A sponsorship relationship will save money, but it won't fund paintball. It will take more commitment from the player to do their side of the deal which will include putting in time and effort
Sites charge less - the site make less money and either at a loss or spending less on the site and staff
Shops charge less for equipment - the shop makes less money ...... Go out of business etc
Sponsorship supports more players - it costs less or items become free, but why should the shop/site/manufacturer fund the players game?
'Supporting deals' are available to every player in paintball in one form or another - these are effectively a discount, the benefit to the shop is a multiple sale. (Cash flow and a single transaction)
Sponsorship is a rarer item - this is a two way street between player and business. The business gives their side of the deal, and the player reciprocates. There must be value to the business or they are just burning money. There is no point in giving away the products they sell to their customers for nothing, but there is a benefit in supporting someone who shows the products in a good light. If a tournament team always wins when using certain products then it is an advertisement, or they help the company with products - testing and helping develop etc
A sponsorship relationship will save money, but it won't fund paintball. It will take more commitment from the player to do their side of the deal which will include putting in time and effort