UK Disgrace

[KitsuneAndy]

I'm afraid those little acorns will only grow if they fall onto fertile ground and if you go running around throwing leaflet acorns into places where there are no appropriate facilities (Sup Air sites) to feed the growth then they will wither away to nothing no matter how many bloody leaflets you put out there.

Which is why for now my plan is to come up with a way to get more people into playing paintball regularly, whatever sort of paintball they enjoy. Then hopefully some of these people will make the step up to tourney ball. Just as I did after starting to play at the local woodsball site's walkon's. I just want to make people aware of exactly what there is to offer out there.

Promoting just sup air at the moment makes no sense as there are not the facilities to support it.

Sid and I both have idea's that seem to run alongside each other, so I'll be chatting at him at the next UKM event and will have a website up shortly. With plans to have the promotions in full swing before the end of the year. Watch this space.

 

[Sid_Clan]

Yes Dave we do own a Sup Air Field, so do Skirmish Edinburgh, and Aberdeen Uni have some bunkers and rent out a hall for re-ball practice. So, there you have it. As for the rest, we run Walk On days for Sup Air once a month, or when we have the chance, we use P8ntballer.com to let people know about it, along with AU Forums etc. We also promote walk on's for Sup Air on my site, if people are interested we give them details of location, timing etc. Alongside this we speak to up and coming players, some kids bring along parents who we talk to about Tournament Paintball and explain the in's and out's. We do coaching, drills, training, taking the time to explain to players how they should hold markers and other basics, we watch them play then explain what they did right and wrong. No, we don't have a premanent facility as my woodland site does not have the capacity. However.....outside my house there is land and I am looking at putting in a permanent sup air field for anyone who wants to use it(There is like 6 miles of land out my back!!!!) So, fingers crossed, this will increase the Scottish Player base at least.

Hope this answers all your questions.

Sid

 

[Robbo]

So, fingers crossed, this will increase the Scottish Player base at least.

Hope this answers all your questions.

Sid

..so what you trying to say Sid, that you Jocks are inevitably going to overtake us Brits and whup our ass?

When hell freezeth over big boy; come to think of it, if you ever do manage to win even a single game against one of our top teams, please, please don't go and make a video of it with Mel Gibson playing one of the front guys .... I've seen that ole chestnut before mate, you win one battle and Hollywood make a bloody film about it


Joking aside, if you do manage to get that rolling up there, and someone does know what they are doing re coaching, then there is no reason why Scotland couldn't get a top team together if you generated the appropriate player base.
Good luck Sid


PS I'll buy the drinks at Campaign, I've heard stories about you jocks when it comes to getting to the bar, things like contracting leg cramps and wallet cramp the closer you get.

 

[Mark Toye-Nexus]

Why are we talking about marketing a product we can't supply?

Marketing isnt just about delivering a product to the masses and expecting them to buy it.

Identifying the market in the first place and shaping a product that will sell is fundamental to businesses whatever they do.

I would put it to everyone here that the market is simply not there in the first place. Certainly not in the way that it is in the USA.

There they have a tradition, a culture that embraces the ownership and use of guns. Here that is simply not the case. Because of that there is no basic interest in gun sports, in fact there is a level of distrust that pervades the nation.

Also the law here is still shrouded in mist when it comes to air weapons and paintball markers in particular. Compare that to the gun laws in the states and the NRA's promotion and protection of their inalienable right to own guns.

What I am saying is that there is a niche market over here but perhaps not the missing tens of thousands that might be required to generate the real difference that we might hope for.

Most youth here want to go on the piss at 16 and stop playing even the cheap accessible sports like football. What chance then to get them out of their pits on a sunday morning at 5am on a wet February morning to go and play on a windswept feild and pay £80 for the privilege?

Aint gonna happen, certainly not in any sinificant Californian numbers!!

 

[Sid_Clan]

..so what you trying to say Sid, that you Jocks are inevitably going to overtake us Brits and whup our ass?

