CPPS Round 1 Report
So, today, the 28th Feb 2010, saw the new round of CPPS, and true to my word I was free on the weekend so went up to have a look around and see what is going on up there.
First off the location, it was held at the Lower Drayton Farm at Penkridge in Staffs, very quick and simple to find, after hopping off the motorway I was at the field within 10 minutes. As we approached the site we could see the towering inflatable’s marking out paintball’s presence in that midlands’ landscape.
Parking was no problem, and as I got my camera and pad out of the car, I was pleasantly surprised in seeing the bustle of players swarming around the event.
That characteristic sound of shooting markers immersed the surrounding fields with the sound of paintball, curious as it was to the uninitiated but a welcoming cacophony to those who have grown to love our sport.
The weather, as usual, hadn’t really done our paintball fraternity any favours in deciding to unload the contents of its sky the night before and soak all the fields as a consequence, it made for interesting play shall we say.
After slogging through the mud, the event was very cleanly laid out; the 3 fields were well spaced apart with ample walking room around them and the ability to wander all the way around every field was another interesting feature of the event.
Air-fill stations were strategically placed in multiple locations so that any field could top up quickly without masses of people all queuing up to go to one of the fill stations, this was one of those nice little touches that is not expected but lifts the spirits a little when encountered.
The tents for various functions were well spaced-out, a nice touch I must say, this gave a more open feel and made the event feel quite relaxed as people had their own space and not treading on everyone else’s toes.
From the trade point of view, there were several vendors present which was handy if any of the players needed any gear either having lost it or forgotten it the night before; these vendors were easily accessible and visible from nearly all of the area, a few more vendors next time would be a nice touch and I’m sure after this event, the trade will have had a heads up as to its success and will hopefully be looking to attend.
A food van providing hot and cold grub all day was not overly priced because a lot of food vendors seem to take advantage of being the monopoly food provider at the site, but not here, it made a refreshing change to not have someone rob your wallet for a cup of tea and a burger.
The problems they have, is in serving up quickly when they get a flood of players turning up to eat, which obviously seems to happen at one time or another, still, it wasn’t that bad really.
Whilst there, I spoke to several people and teams about their views on everything, I got no real complaints apart from the weather (it was cold and windy) but everyone I spoke to thought the event was very well put together and organised; the reffing was mentioned several times which normally means players were pissed off, but this time the players and teams seemed to really like the refffing standard and had no real problems; and so, inevitably, when asked, people felt they were getting real value for money at this event.
I also ended up meeting a young lad for who this was his first paintball tournament, and was loving every moment, which, at the end of the day is what we are all looking for, right?
Heading over to the admin tent / box / crate which also ran the music and doubled for the announcements centre, I had the chance to talk with Rich Harris, the co-promoter of this event, he was pleased with how it was going but was more reserved about the whole day until it had finished up and ran its course, luckily for Rich, nothing went wrong and I’m sure he must have gone home a happy man because of the way the event had unfolded.
Mind you, it wasn’t all smiles and hugs, It turns out, that when ordering the food for the refs, a mistake was made by the food van which caused a slight problem with the scheduling, however, it was easily sorted and games were still going on regardless and if this was the only logistical hiccup Rich was to face during the day, then he wasn’t going to be too disappointed with the turnout.
He also mentioned his plans to change the layout of the venue; the new layout would provide easier access with better visibility for vendors and teams.
Overall I can say apart from the weather, it was a very well thought out and extremely well-run event from my perspective.
The teams seemed happy and no real complaints about the tournament setup itself which let’s face it, is the bottom line of any event ... when we look beneath all the rhetoric that surrounds events everywhere, it is the players and teams who are the customers and if they are happy, then it is this that determines whether or not the promoter has done his job correctly.
I am sure Rich must be nervously confident as to the nature of response he will witness on our forum regarding this event but I’m sure he has nothing to worry about after what I have seen here.
I would definitely recommend any teams looking to try something new to give the CPPS a real shot, it was an extremely enjoyable place to go and is real value for money when we look at just what it costs to play our game ... because, after all, we all want and need, value for money, and it is the only bottom line as far as the players and teams go.
Well done Rich, well done Mark [the other co-promoter].
Click the images to see the full sized photo.
Rich Harris
Various pictures of the layout and event.
