Geographic Team Names...A good thing????

[T.B.F.K.A.T.L.]

Well I'm all up for it, and looking at forming a Norwich team to enter. As soon as the dates are finalised and I get the go ahead from the team boss, I can then go ahead and start contacting potential sponsers, and boy do we have some big names round the norwich area. Norwich Union, Colmans, Lotus to name a few, I've got a list as long as my arm who will be recieving a begging letter.

 

[Russell Smith]

Originally posted by JoseDominguez
We had more interest from one article about our PA cup team than anything else. For gods sake, paintball got on prime time BBC (they think it's all over) because of the PA cup............. think about it, outside of yout team, who really gives a toss about match results? now strap on your town name, and suddenly paintball is starting to be viewed as a proper sport.
It's what we need, otherwise we continue playing for the Anal interceptors, monkey shavers etc.... etc... etc..... and never ever get taken seriously. Think about it.. if a workmate says "oh who do you play for?" you say "the scary prawns" or some other comedy paintball name, they say "oh, that's nice" but if you say "actually I play for Newcastle" suddenly you gain a bit of respect and they stay interested.

So we need the PA, we need serious teams like Lincoln, Newcastle and Manchester..............no more jokey names like Sunderland.

It's the same for industry teams and the more serious squads..... unless someone is "into" paintball, the majority of team names are meaningless. So why show any interest?

Oh and lets see how many new sponsors we get in 2004......... I bet we'll see some out of the industry interest in the PA.
Didn't anyone notice William Hill taking bets on paintball?
10 to 1 on the sheep spankers, I don't think so.

Well said Jose

 

[Cro]

Originally posted by T.B.F.K.A.T.L.
Well I'm all up for it, and looking at forming a Norwich team to enter. As soon as the dates are finalised and I get the go ahead from the team boss, I can then go ahead and start contacting potential sponsers, and boy do we have some big names round the norwich area. Norwich Union, Colmans, Lotus to name a few, I've got a list as long as my arm who will be recieving a begging letter.

Tort,

2 things, if you do get the go ahead I may be interested depending on the sponsorship thing (and of course if you want a player of my outstanding lack of ability lol). Which brings me onto point 2, I work for Colman's and can tell ya now it's never gonna happen, their owned by Unilever Best Foods and don't get a lot of budget. If you want to contact them direct then give me a shout.

Cro

 

[jahlad]

Originally posted by Russell Smith
Well said Jose

agreed,
it will be interesting to see how many teams change their name next year/season....i know we are

 

[ThunderCat]

Originally posted by eddiecsd
Are you generalising that Lincoln folk are turnip farmers? I'll have you know Im Lincoln Born inbred (err...is that a good thing!?) - do i look like a turnip, or a farmer of turnips Mr TC?

Actually yes, you look like a turnip

As for town names in team names making us play more locally, I'm sure it'll have the opposite effect, people will want to play against people from a different town more often. So that their town's team is at the top of the national league.

As it stands the majority of UK players I know can't afford to play outside our fair isle very often anyway, its too expensive.
Maybe after the extra sponsorship we get from the media interest we will be able to take our game overseas...

 

[eddiecsd]

-

 

[stongle]

Ok good points, but being an arguementative so and so.........

Your argument falls flat for Manchester. Whose Manchester represented by, Nexus, No Excuse, Exodus, RDX, Troggs (Chester maybe). They can't all claim to be Manchester............. so if you say "I play for Manchester" some people be lying.

Same for London, as much as I'd say, Hmmm I play for London or London Love, Monkeys whatever, what about the other better teams in and around the London area. London Power, London Ecstasy, London Tigers??????? With our UK ranking we could probably qualify as the Steeple Claydon Monkey Boys but that would be about it.

I kinda understand the logic behind it, but it shouldn't be an arbitrary thing.

Now to stir up the North South divide a little more, this and the whole UKPL / PA Cup seems to have a much stronger take up, up North. Not seeing many people courting the Southern Teams to support or get involved in all this. A lot of the teams we talk to are more concerned with the Millennium series, even if only at Am B level. If the organisers of this really felt that this was the direction for UK paintball, they're would be a whole load more canvassing of all the teams in the UK, especially those who know little about this series.

