SHBASS
01-14-2007, 11:48 AM
These are just some of the things I think you guys might want to know for your first tourneys. This is modified from the original post heavily, and I'll continue to work on it to make it more generic as time goes on. This is also geared towards smaller local tournaments. I'm not anywhere near done updating, and I'll tell you guys when I am, so please bear with me!!!
WHAT HAPPENS THAT DAY- First, you get to the field early so you can get a table. There can be quite a few teams, so you'll want to make sure that we get a table. Many tournaments require pre-payment and now you may only need to purchase paint. Know how much paint you consume on average, playing your position. Buy a little bit more than you think you'll need and bring enough for wxtra in case something goes wrong with your paint. After you assemble your markers, you should walk the field which is an art all to it's own. After we do this for a little bit, they'll call for the captain's meeting (which you might all want to show up to if they allow) and they'll go over rules and hand out play schedules.It's a good idea to highlight your games and be ready for them to be running early or late, as tourneys are normally never on schedule. After the captian's meeting, you should either walk the field some more, or if you have an early game, load pods and get air. They'll call an on-deck team and the team that is playing. If we are on deck, your team needs to be completely ready and standing together, so that you're sure no-one is off flirting or using the bathroom when you're supposed to be playing. They'll then call you onto the field. We'll each chrony our markers then, but it's a good idea to chrony before just in case your gun is hot. It just speeds everything up. You play your game. After the game, win or lose, one guy from each team (doesn't matter who) goes up and signs a sheet the head ref has. After this, you can sit down and RELAX. The next game will probably be about 20 mins away give or take. I've played as far apart as an hour, and as close as back to back, so you should be ready for anything. We'll play all of our games, then the finalists will be announced. Rules for finals vary from tourney to tourney.
OPPOSITION- The opposition for the beginner tournaments you'll be playing first are true beginners. By definition, that means that they don't have very much tournament experience. Does it matter what equipment they have? NO. Does it matter if they've been playing all their lives, but never played in a tourney? NO. I GUARANTEE you will see some teams that look like pros, and some that wear all camo and carry extra paint in their pockets. You'll see DM6's, Timmies, Egos, Shockers, Angels, an un-countable number of Ions and the like. Don't expect any team to be a push-over.
WEATHER- Depending upon where we play, they may call the tourney if the wind changes directions, or they may keep playing if hurricane Katrina's bigger, fatter, uglier sister is heading towards the site of the tourney. It all depends. I don't think they'll call it on rain, but it depends on how heavy. Prepare for the worst, in case they decide to keep playing. If you'' notice, the pros play in some terrible weather; rain, heat, cold (PSP, Austin, 2006).
BEHAVIOR- As I stated in a post, you will most likely see someone lose their temper. It may be as little as someone yelling f*** when they get shot out or it may be as severe as a guy ripping his shirt off and swinging at a ref (that actually happened). In any case, if someone gets mad at you for any reason, you don't want to argue back. Just grit your teeth and let it go, or get a referee to handle the issue. If you think a referee made a bad call, let it go... don't run up to the owner or whoever and start saying "well he didn't get me, that call sucked". They can't do anything about it, so don't try. If you get really mad over something, don't walk up to the guy that did something to you (overshooting a little for example) and try and make him beg for mercy. This is asking for a fight. You have to watch everything you do off the field just as closely as you do on the field.
