Thoughts Please ...

[Robbo]

Does the event need Pete Robinson to be involved in order to be successful? Yes, absolutely it does, Chris too, and Ledz, and absolutely everyone else too.

I'm not so sure it would need Chrissie unless of course the event hosted a wet 'T' shirt contest for hippos and he was the main judge ...but for the most part, I do agree with a lot of your post but that's maybe because we are old

I think I might prod Ledzy to post something coz he always has his finger on the paintball pulse ...well, when its not clasped tigtly around a fork that is buried into a pizza ..

Oh and Nicky T maybes as well ....

 

[MissyQ]

money will always be an issue. alot of people including myself enjoy just going out and shooting people/getting shot at. i dont have the money or time outside of work to train every weekend or travel the length of the country to tournaments. i agree in 1 premiership style league for the entire country but on a side note the existing tournaments should still run allowing the small time players an option also. i'd quite happily train and travel every weekend if someone gave me a job allowing me to do this and if someone was to fund my addiction

No Offence Evilonline, but I am going to use you as an example of what is wrong with the UK Paintball Picture.

Its not your fault that you can't afford to play as much as you want, or that paintball is not cheaper. However, the fact remains that the only way you would be able to go to the big national events is if someone else paid for it. That makes you a parasite on the back of either the industry or your team-mates. Again, no offence, but the industry needs less of you, and more people that can actually afford to do stuff. You want a national league, but you want the other leagues too. You want a paintball utopia, but with someone else footing the bill. Thats unhealthy, not to mention unlikely.

Get me 90 teams who will actually pay an entry fee and travel to an event once per year in the UK, staying in a hotel for 2-3 nights, and buying from a selection of paint from the organiser of the event for 5 quid a box more than you usually pay, and I'll show you a UK event that will make your eyes water. If you can't show me that, then enjoy the Farmer-Giles BYOP league or whatever crap you're playing right now.

 

[evoonline]

i think for a modern site to flourish they need to offer both supair and woodland. the woodland would be the main income source running on weekends for regular customers and perhaps some midweek company teamwork outtings whilst also offering a tournament setup for that 1 sunday a month or so with team training inbetween. obviously there are supair sites around the UK which do perfectly well running only supair but they are few and far between.

 

[Kitty]

Firstly I feel one big league is the way forward, possibly with a feeder league run at several events. For example NEPL / NPPL its a good structure and ensures site owners don't loose out on getting tourneys at there sites.

In general from the outside UK paintball looks a mess, with leagues everywhere clashing events etc snd no one really 'governing' paintball as a whole.

Someone needs to chew it up and spit out a whole new model with real structure and rules that are enforced. So many times you go to tourneys and basic things like chrono limits, ROF arent stated I think if the leagues felt more professional perhaps the players would have more pride and in turn would follow in acting accordingly. Take it back to basics and build on a stronger foundation.

I know in real terms that it is easier to talk about than to action upon but I think it has now got to that stage that if nothing is done you won't have any leagues to play in.

Perhaps a group of people need to come together who are experienced and form some kind of paintball councill to ensure certain regulations and standards are met with the smaller leagues. Obviously these cant be enforced but some kind of endorsement similar to that of the UKPSF?

I have had way to much sugar and not enough sleep so I hope you can understand what I am getting at with my babble, personally tearing the whole lot down and starting afresh in my mind is the only way to go, we have gone beyound bein able to re-dress the same old ****.

But it takes more than just a small group of people to do this, it will take the support of ballers too, is that what people really want? I'll be watching this thread with a great deal of interest.

 

[evoonline]

lol no offence taken missy ive never borrowed money from team mates, have attended all tournaments my team have attended and all training sessions weve put on. i understand where your coming from though. it is a greedy ask but i cant see all tournament organisers getting together to form 1 big uk league so was merely offering an alternative much like (again using football as my example) a premierleague for teams who can foot the bills or who wanna play to the highest level whilst still offering a sunday league style setup for the smaller "pub" teams who just like a kick about of a sunday morning

**evilOnline rofl. like it

 

[MissyQ]

I do agree with a lot of your post but that's maybe because we are old ....

Dude, YOU're old, I'm in the prime of my facking life...

 

[Kitty]

And yes people do need to be prepared to put their hands in their pockets to pay up, sites cant just fund tourney ball off the rec ballers tourney ball needs to start funding itself.

 

[Tony Harrison]

My Initial Thoughts

Firstly, we have to decide whether we want another tournament series running besides those which are already established.

If the answer is no, then it would seem sensible to unite behind Wendy, who currently is the dominant organiser in the UK, with a proven track record of organising events at all levels, and who has strong ties with the Millennium.

Since Wendy already has Midland and Southern series up and running, it shouldn't present many problems for her to organise a Northern league, all using the same rules.

The top teams from all 3 leagues could then play off against each other in an annual "Cup Final" event, and awards presented at an end of season party.

If the answer to my first question is yes, and you want something new,
then the first step is to elect a board to run the new series, so players can have a voice via the elected board members.

(I have taken this to be my first step as I am assuming Robbo already has sufficient industry muscle assembled to support a new series).

Personally, as I believe that skill doesn't depend on the amount of paint you shoot, I would then suggest that if cost is an issue for players, the events be run as limited paint, similar to the old WDP Forest National events.

I would assume that the majority of readers will disagree with the above paragraph.

Divsions would consist of pro, semi-pro, am & novice teams, with no roster locks, as then you have the excitement of playing against the pros coupled with the lower ranked teams being able to recruit pros to their own squad.

There would be monthly (or bi-montly) events at a central UK location, with independent refs - no teams reffing.

Standings would be calculated after the season's events and everyone attends an end of season awards party.

Personally, I would like to see monthly limited paint events at city centre locations throughout the UK, to bring UK ball out of remote locations and into the public eye.

 

[MissyQ]

And yes people do need to be prepared to put their hands in their pockets to pay up, sites cant just fund tourney ball off the rec ballers tourney ball needs to start funding itself.

Kitty, the main reason why sites have stopped catering for the teams if for exactly that reason, which is why they won't be falling over themselves to do it again. Site-operators are businessmen. Some of them are even generous businessmen, and a fraction of those may even be generous businessmen that want to see Tournament paintball grow and flourish.

Forget people funding you. There are no more free lunches. Assemble teams that are financially stable. That should be the first step. If some guy wants to pay for hius son to play on your team to get him out of his xbox, thats the best you can hope for.

 

[Robbo]

No Offence Evilonline, but I am going to use you as an example of what is wrong with the UK Paintball Picture.

Its not your fault that you can't afford to play as much as you want, or that paintball is not cheaper. However, the fact remains that the only way you would be able to go to the big national events is if someone else paid for it. That makes you a parasite on the back of either the industry or your team-mates. Again, no offence, but the industry needs less of you, and more people that can actually afford to do stuff. You want a national league, but you want the other leagues too. You want a paintball utopia, but with someone else footing the bill. Thats unhealthy, not to mention unlikely.

Get me 90 teams who will actually pay an entry fee and travel to an event once per year in the UK, staying in a hotel for 2-3 nights, and buying from a selection of paint from the organiser of the event for 5 quid a box more than you usually pay, and I'll show you a UK event that will make your eyes water. If you can't show me that, then enjoy the Farmer-Giles BYOP league or whatever crap you're playing right now.

This post is bang on the money and really sums everything up in one fell swoop.
I can't really better it in any way other than to add ...... hmmmm, nah, I can add nothing, it says it all.