When is a Pro a Pro???

[Pneumagger]

A team just won one our indoor tourneys. It was a small event but they took home about $300.00 in cash. Does that make them "Professionals"????

They were paid money for their playing efforts???

Lets here your opinion yes or no and feel free to give a brief explaination.

In the realm of sports, Professional status legally infers that you are paid to play or recieve compenstaion for performance. If I for example, were paid $100/game to play on a baseball team in the summer I would be a "professional" ball playerand likewise barred from collegiate baseball. I'm not 100% sure about the stipulation for recieving money in a prize scenario, but I'm still pretty sure that would still constitute as compensation per performance. Money won as a result of gambling/bets does not qualify one as pro (ie - winning cash by betting over a round of golf doesn't technically make you "pro").

So to answer your question:

Legally they would be professionals... but in the context I gather you are speaking, no they are not "pro class".

[flying Dutchman]

I don't know... I played yesterdays tournament in a shirt and tie - does that make me a pro?


/Yeh, really

At worst it makes you stylish!!!

[smilestyler]

At worst it makes you stylish!!!

Only if it was an Armani.

[MournBlade]

A person becomes a "PRO" when they are paid to play paintball be it from sponsors or actual employment.

[Scott Hudnall]

I have ALWAYS laughed out loud at the contention that there are "PRO" players, whether local, regional, national, etc. Certainly, there's teams who "appear" to be "PRO" on the national or international level. Perhaps there's even a few select players who make their living from sponsorships/endorsements. Perhaps it's just a "classification" for events.

BUT...let's give credit where credit is due in the paintball industry. The REAL PRO's are the many field owners and store owners who make either part or all of their living at paintball, who put in many hours of sweat equity to make their business work, who treat their customers with the greatest respect, who make the sport fun, who fill our air tanks, who dig through those boxes of old parts and obsoleted equipment to find that missing piece to restore your old marker, who provide good reffing for rec/walk on games.....who love and live this sport.

CHEERS!!!!!

[Lohman446]

Heres a hint - if you are playing against groups of people who would readily consider themselves novices with very little experience in a competetive atmosphere, you are not a pro.

That being said, golf, and most other sports (and the NCAA) define pro very well, its too bad paintball does not. Its our obsession with money tournaments I think.

[wetwrks]

A team just won one our indoor tourneys. It was a small event but they took home about $300.00 in cash. Does that make them "Professionals"????

I would define them as Semi-Pro. If they did this on a regular basis then they "might" be pro.

Here is how I look to classify things:

Rec ball, no tourneys - typical player.

A few tourneys, maby small sponsorships - semi-pro

Regular tourneys, sponsorships - pro

[68magOwner]

Your pro when you play Pro division NPPL or NXL.

Thats the only way to be concidered pro in my book.

My equipment, paint, travel, food, entry fee, ect is all payed for me by sponsors, but, I do not concider myself a professional player, because I have yet to play in a pro division of nppl or psp.

[Ninjeff]

Your pro when you play Pro division NPPL or NXL.

Thats the only way to be concidered pro in my book.

My equipment, paint, travel, food, entry fee, ect is all payed for me by sponsors, but, I do not concider myself a professional player, because I have yet to play in a pro division of nppl or psp.

agreed.

Although i did just think of a new word.

"when the all get timmys and buy matching jerseys"

does that make them "prosers" pro-posers?

[gus13]

The only " true" pro's in our sport today, *IMO* (flame retardant suit on!) would be The Legion. The reason I say this is because they are literally paid to do nothing but play paintball, they train five days a week, have personal trainers and coaches for this that and another thing, and all the neat lil' trimmings one would expect from any other "professional" orginizations in the NFL,NBA, etc. half the other "pro" players are still in college and make jack except from sponsorships/ outside income, not specifically from a Team or club paying them to focus only on playing the sport. which is also (in part) why XSV failed the past year, they were supposed to get paid a really nice sum to play, it fell through on them, so all the players split. so yah, thats slight attempt at intelligence for the day.
gus

[flying Dutchman]

The only " true" pro's in our sport today, *IMO* (flame retardant suit on!) would be The Legion. The reason I say this is because they are literally paid to do nothing but play paintball, they train five days a week, have personal trainers and coaches for this that and another thing, and all the neat lil' trimmings one would expect from any other "professional" orginizations in the NFL,NBA, etc. half the other "pro" players are still in college and make jack except from sponsorships/ outside income, not specifically from a Team or club paying them to focus only on playing the sport. which is also (in part) why XSV failed the past year, they were supposed to get paid a really nice sum to play, it fell through on them, so all the players split. so yah, thats slight attempt at intelligence for the day.
gus

From what you say I'd agree the folks from Legion would be called professionals. Perhaps under paid but still professionals.

I see so many kids that have false hopes and dreams about their future in the sport as a pro. I've seen fields and shops sell these little guys all sorts of gear and always string them along by saying if you had only bought a little better marker!

SO far I see that the "pro" may exist. But they're few and far between. And even when paid to play it really isn't a living, Nothing you would buy a house or support a family from. So in short no player really makes a living PLAYING paintball?????

[Tassel Mask]

Just czz you pro dont make you a better player. ive seen some amazing fire and manouver formations by what pros call NOOBS. Ill stick with my amatures...

If you registered user for AO, it means your a pro dude. Everyone on this forum knows that.


TM

[cerrik]

7. undertaken or engaged in as a means of livelihood or for gain: professional baseball.

[dstud2000]

Pro paintballer? What is that? Seriously though, the tournament level pros, just don't seem to be very professional. Thats just my thought on it. To me the real pros are the guys who still play with honor and respect. Who can pick up any paintball gun go out to the field and be competitive.

[Chaos_Theory!]

As i said before, you cant base what a pro paintballer is on what pro players are in other sports. If paintball was on the same level as other sports like baseball and football, sure, itd be different. Pro paintballers are players who play in the pro division, period. The Legion is no more pro than anyone else. Why? They are backed by a very wealthy banker who seems to have nothing better to do than throw tons of money into a paintball team so he can tell everyone his team is amazing. They may just play paintball but its not under a normal circumstance. You guys need to get the comparison between paintball and other sports out of the picture, because its just not realistic.