I'm sending a letter to my mayor about a PB field and I need some information!!!!!!!!

[Six Feet Under]

I need to know when PB was started, what the number of participants in 2k2 were, and other basic stuff like that. Plus some convincing facts about PB so my Mayor will really think about it... PLZ HELP ME GUYS!

THANKS GUYS!

:)-Six Feet Under-:)

[Six Feet Under]

Here's my letter. I haven't sent it yet; just wanted to make sure that everything was good to go on it:D

Later Bro's

~Six Feet Under~

P.S.- I know the "~" is copyrighted by K.K., but I hope it's ok:paranoid:

LOL

I know it's long, but bear with me here guys! lol

May 4th, 2003


Dear Mayor Rogers,

I am proposing a paintball field in Inverness. The sport of paintball is very widely known among young people such as myself. Paintball was started in 1983 when two men decided to start a new sport. They used guns that were used by ranchers to mark cattle and trees to shoot at each other in this game. Every safety precaution that the technology allowed then was taken and the situation is the same today. In the 20 short years that paintball has been around, the sport has grown with leaps and bounds. Some of these leaps were in the safety equipment technology, and others were in the gun (better known as a marker) technology. In this day and age, we now have electronic markers capable of firing over 20 paintballs per second, and face masks that can withstand shots that are fired from less than 1 foot away at 300 feet per second. I know that sounds fast, but it's really not when you consider how fast the ball needs to be going just to stay in the air. Paintball is also the safest sport I have ever heard of, believe it or not. It's safety record is astounding; some sports or hobbies that you would think would be the safest are actually more dangerous than paintball. Football, soccer, fishing, boating, camping, and even bowling are more dangerous than paintball. As long as the game is played carefully with all safety precautions observed, there is literally no chance of any injury other than a twisted ankle at the worst. Paintball is also one of the most popular extreme sports in the world. Only surpassed by inline skating and skateboarding, paintball had over 7,000,000 participants in 2001. The number of participants keep growing every year. I am saving up for a new marker this year and hopefully before winter I will be able to get a new marker. The prices of markers are anywhere from your basic gun like the Tippmann 98 Custom at $120 to the Angel iR3 at about $1400 base price. Paintball goggles can be anywhere from $20 to over $100. The old saying, "You get what you pay for" really comes to life in this sport. The more you spend on your goggles, for example, the more features you get and the more comfortable you'll be. The markers depend. The Tippmann I mentioned earlier is an excellent marker for a beginner. It is built to withstand the abuse, wear and tear, and the rough and tumble playing style of a beginning paintball player. The Angel, on the other hand, is one of the fastest, most technologically advance markers in the sport. It has lots of special features and technology, but it comes at a price. There are over 150 markers to choose from, each with it's own speed, durability, and looks. The sport of paintball is a widely varied one, and each player is unique in his or her own way.

[Ebonclaw]

Um.....I would probably at least make seperate paragraphs to make it sound like you're at least semi-intelligent. And I'd focus less on the sport's history and more on what it is today. And I'd look a lot less at the equipment and at what god having a paintball field will do for the town. For example:

A place for youth to hang out and stay out of trouble.

Increased revenue.

A place for after-school activities with church/school clubs/so on.

These are the major benefits paintball offers to the COMMUNITY. Elaborate on these. Lose the statistics on the guns, stop talking about the guns, and talk about PAINTBALL. The mayor could care less about what guns cost or what a good gun is, he's more interested in benefits/negative impacts on the community if a field DID go up.
Finally, I'll say the mayor has little to no say in the startup of an individual buisness. it's up to someone to start a paintball field, not the mayor. it's just like any other bookstore, music store, or whatever, the mayor is only going to tell them if they can or can't put it there, not actually put it there himself.

[Paintsmoke]

The actual guns and their stats are irreverent. Like what Ebon said, they Mayor will be looking for what the town can benefit from.
So, you may want to propose a location where kids can easily get to after school (to stay out of trouble) and tell him that the town can earn money off of this. You may even ask about having a proshop put there with it. :love:
When talking about history, be brief. Only address safety issues, the origin of the sport isn't too important. Also, make sure to try to address the "violence" issue. Many parents and maybe the mayor will probably insist that paintball induces violence. As we all know, thats not true (my opinion is that if kids are playing paintball, they aren't beating people or shooting people with real guns.
And you may want to stress how paintball creates camaraderie and friendships. It also can be a good stress-reliever.
Hey! You can even say that there could be a town team that could participate in state-tourneys and such-or even hold your own tourneys!'
Lol, only a few more things I swear.
A petition with multiple signatures will be VERY Helpful in your case for a field. So, print flyers or brochures that highlight the good points and what the field can do for the town. Stuff like that will help a lot

Good Luck!!:D

[subninja10]

like everyone else is gonna type when they say this

Not Guns, MARKERS

[ZeroSkillet]

ok i didnt even bother reading what you said but...I have alittle letter my ENc1101 professor made me write so Ill give it to you. It mught help.

February 11, 2003

To: Chuck Hendsch, NPPL President

From: Benjamin Morales

RE: Closing down of paintball fields by politicians






Since 1981, the sport of paintball has been growing in more ways than one. Ten years ago,

it was a practically unknown activity to the public and those who did know of it hated it because

they felt it included one group of people. Those who are wannabe soldiers who enjoyed running

around and shooting at other human beings. Even today, the general public sees the average

paintball player as being a crazy warmonger who only intends to hurt others. Perhaps the worst

thing that society as a whole sees in paintball is that it is a “dangerous activity” designed for

“troublemakers.” This could not be any more untrue. Statistically speaking, paintball has one of

the top five lowest injury rates per one thousand participants per year. Paintball is an activity that

even has a lower risk of harm than bowling and table tennis. Unfortunately, the people who come

to the bad conclusions of paintball are uneducated about the sport and get lead by false

information by others primarily local politicians. These are politicians that are currently trying to

close down paintball fields in Miami, Fl and which in the past have succeeded.



