Is Paintball a growing sport in the UK

[rancid]

Hi,

yes I see your points - and I guess we're 'arguing' about a hill of beans but...

'dedicated player' doesn't have to mean 'tournament' - eg there are over 100 times more people playing recball more often than you (and the whole of this board) are playing tournaments. They are just as dedicated.

And I ain't convinced that playing tourny means you are more likely to keep playing. It may keep you and I interested, but there's 10s of 1000s of US ballers who would disagree totally with you. Do you think that the US paintball industry is that much more successful because of it? That the uk paintball gurus (and I include pgi in this) are too focused on tounies? They are elitist to the point of being shortsighted?

Site owners preferring regular walk ons or 100 newbies each and every time - well, I think you may be wrong there. How much do you spend at a site on practice days?

I don't think i said we shouldn't offer first timers opportunities for progression - my point is 'tournies aren't necessaily progression'.

Semantics? Possibly, but it's worth keeping in the back of our minds?

 

[Collier]

Originally posted by rancid


I don't think i said we shouldn't offer first timers opportunities for progression - my point is 'tournies aren't necessaily progression'.

Semantics? Possibly, but it's worth keeping in the back of our minds?

I think Tournaments are progression if we want Paintball to be viewed as a sport, look at all sports, they all have a scoring and seeding system without this it can't be veiwed as a sport more as a hobby.

Paul.

 

[Beaker]

Rancid - That's why i put

Unless we can offer some kind of progression - which to some people is getting into scenarios etc - the sport will never take advantange of it's position

My point is not related to tourny ball exclusively. My view boils down to this:

Unless we have an increase in sites which show any first timer the progression open to them in the sport then we will be staying in the niche market we currently inhabit.

I will try and use snowboarding as an analogy - bear with me

Imagine if you went boarding for the first time and all that the resort offered was a bunch of 50m slopes which were practically flat, the kit you got is basic crappy stuff which meant you could only go at 5mph. Yet when you went to find out more about the sport all you can find is pictures and stories of pro's like Axel or Jeremy heliboarding and straightlining Alaskan 65degree steeps.

In that instance there is no way to get from one to the other - no middle ground and that is how I sometimes see paintball in this country.

However, Snowboarding is sucessful because when you go to a resort (site) there are different graded runs - you can see the progression in front of you. Yes that might mean you like kickers and fun parks (tournaments) instead of big mountain freeriding (scenarios's) neither is right or wrong, just that you have a choice open to you right from the very first day. Therefore, there is something to aspire to and it give the "Pro's" much more validity as you can see what they are doing.

Can you (or anyone else!) see my point?

 

[Kieran - Thunder]

What needs to be encouraged in the Uk is really the regular rec-baller. In order for paintball to expand in this country it needs a devoted following of people who play rec- ball. What the US has that we don't is what amounts to paintball theme parks like Skirmish USA, Challenge Park Extreme etc. As it is in this country the percentage of the public that would go to such a place is too small to sustain it. In order to get the industry here what we would need is for someone like the Tussauds Group (owns Alton Towers, Chessington etc) to put enough money into paintball to raise public awareness (by advertising) and to provide a facility that unlike almost all UK sites, is well organised, as safe as possible and has other facilites apart form Paintball. It would take a hell of a lot for somewhere like this to develop but I think that this is the way that the sport can get mainstream and grow into a major industry.

Just my thoughts

Kieran

 

[rancid]

Mr Beaks, you also put, "What we really need are sites where there is ...a transition from the first time rec player to tournament level."

and

"We should not dis-own the fact that everyone of us started somewhere and try and bridge that gap."

Now if that ain't missionary, what is? C'mon, which bits am I supposed to take and which to ignore. Give me a chance.

You also said: "If we have sites which bridge that gap so first timers can see what the higher level of the sport is...[tourny]...about then not only we will get more people interested and playing but we will KEEP them playing which is actually far more important from an industry perpective." What I'm saying, is I think you are completely wrong! And the history of paintball demonstrates this. Most people prefer to play rec - not cos they've never seen tourny - cos they just prefer to play rec! Tourny players burn out, it costs too much money, it takes too much comittment etc etc. Yep it'll attract people like you and me, but... get this ... we're in the MINORITY. Paintball in the US dwarves us (relatively) cos they push rec., not tourny. They push family and facilities.

Hey Beaker, I'm not anti tourny - I kind of make a living out of tournaments - but I feel it's important to keep the blinkers off. We need more people playing paintball of course, it's just that I don't think giving em tournies is the answer.

Paul, yep of course you're right - that's if you agree that being a 'sport' is the be all and end all.

Do you (or anyone else!) understand my point - disagree yeah of course, but do you understand?

