Thoughts Please ...

[Robbo]

I had quite a long Skype-chat with Chrissie Edwards today, after he had tried to justify his somewhat dubious sexual predilection he has for chicks over 320 pound, we finally got around to talking about Paintball ....

We have both earned our stripes when it comes to offering an opinion re the state of UK ball but I don't think answers to any of paintball's ills are always within the domain of the pro player, or even ex pro.

I refer to of course, the situation we now find ourselves in with less pro teams than Iceland and a tourney scene that goes from bad to worse.
This certainly wasn't always the case because it wasn't that long ago i can remember over 10 pro teams with tournaments all over the place.

Well, the reason I posted this up was so that you guys can offer up opinions as to how we can improve our sport.
This may have been covered before but maybe not as specifically as this and I would like you guys to come up with some answers and if I think they will work, I can get to the people who can make them work.

Chrissie had a pretty good idea in that he felt creating a single national league would go some way to helping but would it?
It's an idea ....any more ideas?
I would love to see some but please don't just plonk the idea up, please explain why you think it would work ....

Thanks in anticipation guys ...

 

[solo69]

Pro League

Pete,

Having played for far to long it seemes all to apparnt,

We need a professional League where teams and their players are locked into divs have to play all the season to earn promotion at the end of the year.

This would promote training and people moving up the paintball ladder growing into the top player spots?

Paintball has become a little disjointed and needs leadership!!!

Maybe your the man

Johnny
Rebellion

 

[eastie]

Yeh I like the idea of a national league. If for example you asked all tournament organisers to come together, and rather than make a few medioka leagues which compete with eachother, make one big leauge, which has many different divisions ranging from pro, down to koth.
Sort of like a UK version of the millenium.
I think the problem about UK ball is that there isnt really anywhere to play competitevely (sp?) without going abroad and spending thousands of pounds a season. Im 16 years old, and in full time education, and I sure know that I havent got the odd grand or two to spend. I have a part time job which allows me to train every weekend, but were talking £50 a week here!
I played all the PA's this year, and managed financially ok there, but then obviously the league went bye bye!

So forget about money, if there is a big league, I think it would be so beneficial if all pro teams played at the same venue as the KOTH teams did. Most people enjoy watching the pro's play, so if the lower div teams can do that on the same day they were playing, I think its a win win situation! Big teams get publicity, lower div teams get to watch how its done!

Im presuming the format would be a millenium set up, but have the players cast a vote on what format they would like to play at the event. At the end of the day, it's them who is spending the money, and keeping the leauge alive, so let them have a bit of choice to what they spend their money on!

There is far too much rivalry between different leauges, but forget all that. If this doesn't stop, then the organisers wont have a league to run themselves, let alone to compete against another league!

I think Edwards' idea is clearly the way to go by far. Anybody else??

 

[eastie]

Pete,

Having played for far to long it seemes all to apparnt,

We need a professional League where teams and their players are locked into divs have to play all the season to earn promotion at the end of the year.

This would promote training and people moving up the paintball ladder growing into the top player spots?

Paintball has become a little disjointed and needs leadership!!!

Maybe your the man

Johnny
Rebellion

Yeh, something like the PA back in the day. Where there was 3, 4, 5 divs? People get promoted and relegated at the end of the year etc. Thats the way its done in all other sports, and thats the way it should be done in Paintball

 

[House]

I think a national league would be a good idea or some kind of event where the best top 4 teams from the seperate legues round the country meet to play it out.

But what do I know

 

[Devrij]

Bah

 

[Robbo]

In my opinion the problem with paintball is the paintballers!!!

Now no doubt I'm gonna get flack for this post but it's how I see it.

The problem with paintball is the people who play it. We need to improve our attitude in order to push our sport forward.

I think a national league would be a good idea or some kind of event where the best top 4 teams from the seperate legues round the country meet to play it out.

But what do I know

Actually House, don't worry too much mate because part of the problem most certainly is the attitude of a lot of players.
I am hoping that if we can provide a new construct for improvement, then these guys will change their atitude; it's basically a top down approach that can work as long as we nail the right answers.

And as for your suggestion Solo, you are right, I would be the right man but I ain't gonna do it mate, not in a million years

 

[spangley_special]

Yeh, something like the PA back in the day. Where there was 3, 4, 5 divs? People get promoted and relegated at the end of the year etc. Thats the way its done in all other sports, and thats the way it should be done in Paintball

but is the domestic scene big enough to sustain such a league?

On the league front I think several smaller leagues that are under one umberella league is the way to go.

What i mean is, you play your local tourney as normal, but then once or twice a year there is an event (like Shoot the Rainbow or Heavens Gate). Teams from all over the country come together and play eah other based on their standing within the sub-league they are in.
For example, the top half of Div1 south are grouped with the top half of Div1 north. (or however the sub-leagues would work out)
So here we would have seperate sub-leagues individually run, but to a standard set by the umberella league, which would be presumably run by a board of some type (which would ideally consult a group of long standing and respected team capts)

 

[Ironkid]

I think that a national league is what paintball needs, because just like other sports there is a structure where there is rankings, promotion and relegation etc which make it look alot more professional. By doing this i think paintball will become more recognised by the media and so the sport will grow. Also by everyone putting there efforts into one league the quality of tournaments will be better.

Thats my view anyway

 

[Robbo]

As far as I'm aware, the issue is a lack of resources is it not? I don't know if any amount of league reorganisation will change the fact that people can't afford to devote the amount of time/money necessary to compete at a professional level.

Dev, I'm not so sure we are talking about a pro issue here inasmuch our malaise goes a lot deeper than pro teams.
The pro situation is just a symptom of a much larger problem and hopefully we can come up with answers to respond to this larger problem.

Once we get it sorted, the pro teams sort themselves out because their creation and development is an emergent property of a healthy tournament scene ...leastwise that's what happens in my experience mate.