Heres some thoughts:
1. Standardisation of rules. Adapt a single Rulebook for all UK Tounies (Millennium might be a good bet). This must also include the guidelines for starting gates and field layouts / bunker placement. This should remove some of the inconsistencies from the Judging calls and what is what isn’t acceptable. On the day rule changes / off the cuff because of X or Y are unacceptable in all but the most extreme circumstances. The rules on Buys should also be included because the current situation is ridiculous. Different rule sets apply for different teams at different times of the day. I’ve heard sh*t about having to chrono at buys!, well last time I checked you don’t actually need a marker for a game, therefore teams should be allowed to show up for a Buy without markers. By doing this we set the benchmark of what is and what isn’t acceptable and remove some of the looser interpretation of the rulebooks. Also any rulings on the day should be made by the Ultimate and the Marshals, not the series owner or promoter. The series promoter is there to promote the event, not influence it’s outcome it should and must be an entirely neutral position, as should be the ultimate.
2. The idea of Marshals from other Series is a good one, but why not take it a little further, all Marshals should be sanctioned / assigned / dished out by the UKPL or whatever body these tournaments are all part of. If a database of marshals was available with availability dates, then you should be able to call on adequate marshals for each tournament. The UKPL must be allowed to assign officials as it sees fit, or impose them if required. The compensation for Marshals should also be standardized. Some leeway or scalable travel allowance should be made, but all marshals should be entitled to a similar deal, especially we as players expect a certain consistent standard. Alternative compensation see next point
3. It could be possible to offer Individuals or teams “Marshalling Credits”. An individual or team can tot these up over a year and choose from a variety of compensations. These can include, series points, free entrances, payment, kit or a mixture of all dependent upon how many points accrued and certain other guidelines (i.e. a team can only amass a maximum number of series / UKPL points from marshalling). This way teams and individuals can choose what’s best for them. It would be good if this “Marshalling account” can be accrued and payment taken at the marshal’s discretion. In this way, he or she may choose to accrue up his account and take it one payment. Couple this with a small incentive or discount at the various p’ball suppliers for all purchases from this fund, the marshal can not only get themselves some shinny kit, but the Money is kept within the sport / industry. This whole program is funded by the tournament promoters who pay into the fund based on the number of marshals they need for each event (i.e. 30 Marshals x 50 quid a head). Other guidelines should include, that if a team was to marshal an event, their Credits or series points are subject to supplying a full team of Marshals. Show up with only 6 Marshals you get points or credits docked. I’m not insinuating that the good crews out there would do this, but it may happen with some crews. Obviously the finer points need to be considered and weighed up, but I’ve given a couple of examples of how it could work in principle.
4. Marshals need to be accountable to more than the series promoter. There have been some instances with certain people acting unprofessionally / making threats to “over-pull” players. It maybe necessary to remove the link between the tournament promoter and the Marshals or, if a given marshal is constantly pushing the envelope have them sanctioned centrally (i.e. banned from marshalling forfeit of Marshalling Credits). I will caveat this point though. This is in way a reflection of SAD Uk, whom without their marshalling there would have been no MM series this year. I think promoters should be able to use their own teams to marshal their own series, but this has to be made somewhat more accountable to prevent some “possible” abuses. There is also a huge difference between using touney player / marshals and punter marshals at tournament events.
5. Whilst I totally agree that Marshals at Tournaments need to be more skilled and it’s desirable to have them supplied by the “better” teams, we should encourage marshalling amongst the less experienced. In this way maybe one of off or single marshals should be allocated to Marshalling teams to “learn the ropes”.
6. Marshalling must be consistent from Pro down to Nov. Because Novices are in field, the marshalling must be as strict and stringent as it would be for a pro game. Infact it now looks as though Wiping and cheating are worse at the Div 3 and 4 level than that of 1 or 2. 1:4:1, 2:4:1 etc must be pulled at this level consistently do not go easy because these are newbies.
7. Supply the Marshals with proper kit. Give them jerseys, shields, additional padding. You might find that the slightly less experienced but still willing may “get stuck in a little more”. Shields and jerseys for this are available even if they have to be ordered in from the States. Makes the whole thing appear a little more professional (something we lack on a massive sacle) if you can actually tell the officials from the players (might also stop em getting lit up like xmas trees too).
8. Final point maybe the UKPL primary mission statement or goal for 2003 / 4 should be not to find the UK’s best team or stage events such as the PA cup, but to sink effort into sorting the marshaling. Once you put this infrastructure into place, we can progress the sport as a whole. Put in a central framework and things may start to gel. Of course this is much harder than staging single promotional events, but we now need to invest at the right levels. The UKPL should be applauded for their efforts to date, but I think the Marshaling issue is so fundamental to the future of Paintball, that if it’s not sorted soon for good, you will never see widespread acceptance of Paintball. All the work on good things such as PA cup will be wasted.
Coupla pence worth anyway. Flambé away chaps………