Recreational "Fun" Woodsball League

Over the years, I have been asked many times by players who have just played their first time or have played maybe two or three times if we ever do competitions.  I always say no, we are a recreational paintball facility.  We don’t do competitive paintball or what is commonly called “speedball”.  Often times they look at me as if they have no idea what I am talking about, which is probably the case.

The thing is, these players who have just been introduced to paintball, at a recreational paintball field, just want to play more of that type of paintball, but in a more formal, organized competitive environment.  That’s what they are envisioning.  There is a good chance that they have never seen a speedball competition (anyone reading this who does not know what speedball is can google “speedball” and you will very quickly get a good idea).  But competitive speedball, as those of us who have been involved in it, requires a lot of commitment of both time and money.  It’s certainly not for the player that just wants to get out to a paintball field a few times a year to have some casual fun.

I understand though what these new players are talking about.  I myself had my first and second paintball experience at a recreational paintball field with a company holding a friendly competition between two branches of that company.  In this case, it was an annual event with a homemade trophy as the focal point of bragging rights.  We played on large wooded fields and played similar games to what we still play today at TNT Paintball.  Some of the guys made up silly names for themselves and also for others and some even wore makeshift uniforms and costumes.  It was followed by a stop at the pub on the way home to talk and brag about the day’s events (we were all adults).  It was so much fun, over two decades later I’m still playing paintball and have even gone so far as to open a paintball facility so I can share that joy with thousands of others.

So I’ve been thinking lately that maybe there is actually a market for some “fun” recreational competitive paintball played on our recreational fields (rather than speedball fields) like the original days of competitive paintball; recreational paintball for the casual and beginner paintball players.  A “beer league” of sorts, but with no beer consumed before or during the event of course.

So I’m going to describe what I am envisioning and then if any of you are interested in this concept, you can contact me and if there is enough interest, we’ll make it happen.

The format would be 10 players per team, but they can be any 10 players with some restrictions I will mention in a bit.  There would be 4 events occurring in a year, with 2 or 3 months between events, so players can recover both physically and financially (although the objective will be to make this affordable – more in a moment on this as well).  The roster does no t have to be the same 10 players at each event and we might even have a “substitution” or two allowed at events in case someone doesn’t show up or gets hurt or is just too tired to play a certain game.  I know people are busy in their regular lives and sometimes an event may fall during a vacation or some other event, so I want to make it as easy as possible for a “team” to field a full team at each event.

All player would use TNT Paintball rental equipment (players may use their own mask if they have one).  One of the things that I dislike about serious competitive paintball is the “arms race” aspect to it.  With everyone using TNT rental markers and TNT field paint, everyone will be on an even playing field.  With that in mind, I would like to make this a limited paintball event.  We will have one price per team which will include 5,000 paintballs (500 per player if you like).  I’m thinking $500/team ($50 per player or maybe less if you have some “substitutions”).  We would then limit additional paintballs to an additional 2,500 maximum, available at a price of $30/500.  Once a team has purchased their maximum allowable paintballs they cannot purchase anymore, so paintball conservation becomes part of the strategy.  Also this way there is a fixed maximum cost for a team.  I really dislike competitive paintball when a team can “purchase” an advantage by buying more ammunition than their competition can afford.

I’m envisioning up to 6 teams of 10 players playing at each event, rotating on fields and rotating opponents.  I haven’t figured out all the details regarding point accumulations, but the points would carry over into the following event with the winner being the team with the most points at the end of the 3 (or 4) events.  We’ll work out the detail if we feel this will actually come to fruition.

I mentioned player restrictions and I can already hear the groans, but I would like this to be a fun competitive series of events for renters rather than seasoned paintball players.  So, TNT Paintball staff (anyone that has been a staff member in the past 10 years) cannot take part.  Also, anyone that has played a competitive speedball event in the past 10 years cannot take part.  What I am envisioning is teams of 10 made up from people that have never played paintball before or may have played a few times in their lives.  Teams made up from businesses, trades, nurses, teachers, clubs, or groups of friends.  People that just want to have fun in a “slightly” more competitive and structured format than what we usually do at TNT Paintball.

I am leaning towards using our .68 calibre gear, but would have no problem at all if there is more interest in .50 calibre.  Heck, if there is enough interest, we could even do both.

So here’s the deal.  If we get enough serious interest, we’d probably schedule the first event on a Saturday in October, then another one in January, and a third in March and then a final one in June at which time a winner would be crowned and a beautiful trophy presented.  If you think you might be interested in fielding a team you can contact me in several ways.  Email:  info@tntpaintball.com, phone: 250-658-1177 or on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/TNT-Paintball/160099750692316) or youcan leave a comment on this Blog.

I think this could be a lot of fun, but we won’t know until we make it happen.  That’s up to you.  So let me know what you think.

Bunker Moves

I wanted to expand a little on my previous post regarding airsoft and paintball.  Mainly about what might being through a player’s mind as he is making that bunker move I briefly eluded to in the last post.