The closing of the fields is primarily achieved with what the politicians tell the public. The

public seems to have a perception of paintball as a sport of “punks”, whose only goal is to

destroy property and other people and rebel against authority. These people should take a drive

out to a local paintball field. Observe the individuals there to see that most would be extremely

caring, intelligent, and respectful individuals of all ages, nationalities, and genders. They will also

see that paintball is a very family driven activity. Instead they decide to listen to false information.

The politicians do not take the time to investigate a “problem.” Instead they think that if they

throw out enough under the belt jabs by spreading false information, that problem will go away.



One Solution to this problem is to start a website or newsletter that informs the public

about the safety of paintball, its players, the facilities and equipment used .Also showing how

jumping to conclusions about our activity is unfair to players and sport. This will be good to get

the word out to the people. But this solution will not be effective for the reason that it will not get

out to many people that it is directed towards. It is not a mainstream way to reach the public that

we will need to be reached for our goal. Also seeing how it will most likely be written by people

involved in paintball, the public will see it as biased favoring the sport.


Another possible solution to solve the problem is to invite the politicians themselves to

play paintball at a local field. This seems as a very good solution which will educate the politicians

about the sport and let them see the good aspects for themselves. Even though it seems as a good

or the possibly best solution, it is not. First off the politicians will most likely deny the invitation

not even giving it a chance. As a matter of fact this solution has been tried but the politicians have

turned down the invitations that were done by the field owners themselves. Knowing that they

won’t even give the sport a chance and repeatedly give false information. The invitation solution

can possibly make the problem worse. They will jump at a chance of saying they took up the sport

then throwing out even more absurd reasons for closing down paintball fields.


The solution I would propose is to get local T.V. stations to go to local paintball fields to

show the public how paintball really is. The story will be unbiased and fair. Make sure to inform

the public of the correct terminology such as “marker” instead of “gun”, explain the rules of the

game, show the safety, and the athletic seriousness of the sport. Following the T.V. report a

petition can be started to change, remove, or add laws regarding paintball. Then it can be sent in

to the local state House Representative or Senate Representative.This will then force politicians to

hear what everyone thinks.



The harm that has been done by the politicians cannot be undone. Their false information

about paintball will stay in many peoples mind. But informing the public with accurate information

about the sport can help avoid many problems that shouldn’t exist. We must do all we can to

reduce the chances for politicians to close down paintball fields with unreasonable means. My

proposal will avoid the politicians from giving false information to the public because the

public will be informed and know what paintball really is about from watching the T.V. report.

[Six Feet Under]

thanks guys...

Good point Ebon, but the mayor is a she. I guess I should have put that. I am going to give more about the today of the sport, not the history. That was just one of the many papers that I am going to send her in a nice, big, fat manilla envelope about paintball with a petition full of signatures (it would help if I was still at school, instead of homeschool- lol) and stuff like that. So everyone, got any other suggestions?

Besides not guns they're markers. you know... helpful stuff...

lol

[ZeroSkillet]

where in Florida do you live?

[Paintsmoke]

Bah! The petition was my idea....fooey.

If you want more signatures, go to a supermarket or something with some paintball buddies and just run around the aisles and get as many signatures as you can...and that means being as charming as you can. Remember, a charming young man always appeals to a mother. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-I crack myself up)

[Six Feet Under]

Yeah, there ya go paint. Now THAT is a good Idea

I live in Central FL

[Paintsmoke]

Or-OR
1) go to walmart and demand either all of their employees sign or you reveal that the employee they "taught to read" is actually a famous author
2) Go to Subway and make them sign or you'll give Jared millions of french fries
3) Hold a paintball gun convention in some place around town (this is serious) put up signs to advertise for it. Ask people to
A) If they have a MARKER, bring it.
B) Dont bring any markers with live air/paint
C) If you dont have a MARKER just come to get informed by marker owners

Then just ask participants to sign!!

Actually, I did this for my town and I got over 2500 signatures.

[Flanders]

heres what the town gets

outside investors and visitors, a large amount of quickstop usage (fast food, 7-11 kinda things) property tax's and insurance are high so is workmans comp (raed the same as a gun club)

second safest sport behind tenis

[Six Feet Under]

How is tennis safer?!

[uzer_errors]

How'd you end up with May 4th?

In any case- the prices of equipment, and which guns are good for beginners are highly irrelevant to the point you're trying to make.

[Six Feet Under]

Computer's date is screwed up. It was the 4th when I wrote it, but IDK about the month thing... hmm...

[Six Feet Under]

BTW, it was a school computer. You never know what those d.a.m.n.e.d. c.r.a.z.y. kids'll do, huh?

[slikna99]

I doubt he will care about the amrkers.. take out the prices and the quality and stuff.. pointless.. only say about actual paintball and whatr it cna do for your city/state and u know..

[IromKnight]

Originally posted by Six Feet Under
!!!!!!!!
Don't speak on behalf of the paintballing community

[Six Feet Under]

Irom, what do you mean? I got up like 2 hrs ago so I'm not with it lol

And guys, that was a sloppy copy. I was trying to give her information in one letter and the stuff about how it would help in another. Unless you think I should just make ONE BIG letter. Like 5 pages long.