 

[Kieran - Thunder]

Rancid - Totally agree with u there mate. For the paintball industry to expand it is rec ball that needs investment and marketing etc. Of course, the natural knock on effect of an expansion in recball (where all tourney players start) is an expansion in the amount of tourney players and the 'sport' side of paintball. Besides, there'll never be enough money to be made from tourneys to encourage the major investment needed unless there is a MUCH bigger rec-ball sector.

K

 

[Beaker]

Originally posted by rancid
Mr Beaks, you also put, "What we really need are sites where there is ...a transition from the first time rec player to tournament level."

and

"We should not dis-own the fact that everyone of us started somewhere and try and bridge that gap."

Now if that ain't missionary, what is? C'mon, which bits am I supposed to take and which to ignore. Give me a chance.

What I am trying to say - albeit not well enough obviously - is that there should be the much more of a middle ground, players aren't first timers, nor are they avalanche. What I "want" is more first timers taking paintball up regularly. Now I don't care if these players never play tourney ball ! I find that the majority of Uk sites I've been to cater for the first timer, not the 3rd, 4th, 18th timer. I think the American sites look at Robbo's "long-dollar". A first timer can go there and have a blast, they can also see that there is some point in continuing on in this sport as there is a progression they can follow.

You also said: "If we have sites which bridge that gap so first timers can see what the higher level of the sport is...][tourny] your emphasis not mine ...about then not only we will get more people interested and playing but we will KEEP them playing which is actually far more important from an industry perpective." What I'm saying, is I think you are completely wrong! And the history of paintball demonstrates this. Most people prefer to play rec - not cos they've never seen tourny - cos they just prefer to play rec! Tourny players burn out, it costs too much money, it takes too much comittment etc etc. Yep it'll attract people like you and me, but... get this ... we're in the MINORITY. Paintball in the US dwarves us (relatively) cos they push rec., not tourny. They push family and facilities.

My example about Snowboarding (freestyle vs freeride) was meant to show I don't think it matter what "type" of paintball these 4th,5th, 23rd timers play. just that when a first timer turns up to a site, they have exposure to facilities and fields which show them what they could be playing if they wanted to take the sport up at a higher level.

You are obsessed with this tourney players being in the minority thing. I know we are! But getting more people into the "middle ground" of regular play will inevitably lead to more tournament players without any specific "promotion" of tourney play.

What I am disagree with is your (apparent) idea that paintball must either be Firstimer, Rec or Tourney and never the twain shall meet and we should promote one over the other.

What I am advocating are sites like Challenge Park which have facilities which can ably cater for ALL types of play. That way first timers (the new blood any industry requires) can see what else paintball can offer them if they decide to keep playing. What I don;t want (and what happens at a LOT of UK sites) is first timers turning up and "saying this is great - now what do I do, what options are there for me?"

Would be interesting to meet up one time as I bet if we could actually discuss this we would probably end up agreeing on a lot of this

 

[Senior_D]

THANK YOU AND AIMEN BEAKER!

I am your exact example. I have played rec soooooo many times and want to get into tourny but like you've said there is no transistion ground, somewhere in the middle. And thats what we need. It's so easy to call campaign and book a day out. But getting hold of a team, learning the rules, styles and structure of tourny is where this sport buckles. I think this is why u'll see so many people playing paintball for the 1st time, loving it, try it again, but lose intrest because they don't know about or how to get to the otherside.

Come one almost everyone you ask in the street will know what paintball is, well what rec is. That's been exosed so whats the point of doing it again, and again?

Tourny is the picture that does need to be painted into peoples heads. If you're a 1st timer and you see guys accross the net playing this different more colourfull paintball with their Angel lcd's and their Eclipse Auto Cockers, u're gonna notice that difference and will want to try it out. Obviously an Angel is going to be more attractive than an infurno rental. Infact thats what u have to show the transision between the infurno (not dissing them) to the angel. Show them the spyder in the middle and how to get it.

We need to have a bridge, and not make tourny paintball just a bunch of pictures to the normal passer-by-er.

 

[SPARKLIE CHICK]

Guys as you have not been down to site you are not aware of what we do, I have been delighted to get all these calls from my regulars some very new "regulars" about all their goodies a fair persanatge of them new guns. Asking to come up for a chat tea and helping them set up

We have the tec knolegey If not the spelling ( i supose it's a good thing no spell check on this forum it dose slow one down sumwhat)

Like I said I am busy educating the masses, any one passing through now knows what the pregressions are avalible should they wish . Thats presisly Why we will be runing tourneys again, Why I spent all year trying to find some one to free my nice flat field of trees. Look no trees will have a nice sup air field on it 20th of this month. There will be supair tourneys I fully expect some of my regulars to be playing or just poping in to see what it's all about a few in the know went to campaign cup and got really excited and they were watching.

 

[rancid]

Yep, Beaker, I think we would. See you around.

Hey, is Kieran taking the piss? If he is, is it out of you or me?