Here's an idea for the UKPL, PA whatever, rather than concentrating on what "some-people" see as the holy grail of Paintball (the dreaded media and by extension the idiot box), why don't you / they concentrate on getting the game played like a sport. Standardise format, standardise rule set, promote athleticism as a required skill. Paintball in general is fairly dull to watch, and that's before you look at the English game, which is beyond boring. By regionalising the teams you've done nought to improve the sport, just pushed a dull male dominated game into some local rags, as a mere local interest story. The strategies wrong, commendable but not the direction.

Now if the UKPA, UKPSF (I'm all lost), rather than concentrated on tournaments to hash our the UK rankings did something along the lines of organising training, seminars, centres of excellence we should be able to raise the bar of the UK game. Then if say London Tigers or whatever went across to Sweden, France or even the US, and bashed up some teams international stylee, then you get the props back home.

If the game looks, acts and plays like a real Sport, we may actually get recognised as one. We pontificate about wanting to be a sport, but repackaging a tired and at times dull game without fundamental change is not going to progress UK balling. Yes I agree and your are correct you have done well to raise awareness, but that is not the answer for the sadly lacking state of UK Balling.

Well I can see me being really popular for this one, but it's a discussion that should be had.

 

[Dazdread]

In the same vein as football more than one team can represent a City as in "Manchester City" and "Manchester United" or they can choose the reigons that they hail from "Moss side maruders" etc.,

I would guess in the case of London I would guess no one would be so bold but what does it matter if they do.

The UKPSF does oversee the M25 league, Series, Central 7 and Midlands masters so the rules should be harmonised and as the P.A. is affiliated there rules should be to. Implementation is from the quality of the marshall training and the UKPSF does hold training sessions for marshall when required.

I find personally that the fluidity and hence watchability of a game is partyl controlled by the layour of the field with some open fields virtually eliminating the ability to move until you have traded paint for 5 minutes and taken a couple of players.

If we go back to pump actions people will move a lot more

If think it is all good

 

[Tony - Stupid Troopers]

of course Stongl Manchester only has one football team, but with you being from the south maybe you have only heard of United.

how about rather than just manchester couldn't teams represent smaller places like Bolton, Oldham, Stockport, Macclesfield all in the Manchester area and would give some good local derbies. as for London teams how many different areas of London are there?

as far as the rules go i thought they were pretty much standardised? and 7 man is coming thru as the standard format.

not much the PA, or UKPSF can do for english teams being boring tho, thats more up to the teams and players themselves

you weren't at the PA cup were you, if you were you would have seen a tournament that looked, acted and played like a real sport. and got the winners on prime time TV, which is more than any Millenium event as managed.

 

[stongle]

C'mon Tony, that was a cheap shot.

No I wasn't at the PA cup, I'm sure it was a great event, but a long way to go not to play for my own team, and I wasn't aware of any southern teams being represented (and before you start saying Southerners don't come North, I Played 4 MM's this year). I don't for one minute believe that scratch teams thrown together for geographic representation was the highest evolution of the game seen in the UK. The players in the winning team, do have a lot of game, but teams have to train along time together to play fluid, aggressive and intuitive ball.

Now I will rephrase the main thrust of my note, I don't have an issue per se (and maybe I was a trifle harsh), as to what the UKPL / PA Cup is all about, but it ain't the saviour of UK ball, we have to look beyond what goes on at the local level. It's a supplement, hell it may even raise awareness, but it's not gonna churn out mini Lassoya's, Greenspans etc.

Now it might be post Millennium Euphoria, but alot of teams have come out and said Millenniums the way to go, can we get Stateside? the important thing now for UK ball is to work out how to make this happen and kick ass, and scrambling up (which does concern me) established teams to achieve that seems counterproductive to achieving this aim.

Also the UKPL, PA Cup is not being marketed that well towards teams, especially round here. Now this may have been an integral weakness of our tournament series, but if its gonna be the big tomalie for UK Balling then a major PR job is needed, and a two pronged approach, run the UK series and Hype it now, but also concentrate on improving the UK skill base.

Teams are starting to think about next year, and if your serious about maxing it up millennium / international stylee, you need to know what your playing, when, and against whom. And surely you would see a better, higher quality balling if teams stayed as integral units?