Post Game Comments Wanted

[JJBrookshire]

To everyone that attended and everyone that helped, I thank you. The extent of my respect and admiration for William Shatner is impossible to put into words. I also want to thank Tom Kaye and Mancow for doing all they did to make the event what it was. I'm asking that each of you that attended this event to please email me with your comments. Please send the "good" (as in, what you liked), the "bad" (not good, but not terrible) and the "ugly" (really horrible). I'd also like to receive any comments or suggestions you feel need to be added. I figure that after I wade through all of this, I'll be better able to plan for next year's event and there will certainly be a "next year's event".

[email protected]

[Thordic]

Done, and done. I tried to keep it as brief as possible, it just barely made it over a page

[cphilip]

JJ you may want to sift through this thread as many of these things came out on this thread despite the title:

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48705

[MagDog68]

Sent! Other than the field issues, I would like to see a more solid "scenario" next year. This had more of a big game feel to it than actual missions. I am not sure if that was leaderships fault or the event planners, but I was never sure if I was supposed to be playing a scenario and working on missions or if i was just supposed to shoot as many people as possible.

~Fred

PS Am I the only one who felt less like a paintball player and more like a movie extra?

[JJBrookshire]

SPPLAT Speaks

I won't go into great detail because I'm still trying to absorb all of the information coming in, but I feel I must set a few things straight.

#1 SPPLAT was the creator and promoter of the event and as such, I have received credit when it is deserved by others such as the volunteers and many individuals that simply came up to us before, during and after the event and said "What can I do to help?" I expect to receive some of the blame that may be the fault of others as well. That comes with the territory. I'm more than willing to accept responsibility for shortcomings/errors and yet I ask that you give credit to the entire group that helped make this a truly historical event.

#2 Missions: There were missions given out each hour starting after the first two hour period. I delayed so that the teams could get organized and be ready to accomplish the missions when received. I chose to send the missions in by runner instead of by radio so that they could not be intercepted and I felt it added some more to the event. Commanders could have posted runners with communication in the Central Park area but none did. I also chose to use an "open frequency" to talk to each commander so no one could think I was showing favoritism. For example, during the day one of the commanders asked for a golf cart to bring him in for a needed break. I informed him that I would not do that unless it was a medical emergency (it was not). He asked about the one that the Federation had and why he did not have one. I informed him that the Federation "shuttle" was ordered and paid for by the Federation command staff which arrived at the site several days early to prepare for the game. It seemed to me that the idea of missions and points was better received by the Federation and the Klingons than the "tournamentcentric" Borg. The Borg did a great job of attacking and gaining body count but never seemed to truly grasp the scoring.

#3 Air Fills: It was my understanding all along that Eric Zorn and EZ Paintball would be there to assist in air fills as they did during the Challenge Cup. This obviously did not happen. Instead the park relied on it's standard filling equipment. After the filter was fixed, this seemed to approach adequacy but it still fell short. I don't recall anyone every telling me that the received 4500 psi during the entire week.

