Your average Brit-baller is probably exactly how you describe, interested at a local level only. But then is it any wonder.
The financial side of paintball is very different here to what it is state-side. I'm sure, given the finance, many Brit teams would jump at the chance to go and play in the States.. in fact I would put money on the U.K. Tourney scene suffering badly if State-side play were a viable option for most U.K. teams.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess at costs but, for example, I reckon the total for entering the CPL next year, at £450/team for 6 rounds (£2700) works out roughly the same as sending 8 team members to one Super Seven Tournament state-side.
Given that, at best, one a year is the most many teams would be able to afford if they sacrificed more local events, is it any wonder they are not really that interested in what happens tourney-wise in the U.S? I'm sure many are interested in the techniques used at the highest levels, as am I, but when do they get chance to see those techniques or get taught how to do them?
It's a vicious circle, given that most Brit-Teams, even if they forked out and went over, may/would probably* end up having their arses handed to them.
When I see adverts up for tournaments in the states that last one day, involve maybe 10-15 5-man teams in Hicksville county, and the winning team get 5 Impulses as prizes I wonder how the hell we brits are supposed to compete with that level of funding.. I don't want a new impulse but selling the damn thing could pay for my part of a trip to a U.S. Super Seven event...
For many it comes down to an entire series over a single event, and understandable for them, the entire series wins. Hell, some teams cannot afford to turn up at every leg of an entire series.
Outside of the funding issue there is the "where do we train" issue. Apoc have had a 5-man tubed field for a while that is now just about had it and will be getting a tubeless field in the near future. Because we have a site we have somewhere to put it up, clean it, store it, etc etc. Many teams do not have that. Many teams training regimes involve playing in the M-25, the Midland Masters, the Series 2K3, the SWPL, and doing one-off specials like the Welsh Open. Without somewhere to train, are they ever going to be able to compete at the highest level? Without someone to show them where they are going wrong, and to instruct them on how to do it professionally, are they ever going to compete at the highest level? Personally, I think not.
Many Brit Teams, even though they train, really have no idea what they are doing. Sure, their training may help them win local stuff but without someone who really knows what's what, they will almost certainly be missing the knowledge that would push their game to new heights.
For many teams, as soon as players start showing promise, they get offered spots on better funded, better sponsored teams. Some teams fold as some of their players move on up. For individuals in paintball it is relatively easy to move up the ladder, if you're prepared to put in the work - for entire teams it is a damn sight harder.
While I would agree there are a number of "22bps, non-mover" players around, there are also a lot of "I wish I could but I don't now how" players..
I don't think that malaise is necessarily the main problem here in the U.K... but I guess this post put's me firmly in the "woe is me, life is unfair" category.
Urban
*delete as applicable