NORMAL TOURNEY RULES ( could vary tourney to tourney)-
At the Madd Dogz tourneys, I believe firing mode is semi-auto only. Please don't think you can get away with ramping just a few balls a second more. If they suspect something, they'll test your gun in any way they can. If you're found to be cheating, your team is disqualified. The games aren't like "okay we've won 4 games, so we're in first". 2 teams could have 4 wins, yet one still beats the other due to points. At Madd Dogz, I believe the point system is something like 2 or 5 points per elimination, 2 or 5 points per each team member on your side remaining, 25 for grabbing the flag (one time per game) and a lot of points for hanging the flag on an oponent's deadbox. Even if we lose a game, we can come out with some decent points from just grabbing the flag and getting a couple eliminations. If you played with us at tryouts, then you will already know what I'm talking about, but the start of the game is like this: the ref yells "game starts in 3, 2, 1, TEN SECONDS!!!". From this point, the ref silently counts down 10 seconds in his head and once they are up, he yells go and it's game on. If you jump the gun, there may or may not be a penalty, but the point of this countdown is so that neither team can really anticipate the start. During the game, if you're hit, but you can't really see it, or you can't look down, call paint check and don't leave the field until a ref calls you out. Play around the ref while he checks you. Don't stop playing just because he's checking you. Playing on and or... gulp... wiping will be treated as a serious offense and I would not be surprised if we were disqualified for either one, so don't do it, not that anyone here would. If you think for a split second you can get away with it, just remember: there are as many refs as players.
GEAR LIST: Make sure you have everything. I'll list everything I can think of, and even stuff you should know to bring.
Essentials:
Mask
Marker
Tank
Loader
Money
Shoes (if you wear flip-flops to the field, you'll definately want to change into some good close-toed shoes)
Pack
pods
Extras you should KNOW to bring, but might forget
Extra lens
extra batteries
change of clothes
small spray bottle of lens cleaning solution or water
extra marker (if you have one)
towel
paper towels
squeegee(s)
extra hopper lid (if yours gets shot off, it's a pain if you don't have an extra)
generic tool kit
marker-specific tool kit
rain-wear for the staging area if it gets too nasty
trash bags to put dirty clothes in
Things it's nice to have, but aren't mandatory:
A camping style folding chair
a marker rack
a tarp for gear in case rain could damage markers or paint
Nutritional goodies:
Things TO eat-
fruits
granola bars
water
powerade/gatorade
a tiny bit of candy or something
a light, healthy lunch
Things NOT to eat (the night before or during the tourney)
A heavy breakfast
Cokes (pop, soda, soft drinks or whatever you yankees like to call cokes:) )
a heavy lunch
energy drinks (chance of crashing and feeling terrible in a little while)
If you disagree with anything, please PM me and if I think you're right, or if you've had that experience I'll add it. If there's anything I left out, feel free to tell me.
WHAT HAPPENS THAT DAY- First, you get to the field early so you can get a table. There can be quite a few teams, so you'll want to make sure that we get a table. Many tournaments require pre-payment and now you may only need to purchase paint. Know how much paint you consume on average, playing your position. Buy a little bit more than you think you'll need and bring enough for wxtra in case something goes wrong with your paint. After you assemble your markers, you should walk the field which is an art all to it's own. After we do this for a little bit, they'll call for the captain's meeting (which you might all want to show up to if they allow) and they'll go over rules and hand out play schedules.It's a good idea to highlight your games and be ready for them to be running early or late, as tourneys are normally never on schedule. After the captian's meeting, you should either walk the field some more, or if you have an early game, load pods and get air. They'll call an on-deck team and the team that is playing. If we are on deck, your team needs to be completely ready and standing together, so that you're sure no-one is off flirting or using the bathroom when you're supposed to be playing. They'll then call you onto the field. We'll each chrony our markers then, but it's a good idea to chrony before just in case your gun is hot. It just speeds everything up. You play your game. After the game, win or lose, one guy from each team (doesn't matter who) goes up and signs a sheet the head ref has. After this, you can sit down and RELAX. The next game will probably be about 20 mins away give or take. I've played as far apart as an hour, and as close as back to back, so you should be ready for anything. We'll play all of our games, then the finalists will be announced. Rules for finals vary from tourney to tourney.
OPPOSITION- The opposition for the beginner tournaments you'll be playing first are true beginners. By definition, that means that they don't have very much tournament experience. Does it matter what equipment they have? NO. Does it matter if they've been playing all their lives, but never played in a tourney? NO. I GUARANTEE you will see some teams that look like pros, and some that wear all camo and carry extra paint in their pockets. You'll see DM6's, Timmies, Egos, Shockers, Angels, an un-countable number of Ions and the like. Don't expect any team to be a push-over.