#3 As for the Paint...Here is the short version of the story. Over one year ago, I approached Forest Brown with my idea for this event. I asked if we could have every interested manufacturer there selling their own paint directly to the players with $20 per case (2000 count) going to the charity. I understood that the paint would have to be pre-approved to prevent staining or potential damage to the park and the event would have to pay a reasonable field fee per player to cover the cost of the staff requirements since there would be little if any paint revenue generated by CPX. Forest agreed, Shatner chose CPX and the announcements were made. I then solicited several paint manufacturers/distributors and each agreed with the terms and agreed not to sell below $60 per case so as to prevent one from coming in and "buying" the event by all but giving away paint. By having multiple brands and near unanimous industry support, I felt we would have greater promotion within paintball and could create a truly neutral event for the good of the charity and the good of the sport. Now turn the calendar a couple of months forward and in steps E. Lynn Scott. He is the president of Brass Eagle. The same Brass Eagle that owns the majority of the LLC that is CPX. Lynn states that it will be field paint only and that he will not allow others to display their tractor trailer rigs or outside tradeshow booths here as they do at the World Cup, Am Open, etc... I now have a very hard decision to make. Do I move the event and risk turning off many people who have pre-registered, made travel arrangements, etc...? or do I carry on and hope for the best? I chose something in between. I was aware of the fact that RP had been making the JT paint so I worked hard at convincing Lynn to allow this paint to be sold at the event. This would at least allow players to opportunity to use another manufacturer's paint if they so chose. Lynn agreed and then it was a matter of praying and waiting. As it turned out, the quality of the Brass Eagle manufactured paintballs (the white and the blue) proved unacceptable to many players in attendance. To make matters worse the $60 paint seemed to be gone about the same time as the game started! Suddenly players were forced to purchase $80 paint or the $100 JT/RP paint. I was not aware at the time that this had happened. If I had been aware of this situation, I would have strongly suggested that the park lower the price of the $80 case to $60 to accomodate the players. All in all, I'm convinced that the myopic vision of one person resulting in the charity failing to realize thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and nearly as importantly damaged the reputation of the event, SPPLAT and CPX. The event and SPPLAT are my concern and I will not allow the same thing to happen next year. As for CPX, it is most unfortunate that they are controlled by a company who has a president that so drastically fails to see the big picture for our sport and in many ways his own company. His lack of empathy for the players seems to drive many of his decisions such as this one. Lynn may be reached at [email protected].

Now to be fair my email address is [email protected] and I'll be glad to read any comments you may have as well. If you do email Lynn, consider copying me so I might add these to my records of the event. I will close by quoting William Shatner, when I asked him what he thought of Paintball now (mid-day Saturday): "The Greatest Sport In The World!"

[Mike Smith]

Free clue for Mr. Scott (President, Brass Eagle):

There are now 1500 dedicated paintballers that now know Brass Eagle has crap for paint. Those 1500 people are pretty vocal. Hope you enjoy your extreme short-sightedness.

Another free clue:
If you ever have the oportunity to host another major event, I'd recommend having your air-conditioned factory truck out front with about 2 cases of paint for every player participating. You might not need all of it, but better to be safe, than sorry.

[Slapp]

JJ,

Thanks for the great job you and your team did putting this event together and pulling it off. Overall it was a great several days and I'll look forward to what you cook up for next year. I gained a lot of respect for William Shatner and Mancow (and TK of course) who jumped in and lead from the front with humor and enthusiasm from beginning to end.

I was part of the Borg group that captured Mr. Shatner and took him back for his meeting with TK on the outskirts of Bedlam. I appreciated his ability to remain composed and in character making his way through the brambles, surrounded by twitchy fingered Borg with guns pointed at him without a script.

The several times I was near Mancow in the field during the event he was hilarious with his ongoing patter and jokes spurring his team on all day.

Tom Kaye was a great Captain and ambassador for the event. He and his team leaders worked hard to be sure the Borg not only had fun but also that we all tried to make the day fun for our opponents too with strategy and good sportsmanship.

My thanks to the Refs who volunteered their time to be sure we had a fair and fun day of play. We did, and thanks!

Air supply was the main concern of mine throughout the day and it was unfortunate that the $60 paint sold out.

Thanks for a job well done to all who had a hand in throwing this fun event! I'll hope to be there at the final battle again next year with a full 4500 psi tank of air and a hopper full of cheap paint.

[Halliday]

Originally posted by Mike Smith
Free clue for Mr. Scott (President, Brass Eagle):

There are now 1500 dedicated paintballers that now know Brass Eagle has crap for paint.

I think most "dedicated paintballers" already knew that.

[davidb]

Re: SPPLAT Speaks

Originally posted by JJBrookshire
All in all, I'm convinced that the myopic vision of one person resulting in the charity failing to realize thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and nearly as importantly damaged the reputation of the event, SPPLAT and CPX. The event and SPPLAT are my concern and I will not allow the same thing to happen next year. As for CPX, it is most unfortunate that they are controlled by a company who has a president that so drastically fails to see the big picture for our sport and in many ways his own company. His lack of empathy for the players seems to drive many of his decisions such as this one. Lynn may be reached at [email protected].

