Campaign 09 Feedback (previously known as "Ulrich is a tw*t").

[Piper]

Lack of vendor's is not really down to the Millennium, they employee someone who is in charge of dealing with the trade, I know for a fact she did not call anyone and I know the Millennium are aware of this, so I am sure they will act accordingly. That being said if main sponsors (KEE and Smart Parts spring to my mind) do not want to attend the Millennium's in their own country and support their customers, how can we blame the Millennium for that? You cannot, well you could but you would be wrong.

Lovetone your right people could have taken there own food, or driven a whole 3 miles and been at a retail park that had restaurants and even a supermarket where you can buy food.

Also Mickie D mentioned it was 4th venue attendance syndrome............. Just so you know Mikey D this was the second highest attended event this year, behind Malaga, why is this? Because of the excellent attendance by UK teams.......... But other than that fact Mikey you are 100% correct......... Oh wait no your not!

 

[Robbo]

Why are people bitching about the price of food and drink?

One question just to get it out the way: can you take your own food and drink?

If the answer is yes, then there isnt really an argument to be had.
Make yourself some sandwiches, pack fruit and biscuits whatever, and a thermos / big bottle of water.

simples.

Simples????

It's only 'simples' if you know you are going to be charged extortionate prices; if you don't then it's not unreasonable to expect responsibly priced food for you and your family if you are going as spectators.
It's almost an insult to be charged so inappropriately and in the case of the ice cream people, so illegally.

And so Lovetone, if you haven't got Derren Brown hanging out your ass or somebody else who can tell you the future, you are pretty much fcukaroonied when it comes to feeding yourself ....

 

[Buddha 3]

Sorry, but all I hear and read is a load of crap. Stongle nailed most of it already (as is his M.O.), but people need to get a reality check.

As for that long post about how the MS should run things, sorry mate, you mean well, but you live in a dreamworld. A location as you describe would cost more than teams are willing to pay for, simple as. The NPPL used to have locations that would give the avarage baller a hard on, but look where they went... In the end people want to play ball, which is as easily done in a field as it is on a village green (in fact, it is easier in a field).

I could list many things that would improve the series and the events, without costing too much, but you guys are missing the plot. Complaining about the food? Sure, it was expensive as hell (though I did like the taste of the burgers) and paying 2 pounds for a lukewarm bottle of soda is enough to make me want to kill things, but this is out of the MS's control and you also seem to forget that it is not their responsibility to feed you. It is YOUR responsibility to feed YOU.

As far as this bit goes: Worst of all however was the location and layout meant NO non-paintball spectators, they were actually fenced off so they could not even wander over from the urban farm place next door ?????

Get some glasses, I saw these people everywhere. I lost count of the amount of kids I saw walking about in their little football outfits.

Since you guys are the paying customers, you have every right to be critical, but you are complaining about the wrong things. Forget the Crystal Palaces of old. You guys need to start showing up in sufficient numbers to go back to places like that. Or need to start paying way more money, like they do in the US.

 

[Buddha 3]

Why are people bitching about the price of food and drink?

One question just to get it out the way: can you take your own food and drink?

If the answer is yes, then there isnt really an argument to be had.
Make yourself some sandwiches, pack fruit and biscuits whatever, and a thermos / big bottle of water.

simples.

Read it people. The truth!

 

[Dusty]

I have to say the reffing on the M5 JT field (which also apparently was laid out by blind monkeys, the M wasn't even straight) was quite simply atrocious. I saw one ref in particular who should have been taken outside and hung by his foreign bollocks. One or two of them seemed to know their stuff and the head ref was fine but refused to listen to comments about calls.

Overall, I think the main problem is value for money. People want it, and the Millennium can't or won't provide it.

And yes the food was extortionate which of course you couldn't know till you arrived.

Ninja Edit,

I thought the location was fine, the playing surface was good and the pit areas were easily accessible and there was plenty of space for teams.

 

[Buddha 3]

Simples????

It's only 'simples' if you know you are going to be charged extortionate prices; if you don't then it's not unreasonable to expect responsibly priced food for you and your family if you are going as spectators.
It's almost an insult to be charged so inappropriately and in the case of the ice cream people, so illegally.

And so Lovetone, if you haven't got Derren Brown hanging out your ass or somebody else who can tell you the future, you are pretty much fcukaroonied when it comes to feeding yourself ....

Pete, I gotta say I agree with Lovetone. Every year this has been a recurring complaint, so the people that didn't expect to be paying big money for small food, must have been living under a rock. Still, didn't make it any more fun to pay something like 10 pounds to buy drinks for 3 people...

 

[Ellis90]

I have to say the reffing on the M5 JT field (which also apparently was laid out by blind monkeys, the M wasn't even straight) was quite simply atrocious. I saw one ref in particular who should have been taken outside and hung by his foreign bollocks. One or two of them seemed to know their stuff and the head ref was fine but refused to listen to comments about calls.

