...then Tyger kicks the hornet's nest...
I can't control myself. I'm listening to punk rock, I'm in massive ammounts of pain, and someone needs to feel the wrath. And it's this thread. And after being burnt out on another board, you think I'd learn, but no. I'm stupid, I'm a macochist, I like pain.
Ok, everyone talks about cheating. nobody ever has solutions. So, how about a solution? I have one that will prepare tournament players for what they want. Ready? You'll love this.
Video evidence.
Works like this. Since tournament play is taking place on arena fields, and the biggest "Perk" to playing these fields is the ability to show paintball on TV, let's prepare for it and discourage cheating! Allow video evidence to affect the game score.
Team A plays Team B. Team A has a player blatantly wipe a hit from his arm while in play. A representative from Team B catches this wipe on videotape. After the game, the cameraman approaches the video ref (Or possibly ultimate) for that field and says he has video of a player on Team A cheating.
The ref gives the cameraman 1 minute of his time maximum. He then watches the segment of tape with the blatant wipe. Seeing the wipe, he then penalises Team A with negative points, possible swing points given to Team B, and possible forefiture of the game due to a blatant act of cheating. That player is also individually punished by being forced to sit a game for each wipe infraction. So if that player wipes 3 times in a game, he's sitting for 3 games, and his team must play short.
On the other hand, if the ultimate can not, after 1 minute, definately say that a wipe took place, Team B is penalised by losing points from that game (Similar to losing a time out on a video replay in US Football) The incentive being that you must be 150% sure you have an obvious attempt to wipe a hit or your team is penalised in some manner.
Will it slow events down? Well, if there's a lot of wiping in a game then yes. Constraints can be placed on the presentation of video evidence (evidence must be provided within X ammount of minutes from the game's end, for example) But I think that just the social pressure of playing under the unblinking eye of a camera lens will keep many players honest. If that player who "Buffed the car" knew he was on the jumbotron at that specific moment, do you think he would have done it? Probably not.
As it is, many teams already have cameras in the stands. The cost of hand-held video cameras are coming down. And considering that players are already willing to invest thousands in a gun, what's 2-3 video cameras? Your players that are sitting a game now have something they can do for their team (as camera players). And if the other team has a video crew looking for you to cheat, would YOU give them that opening?
Now as for the punishment goes, I can see many ways it can go. Swing points, sitting players, game forfitures, whatever, as long as there's accountability to the players of BOTH teams. Team A would be accountable if there was a cheat on, Team B would be accountable for wasting the referee's time if there was not.
Its a solution. It's not the best, and it's not going to always work, but at least I'm talking solutions. It doesn't work to stop scenario game cheaters, or rec game cheaters, or small tournaments that have only a few teams in it cheaters, but it's a start.
There. Free idea for the world to use.
-Tyger
