the standard of play

[steven09 (Exodus Capt)]

teams such k2 and kelly's what going to be next generation of tournaments her in the Uk for them..

In the USA we have x ball super 7's all kinds of variation in peoples opinion what do they think is next for the uk will the scene change the format or will be continue with what we have been doing?

Organisers surly must be looking into this with the major excitement of X ball.

Ps good luck to Nexus in vegus

steven

 

[LATHAM]

In my opinion X-Ball looks top and is probably going to be the easiest/best suited to TV coverage. Saying that I'm a huge fan of seven man open airball (Millennium/NPPL).

I think one of the Uk's biggest problems at the moment is that we still use woods for tournaments. I know it's hard for the organisers to get all their events out of the woods, But if we ever really want to shake the commando image then Airball is the key.


The other thing is tournament consistency. I love 7 man. I mean it's the Millennium format and now the NPPL format, so shouldn't this be the format for most tournaments now? I mean if UK teams ever want to be top Euro or even World teams, why learn the art of ballin playing 5,6 and 7 man. Where’s the consistency in that? It's like any sport. If you run the 100 meters then you don't train to run the 400 meters or a marathon, you specialise in your field. I.e. 7 man!

The limited paint thing is also something that may have to change. Now I know it makes tourneys more affordable, but if we want to compete at Euro/World class level then when does limited paint come into it?

Possibly the only solution I can think of for all this is to do the Nexus thang. Don't play internal tourneys! Just put all your resources into International tourneys and training. Now I know some people think this is a load of shiz but just think how much you can learn at a practice. Snap shooting, running and shooting etc etc. At a tourney you may get 7 or 8 games and some of those will only last minutes.

Now don't get me wrong. The Machine was born and bread on UK tourneys (especially the Bully series events), and I think that their great for getting teams into competition ball and keeping their skillz up. It's just that once a team wants to go international they have to put in serious training, chose the format they want to play and stick to learning and specialising in it.

Rant over

Later dudes

 

[PSK1]

I agree with that completely, there are loads of players in the UK that are ready for the next step. I think that the MM and Bullies events have been a great starting point for me, but to become world class you have to play the world class tournaments and train hard. Nexxus have got things just right, playing the tournaments that count and training hard and consistantly, they will soon become the only team in the UK worth anything unless the UK teams realy start thinking about there goals and how to achieve them. It also helps if everyone on your squad wants the same thing, that's the hard part.

 

[sjt19]

Combined with the need for player and team dedication is the need for increased sponsorship. This has been covered many times before, but there are few teams that can financially afford to play in the states. This has to be one of the things to change, there are US novice teams that have better sponsorship than some of our UK PRO and AM teams!! Until the money is stumped up, then competing in the States 7 or 8 times a year for the NPPL S7 and WC, on top of all the Millenniums is a huge financial committment. Unless the backing is there then you can be the most comited team in the world and still not be going anywhere.

sam

 

[gaff]

Originally posted by sjt19
Combined with the need for player and team dedication is the need for increased sponsorship.

This has to be one of the things to change, there are US novice teams that have better sponsorship than some of our UK PRO and AM teams!!

Unless the backing is there then you can be the most comited team in the world and still not be going anywhere.

sam

cricky the firsttime i've agreed with you sam!!

but there lies the chicken and egg situation! sponsors will only support successful teams. successful teams only become successful when they are winning big tourneys! so we (UK Teams) have a very slow rise to the top cos sponsorship is given in stages. i mean have you read FaceFull this month, Lasoya has just been given $200,000.00 from JT alone for this years playin!!!!! imagine what your or my team could do with a cash injection of £160,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **** me backwards we could fly first class to all events (not quite but one must dream!) also the other thing that you have to take into account is that gear in the states is as cheap as chips, Extreme Rage pod packs £50ish in the UK, $45 in the states????

we just gotta keep on trying to compete and hope that teams like Nexxus get the UK on the map and then we can hopefully follow in their shadow, until we can arrange the same kind of support!

 

[PingEcstasy]

Good point Sam,

Uk teams Tigers,Ecstasy,Backlash,Shockwave,K2,Kellys have all stepped up training to every week,but it costs so much just to train every week let alone play events stateside that were stuck in a vicious circle,our best hope is doing well in the Millenium series and gaining recognition which hopefully should lead to better sponsorship for these teams,to allow us to play more US events but it will take time,in which im sure the US teams will just carry on dominating international paintball.

And the weather doesnt help,
Dan

 

[Buddha 3]

I can't help but feel the weather is being used as too easy an excuse. Over here on my side of the North Sea, the weather is at least as crap as in the UK. Yet it doesn't stop us from training. We have trained in rain, snow, sleet, thunderstorms and sweltering heat. The only time we have canceled a training session is when there were gale force winds and the trees around the field had developed the ability to launch their branches across the Sup'Air field...
If you manage to play good ball in crap weather, you'll be able to play great ball in good weather.

 

[gaff]

Re;

yep training every week does become expensive, especially when your paintball sponsor only gives you paint when you play, not train!

but to even begin thinking we can compete we have to raise our game, which costs money.

 

[Syd (NSPL)]

There is another Chicken and Egg situation with the sponsorship issue. Sponsorship, of course, is directly proportioned to sales and the industry can only sell more if more teams are playing. What we really need is more teams at UK domestic events with the top teams actively encouraging newbies in to the sport.

As a result, sales will go up and so will the sponsors budgets. However, the top teams need to play non-domestic tournaments and train hard to have any chance of beating other European and US teams. But how can they afford this without major sponsorship?

UK paintball is on the up, but will the industry ever get large enough to support the top teams at the level they need to compete worldwide? I don't know, but if not, then UK paintball will surely be left behind.

As for X-Ball in the UK - I haven't heard a single thing about it and don't think the UK is ready support the format at the moment.

 

[gaff]

Syd:

yeah another good reason why we find it hard!

we must just carry on and try to raise the popularity of the sport!