Overall, I think the main problem is value for money. People want it, and the Millennium can't or won't provide it.

And yes the food was extortionate which of course you couldn't know till you arrived.

i can second that about the m5 reffing, from a players perspective

 

[Piper]

Let alone the distance from all major travel points ie trains, buses and most of all airports !

London City Airport is 30 mins away

Gatwick is 1 hour 7 mins

Heathrow is 1 hour 13

When the Toulouse event was held at the rugby standium, which is still one of the best venues and events ever, that was a good hour away by car......... Malaga I think was around 30 mins from the airport............ Germany event is around 1 hour depending on the airport.............. Paris is a 4 hour drive from London or from the airport it is a good 45 mins............. But other than that Marco you are spot on

 

[Fish]

Yes Belgium is still the winner of worst event, but Campaign Cup this year was one of the best I have been to, your comment in my eyes (and seeing as I have attended all but 3 since the Millennium has been going) is way off! I can name about 5 other Millenniums that where far worse than this Campaign Cup. The venue was good playing surface was good ample parking...... So waht excatly was so bad? Reffing is always hit and miss and very hard to get right, security is about the only valid point you have!

Just on those two points.

Playing surface was sub-standard, even by local event standards. Div 2 field had a pot-hole on the way to a corner from the gate, just asking for someone to break an ankle in it. Parts of the field looked like a woodchipper had been resident for some time spraying debris left right and centre.

Div 1 field was no better, was a mound behind one of the boxes on the teabag tape, and what seemed to be a large track leading from the can to the tea-bag on that side which meant anyone diving, sliding or running along that path had to literally take the rough with the smooth. Anyone else also spot the small metal stump of a pole on the snake side?

Clumps of straw in convenient diving locations didn't help keep the ground from turning to mush, and infact resulted in injuries from a few splinters, to at least 2 dislocated shoulders(that I'm aware of) from where the paint on them has made it a super-slippery surface. We know there is turf at their disposal, why is this not utilised at every event?


Location was hardly great now was it, they'd of done just as well to have stuck with the previous location, if it wasn't for the burst water pipe then it wouldn't have really been so bad. Telling people it was just down the road from the previous site was taking the mickey a bit now wasn't it... After closing up our booth for the evening and heading for some food at 7ish we noted on a good few occasions the number of people slogging it out, walking back to hotels they'd booked in the festival leisure park area. I'm sure they were all pleased with how close it was, especially if they got a nice early draw. On the same note, it was very much in the middle of nowhere, and this is why the site vendors can charge what they should choose to, they are after all, in this business to make money, and I think we're all aware that an ice-cream van-man can only be a lucrative business for half the year at most.


I'd like to point out that I enjoy playing the Millenniums but it does at times seem that constructive criticism is not taken on-board.

There were, more bins present than in the past, the pits looked much cleaner for this; a bit more variety of food choice, whether it was overpriced of not. Improvements may be slow, but they do appear to be being made over previous years' events.


edit: Oh, and did anyone else also notice the price rise in player cards? £38 now?! The word is that they were only initially charging for the initial cost and set-up of the machines, these haven't been changed in a good few years and the print quality seems to get worse year on year too! I understand there are expected running/maintenance costs, but the incomes from this will greatly outweigh the expenditure.

 

[Robbo]

I thought this year’s Campaign Cup was pretty good, all things considered.
The amount of vendors was down yes but this had little to do with the Millennium and more to do with the current financial climate I think.
The weather was outrageously good for mid-September and it burnt my ole slap-head which made me look like a swan vesta match.
The layout was practical, if not inspired and I had no problems in navigating my way past the vendors to the main stands of action.
The increase from last year in UK teams was encouraging for many reasons and entirely due to teams being able to camp and thus bring their event bills down significantly.
At every event, no matter where you go in the world of paintball, there will be problems with reffing and so we can pretty much ignore these....well we can up until a point but from what I saw, the reffing was competent to good.
I never saw one bad call but then again I didn’t see that much paintball and the games I did watch were mainly CPL ...... but I can only say what I saw.
I thought the atmosphere was quite good really considering the number of people there and the quiet times obviously corresponded to the times when the least number of people were around.
I’m not really sure what people expected from this event but it was certainly nothing like the Toulouse events of old but then again, if the Federation Cup we are holding in a few weeks was anywhere near as good as this year’s Campaign Cup, then I’m gonna be well pleased.

Sergey Leontiev once told me, ‘the devil is in the detail Pete’ and he was damned right, maybe the Millennium guys should maybe look at details like, what prices are being charged at their events for things like tea and ice cream but that said, I wouldn’t want them to take their eye off the main goals for any event, and at this event, I think they did a good job, a pretty good job indeed.