When hell freezeth over big boy; come to think of it, if you ever do manage to win even a single game against one of our top teams, please, please don't go and make a video of it with Mel Gibson playing one of the front guys .... I've seen that ole chestnut before mate, you win one battle and Hollywood make a bloody film about it


Joking aside, if you do manage to get that rolling up there, and someone does know what they are doing re coaching, then there is no reason why Scotland couldn't get a top team together if you generated the appropriate player base.
Good luck Sid


PS I'll buy the drinks at Campaign, I've heard stories about you jocks when it comes to getting to the bar, things like contracting leg cramps and wallet cramp the closer you get.

Robbo, WHY do you insist on slagging us off!!!!

Dave asked what we do, I simply told him. As for what major events have we won, none. I do not have the player base, number of teams, training facilities, experienced players etc etc etc to actually do this, we don't have players move from team to team as we only have ONE team in the Country!!!. What we do have is the passion to TRY and that's what makes the difference. You sit there and have a pop mate, joking or not, but Clan have put more effort into tournament paintball than alot of teams in the UK. We have done 9 Millennium Events, we play UKM and PA, we have done Euro5man and doing it again in October hopefully. How many other UK teams would put the effort in like this when they have to drive for 5-6 hours there and 5-6 hours back average twice a month just to get to the event? I'm not about to make a film, I'm not about to ask an Australian to play a Scottish part that would be stupid, might just ask MakD to stick a kilt on and paint his face instead

As for beating Major Teams, I guess Stealers, Tigers, Manc Union, Phoenix and Storm don't count, okay, it has been like one game, nothing to write home about but we have still beaten them, yes the tables are very much tilted in the other teams favour and they have beaten us alot more than we have beaten them that I accept, but, we have beaten them and for my guys this is good as it proves that with the right training and facilities we could be a handy team. I control a 16man roster and give all my players a crack at the whip, so they get the experience. we don't sandbag, we are playing Div2 in Campaign with only one experienced Millennium Player, me...and I'm old and slow

So, dis away mate, but, could you keep a team together for over 9 years, with constant changes in roster, pulling players from all over the Country with no player base or facilities just to make up a team.....could you? As for saying we know nothing about coaching, we have brought up NickyT and spent a fortune to fly Davey Williamson across to do a two day coaching session, we take what we learned from these and work on it, but again, guess we know nothing of coaching.

As for beers...will they serve you with the fact you look under 21

Sid

 

[Dave Elliott]

Sid,

I detected a defensive note in your reply - i wasn't having a go.

My point was the lack of accessibility of supair facilities. Your field isn't permanent, i dont have one, aberdeen uni's isn't permanent (i think), What about Skirmishes?

My previous post (about 10 pages ago) explored the fact that many sites dont have a suitable area for a permanent field - you say you dont. It also mentioned the cost implications of providing such a facility, along with necessary legal permissions for landscaping woodland etc the costs are MASSIVE. It is going to take people like you and me who have such passion for tourney play to go out of their way and do something so indulgent as to build a supair arena at home or spend thousands lanscaping areas of natural woodland.

The problem with building one at home (and don't get me wrong - i support you in doing it), is that it is very much seperate from your paintball business. No matter how well you market it at your site you cannot change the fact that it is in a different location. My opinion is that it needs to go hand in hand with woodland so that punters can try supair without the crossover being built into something it's not. On site you need to be able to say to a group of rentals, 'we're playing supair next' and make it part of a normal rental day.

What you are doing is obviously the next best thing but you dont want to be subsidising a free playground for people who can take advantage of you (especially with 5 kids).

Not having posted on the forums for a couple of years i'm not exactly sure of the terminology. Can you PM me? Is that right? Ive been meaning to talk to you for a couple of months now.

 

[Robbo]

Robbo, WHY do you insist on slagging us off!!!!

Dave asked what we do, I simply told him. As for what major events have we won, none. I do not have the player base, number of teams, training facilities, experienced players etc etc etc to actually do this, we don't have players move from team to team as we only have ONE team in the Country!!!. What we do have is the passion to TRY and that's what makes the difference. You sit there and have a pop mate, joking or not, but Clan have put more effort into tournament paintball than alot of teams in the UK. We have done 9 Millennium Events, we play UKM and PA, we have done Euro5man and doing it again in October hopefully. How many other UK teams would put the effort in like this when they have to drive for 5-6 hours there and 5-6 hours back average twice a month just to get to the event? I'm not about to make a film, I'm not about to ask an Australian to play a Scottish part that would be stupid, might just ask MakD to stick a kilt on and paint his face instead

