Well...
First, sorry Wadidz, I just havn't had a lot of time lately for web boards so I've been skimming.
You're plan sounds good, except for one thing my experience as an event promoter tells me:
It just won't happen. The refs won't read the rules, they won't show up to the "mandatory" meeting, they'll duck out early on the training session, and there's nothing you can do about it. Fact of the matter is if you're only paying $100 a day, you're going to have to take the refs you can get. There's no incentive for them to do what you want because when you get down to it, at $100/day, they're doing YOU the favor. You could say "Do it or you don't get the $100!", but then you'll just have a bunch of fields without any refs on them when your refs say "Ok, screw you and your $100!"
Now, if you were paying $200 a day, maybe you could get some refs who would think it worth their while to meet the other requirements. And if it was $300, you'd probably have people crawling over each other to get the reffing jobs and doing whatever it takes to keep them.
Basically, it comes down to this: How much money has to be on the line for the ref to battle through his hangover and get to the field on time, or better yet, stop him from partying at all? It's more than $100/day.
And I'd agree with others: You'll never have good reffing if the refs are also players in the league and are getting reffing points - and it screws up league rankings anyway. Someone sponsoring the refs would be better, and honestly, I don't think it would have any bearing on how well the sponsor teams do if the sponsor is insulated from the reffing, but on the other hand, it's the APPEARANCE of the possibility that's the problem. Whenever a team with the same sponsor does well, their opponents will bitch that it was because the refs were in their corner, even if they just plain got beat.
The only real long term solution is more money, and the only way we're going to get it is from out-of-industry sponsors, and the only way we're going to get that is if out of industry sponsors don't have to worry that their customers are going to be offended by the events they sponsor.
And I'm not talking things like the Jeremy Salm incident - in the grand scheme of things, that's just good gossip. Hell, it's even funny. I'm talking about the "Get the **** off my fields" and the fighting etc. No mom is going to be upset about Salm shooting from the woods, but you can sure as hell bet a mom will wonder about a company that has it's logo plasterred all over an event where the athletes feel the need to cuss and fight in front of her children.
Companies would much rather lose an opportunity to win over 10 customers than risk losing one.
There are way too many people in this industry who have been in 15+ years and just seem incapable of looking at themselves from an outside perspective. Too many people who just don't understand that we're NOT a sport and we just DON'T act like a sport because the only sport they've ever played is paintball, and because paintball is normal to them they think paintball is normal.
Paintball is *NOT* normal. It's not even freaking close. Athletic events with 2,000 participants? Team participation not known until a week or two before the event? Complete lack of accurate information about players and teams? Zero eligibility requirements beyond paying the entry fees? Reffing done by players, with actual season points awarded for the service? Spectators and players having free roam of the same areas? Companies selling product at the events?
It's a combination trade show, convention and entertainment event, not a sporting event.
Hrm.. it appears I've gotten off on a bit of a rant here. But you get the idea.
- Chris
