Mario, i think its about choices here more than about the trials i go through to get me and my son to tourneys - I dont respond here to antagonise but to try and justify my real point.
Not mainly my major gripe for me getting me and my son to tourneys but yes, its a pain in the ass tbh, im fortunate to have a car and travelling is a necessary part of playing, however its mainly the guys in teams who DONT have transportation which then makes it even more difficult to get to a tourney - add that with the location of some people then even giving lifts makes it harder if not impossible... so the ones who can get there arrive at a tourney which for most can become farcical as they dont then have their normal players and have to "draft in" a guest or two. Now a tourney locally at least once or twice a year would probably mean those teams can get a full roster on those occasions! Remember everyone has to start somewhere and if they cant get to the tourney, how can they think about getting serious as we now have more and more young players as prices steadily reduce...
I would also ask you to look at the RC Model car scene - RC is arguably an American import, massive in the states and doing very well here for many years. I raced 1/8th rallyx nationally for approx 8 years on/off and travelled to many locations, done thousand of miles, some north, some south and abroad. each event was at a different location - very few complained as over the year it evened itself out.
Each hosting site also got a % of the entry fee paid to them toward organising the events too so many clubs would happliy host a meeting. That worked very well and racers attended about 90% of the required 8 - 12 rounds each year. Not all clubs had their own tracks and some of the events were held by individuals as opposed to clubs on land begged, stolen or borrowed, they just borrowed the equipment!
I dont really think its a lack of "gumption" Mario - do you think its a lack of option or leadership/guidance?
But, do you think more people would raise to the challenge etc if there were an even spread of tourneys, or even see some legs of tournaments in different parts of the country? Surely this would go hand in hand to encourage more people to take part then take it more seriously?? The main thing i hear from most teams is "I cant get there"
If you look at most American PB players and ask how they got involved, most have had a paintball shop within their neighbourhood or an event which gets them into it nearby (even seen parks with inflatable fields in them! how cool!). Now i cannot speak for the rest of the UK, that would be arrogant and extremely stupid especially with my lack of knowledge, but the fact that we havent had nor probably will have a US type PB set up in the UK means that we shouldnt really compare ours with theirs. I suppose the question should be would players from down South travel North for a tourney?
And i would also add that an ex collegue/good friend in the states travels a long way to training and events, that is true, however, that is a choice HE has made as his local site/team is not his ideal choice - I think the choice bit is what im trying to drive home here...
You know more than me about the "debacle" of UK paintball, but surely a different model or approach to competition making it more accessable would be a massive improvement, and maybe even take this sport one small step forward. It would be nice for Robbo to be on my side
but im sure he'll rip me to shreds for this, being a southey and all that!
But many thanks for your input Mario, appreciated.
Not mainly my major gripe for me getting me and my son to tourneys but yes, its a pain in the ass tbh, im fortunate to have a car and travelling is a necessary part of playing, however its mainly the guys in teams who DONT have transportation which then makes it even more difficult to get to a tourney - add that with the location of some people then even giving lifts makes it harder if not impossible... so the ones who can get there arrive at a tourney which for most can become farcical as they dont then have their normal players and have to "draft in" a guest or two. Now a tourney locally at least once or twice a year would probably mean those teams can get a full roster on those occasions! Remember everyone has to start somewhere and if they cant get to the tourney, how can they think about getting serious as we now have more and more young players as prices steadily reduce...
I would also ask you to look at the RC Model car scene - RC is arguably an American import, massive in the states and doing very well here for many years. I raced 1/8th rallyx nationally for approx 8 years on/off and travelled to many locations, done thousand of miles, some north, some south and abroad. each event was at a different location - very few complained as over the year it evened itself out.
Each hosting site also got a % of the entry fee paid to them toward organising the events too so many clubs would happliy host a meeting. That worked very well and racers attended about 90% of the required 8 - 12 rounds each year. Not all clubs had their own tracks and some of the events were held by individuals as opposed to clubs on land begged, stolen or borrowed, they just borrowed the equipment!
I dont really think its a lack of "gumption" Mario - do you think its a lack of option or leadership/guidance?
But, do you think more people would raise to the challenge etc if there were an even spread of tourneys, or even see some legs of tournaments in different parts of the country? Surely this would go hand in hand to encourage more people to take part then take it more seriously?? The main thing i hear from most teams is "I cant get there"
If you look at most American PB players and ask how they got involved, most have had a paintball shop within their neighbourhood or an event which gets them into it nearby (even seen parks with inflatable fields in them! how cool!). Now i cannot speak for the rest of the UK, that would be arrogant and extremely stupid especially with my lack of knowledge, but the fact that we havent had nor probably will have a US type PB set up in the UK means that we shouldnt really compare ours with theirs. I suppose the question should be would players from down South travel North for a tourney?
And i would also add that an ex collegue/good friend in the states travels a long way to training and events, that is true, however, that is a choice HE has made as his local site/team is not his ideal choice - I think the choice bit is what im trying to drive home here...
You know more than me about the "debacle" of UK paintball, but surely a different model or approach to competition making it more accessable would be a massive improvement, and maybe even take this sport one small step forward. It would be nice for Robbo to be on my side
but im sure he'll rip me to shreds for this, being a southey and all that!But many thanks for your input Mario, appreciated
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