First, I want to start off by saying that having watched a fair bit of airsoft now and having played as well, airsoft is very similar to paintball.  For anyone involved in either to hate on the other would be a bit like hating on your brother for refusing to eat tomatoes when you refuse to eat cucumbers.

In all the years I have played paintball, I have most likely moved from one bunker to another hundreds, if not thousands of times.  Although the moves differ some, they have some common elements.  There are basically two types of bunker moves.  The first being a very casual move when a player assumes there is no one around.  It’s usually done quietly and relatively slowly so as not to attract too much attention.   Both noise and sudden movement attracts more attention.  The second type of bunker move is more what I eluded to in the last post, that being when a player wants to move from one bunker to another but he knows one or more players on the opposing team is aware of his presence.

What goes through my mind on this type of move is usually something along this line and this holds true for both paintball and airsoft.  First I feel there is some advantage or need to change positions that I know will put me in temporary higher risk of being eliminated.  Obviously I feel the reward is worth the risk.  After having made up my mind that I will make the move, I prepare myself, knowing I will need to move quickly when the time comes.  If I am exchanging fire with one or more opponents, will most often pop out and snap shoot at their position to get them to duck in behind their bunker.  I then immediately make my move, hoping that the player does not pop out from behind his bunker until I am well underway to my new position behind my new bunker.  Hopefully if my opponent does pop out, he will not be able to get his gun up and catch up to my position before I have successfully completed my move and regained good cover.

There is a certain amount of adrenaline involved and also noise.  I don’t worry about being quiet on a move like this, as my opponent already knows I’m there.  Obviously the objective is to make the new bunker without being shot.  Since the adrenaline is pumping and my own running and breathing is creating noise, sometimes I may feel something or think I may have felt a hit but am not 100% sure.  Of course I never stop mid-move, as then I know I’m going to get hit for sure many more times, so I continue on until I get to my new bunker.

Here’s where the big difference in paintball and airsoft comes in.  When playing paintball, upon arriving at my bunker, I take a look for or feel for paint to see if I did indeed feel a hit and if that hit broke.  If there is paint, obviously I call myself out, usually followed by a complimentary, )Good shot” shout out to my opponent.  However in airsoft, there is no tell-tale sign of a possible hit during the move.  The best I can do is try to relive the run and the feeling in my mind upon arrival at the new bunker and if I think that there was an actual hit, I will call myself out.  But...if I’m not sure if I was hit, I don’t call myself out.

I am quite sure that this would be very similar to how most paintball players and airsoft players act in similar situations and the reason airsoft players make their bunker moves successfully at a higher rate than paintball players, even though they are more weighed down and have more shots coming at them from guns that are more accurate than paintball guns.  It’s not that airsoft players necessarily cheat more than paintball players, it’s just that there is a lot more uncertainty about whether there was a hit or not.  If uncertain, the tie goes to the runner.

Airsoft and Paintball

I’ve been getting a little interested in airsoft lately.  No, it’s not that I want to play airsoft (I hardly play paintball anymore either), but am looking at offering it at our field.

One thing that stands out for me, watching both airsoft and paintball is that airsoft players are able to make their bunkers successfully (move from one bunker to a new one separated by some distance) more often than paintball players.  This is in spite of carrying more gear and therefore moving slower and opponents shooting more projectiles at a considerably higher rate of fire than in paintball.  It does make me wonder how they are able to do this.  Maybe airsoft players are not as good at aiming and/or hitting their targets.

Having said that, I see less complaining.  So I guess as long as everyone is happy and having fun...what the hell!

The World has Changed

The world is changing at a faster pace all the time.  When I was nine years old Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock was first published (1970).  I did not read it, but its subject was often the discussion during my teenage years, including High School.  It examined the effects of rapid industrial and technological changes upon the individual, the family, and society.  It talked about how these industrial and technological changes would be occurring at an exponential (faster and faster) rate.  Mr. Toffler was right in that prediction.

My parents grew up in a much different environment than I did in the 60’s and 70’s.  They had very little television (actually neither of my parents had any televisions in their homes growing up).  They had relatively few toys and spent much of their time playing outside with other kids.  They rarely went shopping except to buy the necessities of life and ate almost every meal of the year at home.  Eating out was an extreme rarity.

My generation had already changed considerably.  We had a TV with several channels available to us and even had a 26” colour TV during my teenage years.  My parents’ generation accused us of spending too much time in front of the “idiot box” (we probably did).  We had more toys and ate out (mostly cheaper fast food joints) once or twice a month.  We still played outside quite a bit of the time though.  I spent much of my youth in the bush building forts and playing pick-up games of hockey, baseball, soccer, and basketball.

My children’s generation (who are now grown and at the point of having their own kids) had two or three televisions in the house with cable.  They had video games and computers.  Between those opportunities, they spent much more time in front of screens than I did as a child.  We ate out and ordered in quite a bit.  Fridays were pizza night, but that wasn’t the only meal during the week that wasn’t cooked by us.  They still spent time playing outside, but not nearly as much as I did, but more than many of their friends.  We signed them up in organized sports because we wanted them to be outside and get exercise.