As for beating Major Teams, I guess Stealers, Tigers, Manc Union, Phoenix and Storm don't count, okay, it has been like one game, nothing to write home about but we have still beaten them, yes the tables are very much tilted in the other teams favour and they have beaten us alot more than we have beaten them that I accept, but, we have beaten them and for my guys this is good as it proves that with the right training and facilities we could be a handy team. I control a 16man roster and give all my players a crack at the whip, so they get the experience. we don't sandbag, we are playing Div2 in Campaign with only one experienced Millennium Player, me...and I'm old and slow

So, dis away mate, but, could you keep a team together for over 9 years, with constant changes in roster, pulling players from all over the Country with no player base or facilities just to make up a team.....could you? As for saying we know nothing about coaching, we have brought up NickyT and spent a fortune to fly Davey Williamson across to do a two day coaching session, we take what we learned from these and work on it, but again, guess we know nothing of coaching.

As for beers...will they serve you with the fact you look under 21

Sid

I think you know me well enough Sid to realise anything I say with regard to you guys is meant in good heart, you have my word on that !
My tongue was firmly embedded in my cheek throughout the entire length of that post ...now if I choose to have a pop at anybody, there would be absolutely no confusion or ambiguity in what I write but in this case, you most certainly have read something into it that wasn't there.

And bejeeezus Sid you are putting words into my mouth that I havent said (a lot of people seem to be doing this lately) I never said you didn't have the coaching skills, I have said it about us Brits however in another post somewhere but that was in respect to the depth of coaching expertise we have rather than its existence.

Anyway, reel your head back in Sid, take a chill pill and for this mistake on ure part re my post, I have now designated you to be the man buying the drinks at Campaign, I'll have a double please mate!

 

[Sid_Clan]

Dave wasn't being defensive mate, was simply letting you know what we have. Skirmish don't have the sup air set up on a permanent basis, I would love to have a site with the facilities to leave a field up on a permanent basis but I don't, thing is, from a site owners point of view who's facilities are away from home and in the middle of newhere leaving a field set up leaves you open to theft and vandalism. So, even if I did have the facility at my site I would still need to employ extra staff to set up the field, and the site for customers. Set up at the moment takes about an hour and a half for 80-100 customers, take that along with the set up of a sup air field and take down it's costly and time consuming. The facility at my house would be great, yes I will be paying this myself probably on credit cards and it will be open to anyone wanting to use it. Again having 5 kids would put pressure on me but with it's location out the way yet next to my house the guys could simply come up here any day of the week and drill, train, play etc etc. The Sup air will not be linked into my business, but it will be something people can try. Not about to make tea for 100 customers and have them trape through my house to use the toilet, my Mrs would cut my head off, and I'm not talking about the one on my head!!!!!

Drop me an E mail mate and we can catch up sid@a1paintball.org

Sid

 

[Sid_Clan]

I think you know me well enough Sid to realise anything I say with regard to you guys is meant in good heart, you have my word on that !
My tongue was firmly embedded in my cheek throughout the entire length of that post ...now if I choose to have a pop at anybody, there would be absolutely no confusion or ambiguity in what I write but in this case, you most certainly have read something into it that wasn't there.

And bejeeezus Sid you are putting words into my mouth that I havent said (a lot of people seem to be doing this lately) I never said you didn't have the coaching skills, I have said it about us Brits however in another post somewhere but that was in respect to the depth of coaching expertise we have rather than its existence.

Anyway, reel your head back in Sid, take a chill pill and for this mistake on ure part re my post, I have now designated you to be the man buying the drinks at Campaign, I'll have a double please mate!

A Double....damn....better call you a taxi now x

I'm just passionaite mate, no offence taken, and all is good.

Hold on, I have heard some excuses for round dodging but this is a classic!!

Oh yeah, and I don't make mistakes, well apart from that one time, but how was I to know she was a man

Sid

 

[Robbo]

....I'm just passionaite....
Sid

Your sexual predilictoins are your own business mate and I'd rather stay ignorant, and on that note, say 'Hi' to 'er indoors for me