WEATHER- Depending upon where we play, they may call the tourney if the wind changes directions, or they may keep playing if hurricane Katrina's bigger, fatter, uglier sister is heading towards the site of the tourney. It all depends. I don't think they'll call it on rain, but it depends on how heavy. Prepare for the worst, in case they decide to keep playing. If you'' notice, the pros play in some terrible weather; rain, heat, cold (PSP, Austin, 2006).
BEHAVIOR- As I stated in a post, you will most likely see someone lose their temper. It may be as little as someone yelling f*** when they get shot out or it may be as severe as a guy ripping his shirt off and swinging at a ref (that actually happened). In any case, if someone gets mad at you for any reason, you don't want to argue back. Just grit your teeth and let it go, or get a referee to handle the issue. If you think a referee made a bad call, let it go... don't run up to the owner or whoever and start saying "well he didn't get me, that call sucked". They can't do anything about it, so don't try. If you get really mad over something, don't walk up to the guy that did something to you (overshooting a little for example) and try and make him beg for mercy. This is asking for a fight. You have to watch everything you do off the field just as closely as you do on the field.
NORMAL TOURNEY RULES ( could vary tourney to tourney)-
At the Madd Dogz tourneys, I believe firing mode is semi-auto only. Please don't think you can get away with ramping just a few balls a second more. If they suspect something, they'll test your gun in any way they can. If you're found to be cheating, your team is disqualified. The games aren't like "okay we've won 4 games, so we're in first". 2 teams could have 4 wins, yet one still beats the other due to points. At Madd Dogz, I believe the point system is something like 2 or 5 points per elimination, 2 or 5 points per each team member on your side remaining, 25 for grabbing the flag (one time per game) and a lot of points for hanging the flag on an oponent's deadbox. Even if we lose a game, we can come out with some decent points from just grabbing the flag and getting a couple eliminations. If you played with us at tryouts, then you will already know what I'm talking about, but the start of the game is like this: the ref yells "game starts in 3, 2, 1, TEN SECONDS!!!". From this point, the ref silently counts down 10 seconds in his head and once they are up, he yells go and it's game on. If you jump the gun, there may or may not be a penalty, but the point of this countdown is so that neither team can really anticipate the start. During the game, if you're hit, but you can't really see it, or you can't look down, call paint check and don't leave the field until a ref calls you out. Play around the ref while he checks you. Don't stop playing just because he's checking you. Playing on and or... gulp... wiping will be treated as a serious offense and I would not be surprised if we were disqualified for either one, so don't do it, not that anyone here would. If you think for a split second you can get away with it, just remember: there are as many refs as players.
GEAR LIST: Make sure you have everything. I'll list everything I can think of, and even stuff you should know to bring.
Essentials:
Mask
Marker
Tank
Loader
Money
Shoes (if you wear flip-flops to the field, you'll definately want to change into some good close-toed shoes)
Pack
pods
Extras you should KNOW to bring, but might forget
Extra lens
extra batteries
change of clothes
small spray bottle of lens cleaning solution or water
extra marker (if you have one)
towel
paper towels
squeegee(s)
extra hopper lid (if yours gets shot off, it's a pain if you don't have an extra)
generic tool kit
marker-specific tool kit
rain-wear for the staging area if it gets too nasty
trash bags to put dirty clothes in
Things it's nice to have, but aren't mandatory:
A camping style folding chair
a marker rack
a tarp for gear in case rain could damage markers or paint
Nutritional goodies:
Things TO eat-
fruits
granola bars
water
powerade/gatorade
a tiny bit of candy or something
a light, healthy lunch
Things NOT to eat (the night before or during the tourney)
A heavy breakfast
Cokes (pop, soda, soft drinks or whatever you yankees like to call cokes:) )
a heavy lunch
energy drinks (chance of crashing and feeling terrible in a little while)
If you disagree with anything, please PM me and if I think you're right, or if you've had that experience I'll add it. If there's anything I left out, feel free to tell me.