I’m not sure what will happen with the current generation, the ones that are still children today.  I know organized sports participation has severely dropped over the last years and I rarely every see kids playing in yards or parks.  I do “see” lots of kids on things like Facebook and such sharing wonderful things about their latest video game exploits.  Our teenage kids we are raising think nothing at all about purchasing food or drinks while out “shopping” or hanging out at the mall practically every day.  I don’t even want to think about how many hours they are spending in front of video screens of some sort or another.  Practically every show or movie ever made is available to them at their fingertips and they seem to watch their favourites over and over again.

OK, that was very interesting but since this is a paintball blog, let’s talk about paintball.  I still remember very well my first time playing paintball.  I remember the thrill of sneaking around and trying to hit an opponent with my paintballs when I finally found them.  I remember the thrill of having paintballs whiz by my head.  I remember thinking that this was much like the games we played outside as kids, only more realistic and more exciting.  I couldn’t wait for the next game and when the day was done left with a big smile on my face wondering when I could do it again.

In the last decade or so, paintball has decreased in popularity (participation)and there are many speculated reason for this decrease, each one having merit.  I believe that one of the biggest reasons is the fact that as they years have passed, kids growing up have spent less and less time playing outside and using their imagination.  Even when the kids do play paintball, they don’t have the same memories that I had when I first played the game.  They didn’t spend hours on end outside building forts and playing tag and Hide and Go Seek.  It might be fun and exciting for them, but so is playing the newest video game they just bought and they can play that in the comfort of their home without having to go outside and getting dirty.  They are used to entertaining themselves at home in front of their video screens.  The world, and people, have changed...and it’s not going to change back.

Admission of Guilt

Just like most people, I don’t like to admit I am wrong.  But sometimes you’ve got to man-up and admit even to yourself that you might have made mistakes.  So I’m going to express an opinion that some of you, or maybe even most of you are not going to agree with, or at the very least, admit to in public.

As some of you may know, I own a recreational paintball facility up here in the Great White North (Canada).  My business model is one of higher priced paintballs to keep the number of overall paintballs shot lower than fields where the price of paintballs are considerably lower.  I still believe this is a good business model for a paintball field and that is not what I admit to making a mistake about.

Our field is in a relatively small market with some competitors that further split up the customer base.  Therefore there are many days where we don’t get sufficient numbers of regulars to have them play on their own and have felt it necessary to have them mix in with the renters, which usually outnumber the regular recreational players.  Because of our business model, I have always felt that it was OK for these regulars to play alongside and against renters.  Many of our regulars play with pumps and many others limit themselves to 50 round hoppers for a game that will be a maximum of 15 minutes long.  Overall, our players shoot far fewer paintballs than regulars at fields where paintballs are ½ or even as low as ¼ of the cost.

When I work at the field I spend almost all of my time in the staging area or “safe zone”.  Some of our fields are visible through the netting and I see play happening each and every day I work.  We’ve been in operation over 13 years, so I’ve witnessed a lot games being played.  I also get to overhear many conversations between customers in the staging area which provides much better feedback then asking a customer how they liked their day, which I also do much of.  Almost everyone will tell you they had fun, but in reality that’s not always the case.

Most of our regulars are great guys who always play fair.  Putting two hits on another player is uncommon for them.  Most regulars will only shoot an opponent once.  For this reason I have always thought it was OK to mix the regulars with the renters.  We certainly don’t have the problems that I see and hear about at many other fields.  Altercations and accusations of overshooting and such are very few and far between.

But here’s the deal.  For years I’ve been watching and even taking part in these games where everyone is playing nice and fair, but a couple things that I noticed and didn’t want to admit were occurring.  First, in almost every game, the latter half of the game ends up being almost all regulars on the field, with the renters standing on the side line watching or sitting in the staging area waiting for the next game, meaning the renters are getting eliminated from play relatively early.

The second thing has to do with the conversations I hear and even comments I get occasionally.  They basically confirm the first, thing that renters are getting eliminated earlier than they would like and very often it’s by that “sniper” or “pro” that one balled them.  There is no hostility in their conversations it’s just stating a fact that they got eliminated by a guy who plays regularly.  They might even compliment his skills.

I know from my playing days, even though I played almost exclusively stockclass, if I am up against renters shooting a semi, I can still win the one on one match most of the time and can hold my own even if there are two or three renters that I am up against.  I’m sure most of the regulars reading this will have similar feelings.  It just comes from experience.  A regular player knows what to do and what not to do, as well as being used to his/her gear and having the muscle memory that a renter does not possess.

What I have to admit to myself then, is that even the regulars who shoot relatively few paintballs and play “nice” are actually still driving some customers away.  Most people who play recreational paintball care very little about the “game” and which team wins or loses.  For players, losing has more to do with getting eliminated, especially early, and not eliminating others.  Getting eliminated early many of the times makes a player feel like they are always losing and always losing when playing any sport, sucks.

So yes, the yahoos that overshoot are driving new players away, but I hate to say it, so are the “nice” regulars.  They (we) are just not quite as guilty.  And most of us certainly don’t want to consider being guilty at all.