Our we dying

[david525]

hi all is toulament paint ball dying I was speaking to a site in hertfordshire and they up and selling there air field as the no call for it a lot of team that played cpps have broken up is this the slow end to paintball not the punter side but the pro side when you look at how many airsoft player are out there and how cheap the equipment is and the fact you can buy there pellets a lot cheaper than paint is our beloved sport on the way out

 

[olliewidd]

No. Not even close. Cpps is going from strength to strength. UKWM is growing year on year. Skirmish nottingham is running well attended tournaments. Nicky T has set up a classic event for next year with Joy Division, UK Predators, The Turks and The Rushers all in attendance. We have foreign teams making the trip over to attend our events. Teams come and go, that's the nature of the beast unfortunately but new teams seem to be popping up all over the shop.

 

[BOD]

I don't play tournaments so i have no idea but people were saying this exact same thing 10 years ago.

 

[James ECI]

No. Not even close. Cpps is going from strength to strength. UKWM is growing year on year. Skirmish nottingham is running well attended tournaments. Nicky T has set up a classic event for next year with Joy Division, UK Predators, The Turks and The Rushers all in attendance. We have foreign teams making the trip over to attend our events. Teams come and go, that's the nature of the beast unfortunately but new teams seem to be popping up all over the shop.

Afraid to say Ollie, paintball has contracted - yes there are pockets of growth but these aren't the norm.

That growth come at a cost and players dont want to suck this up even though it is for their beloved hobby/sport to get bigger.

Walkons / training venues are smaller - Bricket wood was affluent back in 11 - 13 but the cost of that was to Yorkie and sadly he is no longer running the site.

Until paintball from the ground up decides to work as a business - not giving sponsorships or support deals to what i class as starter / new teams and only giving them to top level teams that support REAL growth*, things will continue the way they are.

Might seem a bit dull but thats the reality.

If the cost of paint was to go up by 3 pounds a case or all supply of paint in the UK would stop, Im sure we would see those who actually play for the love of the sport continue and those who feel entitled would leave.

*By real growth i mean giving back with a bigger picture in mind than just yourself / the team you play for

 

[Tom]

There is possibly the factor that tournament paintball is being successful which is negatively effecting tournament sites across the UK

For a regional site to run a tournament field they need to have the right inflatables for the year and in the right layout for the month/round.
If acting as a training site then they don’t need the full level of refereeing, but would need that to run a tournament.

The UK is not very big and have the premium tournament series well placed in the centre.

This makes it harder for a regional site to sustain a tournament as they need the teams to turn up and play
As a training site they can offer the inflatables for the layout, but at high cost against the fee that x number of teams will train locally with an amount they are willing to spend
It’s beneficial in training to practice up against someone better than you or at least on a par, and that pretty much ends up with travelling to the central location again to go up against someone who will stretch your skills, and the opportunity to gain the intelligence of watching those that you will compete against

 

[James ECI]

There is possibly the factor that tournament paintball is being successful which is negatively effecting tournament sites across the UK

For a regional site to run a tournament field they need to have the right inflatables for the year and in the right layout for the month/round.
If acting as a training site then they don’t need the full level of refereeing, but would need that to run a tournament.

The UK is not very big and have the premium tournament series well placed in the centre.

This makes it harder for a regional site to sustain a tournament as they need the teams to turn up and play
As a training site they can offer the inflatables for the layout, but at high cost against the fee that x number of teams will train locally with an amount they are willing to spend
It’s beneficial in training to practice up against someone better than you or at least on a par, and that pretty much ends up with travelling to the central location again to go up against someone who will stretch your skills, and the opportunity to gain the intelligence of watching those that you will compete against

Pretty sure cpps teams were down in 2018 compared to 2017..

 

[MrAlex]

I think over here in the UK, its still almost underground. Whilst paintball is viewed as recreational for all, I think the tournament side of it isn't promoted enough perhaps. For me personally, it's finding people to go with as well as venues. It's quite awkward to approach a venue on your own or just 2 of you without knowing anyone else just as a recreational side, let alone a walk-on event or even more daunting a try off for a team.
Sites like here are a good place to discuss the topic and videos on YouTube etc help promote is but majority of videos are USA based with the exception of a few. It's maybe how it's marketed to people rather than it's dying? Perhaps the marketing of it is dying rather than the sport??

 

[Tony Harrison]

What @James ECI says is right. And @MrAlex, you're right too - tournament paintball is very much underground. You have to be in the loop to know about tournaments.

I believe many customer sites have taken to hosting airsoft events to make up for falling numbers in paintball players.

That's the main advantage airsoft has over paintball - it's cheap, doesn't hurt, and there's no paint to clean up afterwards. Whereas paintball is like getting married and divorced - expensive, painful and messy. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

 

[david525]

Paintball now is cheap I stared to play at 1pound a tube of 10 but you only shot 2 tubes a game but let's face it the older we get the more thing to spend money on mostly morgage bills kids and that little bit left is our paintball money . I think cpps is the best value and day you can get in the uk on the other hand the woodland masters is good but the refing is not there and too much wiping going on for my taste I play fair I now out to win at all cost not saying I not had peneties against me for a hopper hit but the refs at cpps are on the ball . Just have to see how many teams turn up next year

 

[James ECI]

Paintball now is cheap I stared to play at 1pound a tube of 10 but you only shot 2 tubes a game but let's face it the older we get the more thing to spend money on mostly morgage bills kids and that little bit left is our paintball money . I think cpps is the best value and day you can get in the uk on the other hand the woodland masters is good but the refing is not there and too much wiping going on for my taste I play fair I now out to win at all cost not saying I not had peneties against me for a hopper hit but the refs at cpps are on the ball . Just have to see how many teams turn up next year

Have you even played at the UKWM?