 The professional airball fields at the Commander's Cup, Miami, FL; NPPL '05.  Move up!  Young players are paintball's future!  The pros are wearing more padding than ever before. NPPL '05. Photos by Skirmish.com  Dynasty! The pros often play on artificial turf, and have the finest gear in the world.  Harpies, France. Photo by Skirmish.com  Shazam! NPPL '05.  TanksPaintball.com. NPPL '05. |
Tournament paintball offers players an outlet for their competitive nature. The goal of keeping the sport interesting to new and experienced players must include attention to how tournaments are set up and run. Otherwise, competition players will find other things to do with their recreational time. Knowing this, fields have stepped up to create new tournament formats.
The trend toward small teams continues, with the 3player format the fastest growing choice because teams are easy to form, games are quick, and the refs have an easier time with fewer players on the field. Expenses of travel will cut into some teams' opportunities to compete at the national level, so they are looking for local and regional events to enter. With 3player, everyone can go in one vehicle with all their gear. Sponsors are not asked for as much with 3player teams, and everyone knows how much teams need support to help with the costs of competition play.
Speedball, the dominant tournament format, is seeing ever-faster rates of fire. The tournament players wear more padding than ever before. The controversial ramping mode in electronic markers continues to be allowed at the pro levels, yet rejected for recreational games and local level tournaments. To balance this higher firepower, local events are looking to limited paint rules to keep some of their tournaments affordable. At the same time, at the pro and national level, expect to see incredible amounts of paint in the air.
Also at the pro level, closing down opportunities to go pro is causing resentment. With millions playing paintball, and hundreds of excellent players wanting to make the pro teams, the idea of "I'm up, pull up the rope" may not last very long. Players who know they are good enough to play pro will either make new opportunities, perhaps a new pro league, or introduce paintball to more major corporations who can finance a new league.
This season, look for more attention to young players and new players in tournament circles. Their competitive enthusiasm brings new life to leagues and circuits, and opportunities to change how things are done. Adults may be excluded from kids' events, and kids from adult events, where it works out best for the event promoter. Paintball has seen little of this type of exclusion in the past.
The growth of stock and pump play continues to astound. There is plenty of room under paintball's big tent for players who want to prove their skills with pump markers. Look for more stock and pump tournaments, mostly 3player, to offer another option for the competitive players.
Overall, the tournament scene should be very strong this year. One small change being reported: Players are not just looking for big prizes. They want to compete, and if all they win are trophies and bragging rights, then that's OK.
Metro Mix-Em-Up At Metro Paintball near Springfield, Ohio, a new tournament format welcomes players. The Mix-Em-Up Tournaments are open to anyone who wants to play. Players sign in and are rated by the price of their marker. Class "A" players are markers $400 and above. Class "B" is for markers under $400. Class "C" players are pump markers or players with rentals.
Players' names are put into cans by class. All "A" players are pulled first and placed on teams, then "B" players, and then "C" players. Occasionally adjustments are made to keep teams balanced. The tournament teams can be 3player, 5player, 7player, or whatever works depending on the turnout. The teams come up with their team names. Brackets are made, and the event begins.
This tournament format works well, according to Metro Paintball, for players who want to play tournaments but are not on a team or do not have the money to spend on a lot of tournaments. The cost is $10 per player in addition to regular fees, and the money goes to a cash prize. To help keep the costs down, each player can only take one hopperfull and one pod of paintballs into each game. The player carries the pod on the field but can hand it off to another player any time during the game as long as the player is still live.
For 2006, Metro Paintball will add events in this format for players age 10 to 14. For those events, referees will be allowed to coach and offer advice, such as "Talk to your teammates!" or "Shoot off both sides of the bunker" but cannot give specific game information such as "There are two players left" or "There is a player at the 50." Information and questions, contact Stephanie Riegel, Metro Paintball, Springfield, OH; phone 937.568.5417.
ISAS Jr. A new program from ISAS, Inc. (International Skins Association and Services) is for players under 18. ISAS Jr. ranks players under the age of 18 at their local field, allowing field owners to create their own Player of the Month program. At www.isasjr.com, the player's statistics are recorded, ranking how many matches are won and Top Five finishes.
Edward Lee, ISAS president, said in a press release, "Successful fields provide little extra services to players to keep them coming back. The players enjoy watching themselves move up the rankings; they will continue to shoot at their home field just so they can watch their stats." He explained that the purpose of ISAS Jr. is to reward personal discipline and give young players a place to learn skills and confidence, so when they move on in their paintball careers, they will be production members of their new teams. ISAS, Inc. is a paintball association formed to rank individual players around the world; phone 866.541.4727 x224 or 406.883.7400 x224; www.isasjr.com
MWPS Changes for the 2006 Midwest Paintball Series include a requirement for all teams to register and pre-pay by an event deadline. No money will be accepted on tournament day. There's a late fee, too. Series prizes are available for public review at www.midwestpaintballseries.com.
Players will need to get their new 2006 MPID player numbers. Last season's numbers will not work. You'll need to email your picture and some miscellaneous other registration-related materials. The MWPS offers competition for DIV (new players) through DII, prizes, and a series championship.
PB for Kids The first charity-supported Paintball Games for Kids was held October 15, 2005, at Paintball Adventures, Inc., Denver, Colorado. Players from the Colorado all-female team Venom X felt this was a great way to help the community and to represent the paintball industry in a positive light. The team, with Joe Arndt, provided this opportunity to help support their major sponsor, Pro Star Sports, Inc., reach out to inner city kids at risk.
With the leadership and donations of Guy Cooper, owner of Pro Star Sports, Inc., along with support from other donors, many kids had the opportunity to experience the thrill and excitement of paintball for the first time. Playing paintball in the woods might be intimidating for young, new players, but with the coaching and help provided at this event, all went well.
Bailey Nelson of Venom X said, "One of the boys, Ryan, was great. Even though he was small in stature, he was big in heart and determination, a real go-getter, with more guts than some of the bigger, more experienced players." Nelson talked to the boys about the differences between recreational ball and tournament ball, and about the differences in paintball markers. "It not only takes a village to raise a child, but in the paintball world, it takes good role models. Venom X looks forward to seeing the boys again in the spring at the next event, helping them even more, whether it's on the paintball field or off," said Kim Nelson, captain of Venom X. The game was made possible by generous contributions from Wayne Samuel, Paintball Adventures, Inc.; Bud Orr, Worr Game Products; Doug Brown, Archon; Andy Starrett; Peter Druck, Prodigal Gatherings Ministries; Jimmy White Food Vending; Rob Astamendi, Derder Productions; and the paintball media. www.prostarsports.net
Your tournament news, results, and comments are welcome: co2@actionpursuitgames.com.
