I recently heard about this field and decided to give it a shot. Upon arriving the first thing I noticed was there was a covered staging area, which is a big plus. Having to stand under a blazing sun or rain is a big pain, and I was glad to see they had a place for players to relax and get out of the elements. After parking I walked up to the large shipping container that is their HQ, and thats when the first sting hit. $25 for the field fee! Ouch.. I have been playing since '98 and this has to be one of the most expensive field fee's i've encountered. The $25 covers all day air as well, but considering this is a strict recball field I don't exactly burn through 5 pods everygame.
Ok so there was a $25 field fee, I can get over it, we all know paintball is expensive..but what do you get for that $25? Air, and access to the field. That is it. The "reffing" at this field consists of a guy who starts the game, and then stands in the same spot until the game is over, or the time limit runs out for the game. Paint checks were non-existant, the ref never moved to do anything. He simply stood around, and not once did I see him paint check a single person. For a entry fee of $25 I at least expect a ref to do a paint check if called.
Another issue that grabbed my attention was what appeared to be very lax goggle rules. I saw people take their masks off while on the field, in nearly every game. Even the ref did this once before a game started, and half the time he would walk out onto the playing field with his mask above his eyes. The ref looked to be in his 20's, so there is no excuse here. Half the people playing at this field appeared to be newbies, so some of them didn't know any better. Which is exactly the reason you have to have a responsible referree who knows what he is doing. If the kids see the ref do it, they will do it. Lead by example guys!
The last issue is the complete lack of a chronograph. Guns were never checked, ever. This is rediculous, if you have been playing even a short ammount of time you can tell when a paintball going 320-350 fps hits a peice of plywood by the sound it makes. There were plenty of these at this field, and made me angry not at the people with the hot markers but rather that they had no ability to even know they were shooting hot because there was no chronograph.
In conclusion, this field wasn't all negitives. The staff was friendly, but the way the field was operated was amature at best, and downright dangerous at worst. The two fields I played on were decent, but nothing amazing about them. Simply plywood all over the place, alot of room for improvement. Would be nice to see a structure or fort of some kind, or even barrels, the endless plywood gets a little redundent and old.
If this field was ran more professionaly, and the field fee was $15 or so, I would return here. But for the service I got for $25, I will not be back here anytime soon.