So, today, the 28th Feb 2010, saw the new round of CPPS, and true to my word I was free on the weekend so went up to have a look around and see what is going on up there.
First off the location, it was held at the Lower Drayton Farm at Penkridge in Staffs, very quick and simple to find, after hopping off the motorway I was at the field within 10 minutes. As we approached the site we could see the towering inflatable’s marking out paintball’s presence in that midlands’ landscape.
Parking was no problem, and as I got my camera and pad out of the car, I was pleasantly surprised in seeing the bustle of players swarming around the event.
That characteristic sound of shooting markers immersed the surrounding fields with the sound of paintball, curious as it was to the uninitiated but a welcoming cacophony to those who have grown to love our sport.
The weather, as usual, hadn’t really done our paintball fraternity any favours in deciding to unload the contents of its sky the night before and soak all the fields as a consequence, it made for interesting play shall we say.
After slogging through the mud, the event was very cleanly laid out; the 3 fields were well spaced apart with ample walking room around them and the ability to wander all the way around every field was another interesting feature of the event.
Air-fill stations were strategically placed in multiple locations so that any field could top up quickly without masses of people all queuing up to go to one of the fill stations, this was one of those nice little touches that is not expected but lifts the spirits a little when encountered.
The tents for various functions were well spaced-out, a nice touch I must say, this gave a more open feel and made the event feel quite relaxed as people had their own space and not treading on everyone else’s toes.
From the trade point of view, there were several vendors present which was handy if any of the players needed any gear either having lost it or forgotten it the night before; these vendors were easily accessible and visible from nearly all of the area, a few more vendors next time would be a nice touch and I’m sure after this event, the trade will have had a heads up as to its success and will hopefully be looking to attend.
A food van providing hot and cold grub all day was not overly priced because a lot of food vendors seem to take advantage of being the monopoly food provider at the site, but not here, it made a refreshing change to not have someone rob your wallet for a cup of tea and a burger.
The problems they have, is in serving up quickly when they get a flood of players turning up to eat, which obviously seems to happen at one time or another, still, it wasn’t that bad really.
Whilst there, I spoke to several people and teams about their views on everything, I got no real complaints apart from the weather (it was cold and windy) but everyone I spoke to thought the event was very well put together and organised; the reffing was mentioned several times which normally means players were pissed off, but this time the players and teams seemed to really like the refffing standard and had no real problems; and so, inevitably, when asked, people felt they were getting real value for money at this event.
I also ended up meeting a young lad for who this was his first paintball tournament, and was loving every moment, which, at the end of the day is what we are all looking for, right?
Heading over to the admin tent / box / crate which also ran the music and doubled for the announcements centre, I had the chance to talk with Rich Harris, the co-promoter of this event, he was pleased with how it was going but was more reserved about the whole day until it had finished up and ran its course, luckily for Rich, nothing went wrong and I’m sure he must have gone home a happy man because of the way the event had unfolded.
Mind you, it wasn’t all smiles and hugs, It turns out, that when ordering the food for the refs, a mistake was made by the food van which caused a slight problem with the scheduling, however, it was easily sorted and games were still going on regardless and if this was the only logistical hiccup Rich was to face during the day, then he wasn’t going to be too disappointed with the turnout.
He also mentioned his plans to change the layout of the venue; the new layout would provide easier access with better visibility for vendors and teams.
Overall I can say apart from the weather, it was a very well thought out and extremely well-run event from my perspective.
The teams seemed happy and no real complaints about the tournament setup itself which let’s face it, is the bottom line of any event ... when we look beneath all the rhetoric that surrounds events everywhere, it is the players and teams who are the customers and if they are happy, then it is this that determines whether or not the promoter has done his job correctly.
I am sure Rich must be nervously confident as to the nature of response he will witness on our forum regarding this event but I’m sure he has nothing to worry about after what I have seen here.
I would definitely recommend any teams looking to try something new to give the CPPS a real shot, it was an extremely enjoyable place to go and is real value for money when we look at just what it costs to play our game ... because, after all, we all want and need, value for money, and it is the only bottom line as far as the players and teams go.
Well done Rich, well done Mark [the other co-promoter].
Click the images to see the full sized photo.
Rich Harris
Various pictures of the layout and event.