You have no idea how good it is to see that you aren't pulling any punches. It's also nice to see that you seem to be planning to keep Brass Eagle out of the picture entirely for the next event. I think that the idea with all the different paints and the charities and everything was a very good one, and that "myopic" doesn't even begin to describe the decision to nix it. If he could have simply worried more about making sure that the event was well-run, it would have probably gained him, his company, and his park some respect from the paintball community. As it is, he made some quick cash, but it wouldn't surprise me if he found himself out of a job because of it.

[Les]

nothing but support for SPPLAT

JJ: Although I was not able to attend Shatnerball, I am sure that you did everything you possibly could to make it the best it could possibly be. I remember seeing you pop on to IRC one night and mention something about a new scenario event with William Shatner that was in the works. I could not believe it - that big of a celebrity playing paintball for a good cause! It was the exact thing that this sport needed. From what I have read and heard, I am sorry to hear about some of the more unfortunate incidents that occurred there when the "suits" stepped in. As far as my book is concerned, SPPLAT is still leading the way across the bridge connecting paintball to the common person, and you are still in that first car. Keep up the good work and I'll expect to read about your next mega-event soon.

[Darkstorm]

Be Appropriate

Wow, JJ has opened up the box on this one.

I would think that people should avoid flaming to this Gentleman. If you have an issue, then you need to recommend a solution. I also think everyone who had issues should recommend the same remedy. If you think the paint was that bad then I would think the remedy you should ask for is that all profits be donated to the event's charity (at least from your cases of paint).

I personnally saw problems with the paint, but I need to talk more to one of the MUCH more experienced people in my area about what I saw and then write my own letter if it appears appropriate.

I would also hope the Mr Scott be carefully respectful of the people that played at this event; as I am trying to be with him.

Darkstorm

[Fred]

JJ, You already got the PM with my suggestions.

I'd like to add that I am also happy that you aren't beating around the bush, and are telling it like it is.

Next year, I hope to be shooting Marbs at Shatner, with the tank guage reading 4500... at any field that isn't CPX.

Keep up the good work!

---Fred

[skipdogg]

Thank you for being so honest JJ.

The problems that you have faced are still rampant throughout the industry it seems. It definately keeps the sport as a whole from developing into the next level we all know it can.

As for my person .02 on brass eagle, this just reminds me why i refuse to buy their products.

.02 on CPX.... they have gone downhill fast in the new place. Not sure where the managements head is either.

[FatMan]

More to the point, most dedicated PB'rs have known that BE tends to market to the masses, with a mediocre product, but they also have supported a number of events. NOW we know that they are capable of pulling a stunt like this.

I, for one, will never again attend an event sponsored by BE, or will I ever be involved in organizing an event or concern that they are involved in. That they would pull something like that on a charity event is unbelievable.

JJ, I understand the position you were in, but to be honest, were I in your shoes I would have told them that if they require BE field paint, the event is cancelled, and if they wouldn't back down, I wouldn't either.

Yeah, I know it would have been a tough call, but in the long run, the result was more damaging than moving the event would have been.

You live and you learn.

I always figured BE to be a bit like that, but that is really disgusting! Clearly there was no reason plenty of good name-brand paint could not be available for $60/case for the event (no matter what fields in the area normally charge). BE ruined a major event, and everyone will remember that!

FatMan

[meanelvis]

cmon now. despite the paint and air fiasco (i use CO2 on my 'cocker thankfully), I and countless others had a blast. After the fact it's really easy to focus in on the annoyances, but that saturday I didnt see anybody crying about anything.. i saw a bunch of borg players kickin' federation ***, charging the territory that we valued, and having a blast.

Now that it has come out about the BE paint, yes we should let the BE folks know that their microsoft-like tactics are not at all appreciated. But we need to remember above all that most of us had fun and played paintball in the name of charity, sportsmanship, and all else that is good in the world

I can't wait till next year's event, when issues such as the paint and air fills will undoubtedly be addressed.