I havn't seen anything like this yet.
Tradeshow Vendors:
Let's face it, one of the major draws at any large tournament is the vendor area. A large portion of the paintballers at these events aren't playing, they are there for the tradeshow and to watch. IAO has always been famous for its tradeshow, supposedly the largest tradeshow around. This year was a fairly pitiful showing if this was supposed to be an impressive tradeshow. Now, some will argue that the Denver NPPL last weekend hurt the tradeshow. Granted, it would have made me rough on vendors, but they could have arrived by thursday or so. It wasn't impossible. Do the vendors just not care about IAO anymore? Dye, WDP, KAPP, Freeflow, Oddysey, CSG, and a few other vendors simply didn't show up. There were less trailers, and the large vendor tent and main vendor barn were startlingly empty. Everyone in attendence was commenting on the lack of vendors. It is a SERIOUS problem that needs to be addressed. IAO isn't simply a tournament, its an event. Without the vendors, there simply won't be an IAO as we know it.
The Games:
When I heard there were only 16 teams signed up for the 7-man, I knew there was a problem. Last year there were something like 77 teams. What happened to kill the attendance? Well, for one, Debra moved 7-man to earlier in the week, swapping it with 5-man. She hoped to draw roughly the same number of 7-man teams, and increase the number of 5-man teams. I'm not sure of the exact count of how many 5-man teams showed up, but I doubt it made up for 61 7-man teams. If you were running a large paintball event, where large profits are made off paint, wouldn't you want to keep the event that uses the most paint (7-man) at a time when it draws the most players? This one had to hurt in the pocket, which should inspire some change next year. One thing I did notice was a lot less complaints about reffing this year. While there were the ever-present grumbles, they seemed quieter and less common. I think the reffing class they held must have helped, as for the most part the refs seemed much better than most tournaments I've seen. Incidents of bad reffing seemed fairly few and far between.
Due to these factors, attendance was definitely down this year as well. The fairgrounds simply didn't feel as crowded. Last year, when AO went out to the Lone Star, we had like 40 people. This year, when we went out to dinner we had way less except when we went out with other owners groups and such. It was the same across the board, paintballers simply weren't showing up. Did they read about the lack of vendors before they left? Bad timing? I'm not sure. Someone needs to work on this next year.
Overall, IAO this year was a severe dissapointment when compared to last year. The Owners Group division was awesome, but a lot of other parts slipped. A lot of people said they weren't planning on returning next year, or they said if there wasn't a major improvement by next year, they wouldn't bother on planning any more trips to IAO ever.
It would be a real shame to see IAO die, it is one of the best events in paintball where truly anyone can be involved. I honestly hope Debra listens to what players were saying and somehow manages to restore IAO to its glory days.
Tradeshow Vendors:
Let's face it, one of the major draws at any large tournament is the vendor area. A large portion of the paintballers at these events aren't playing, they are there for the tradeshow and to watch. IAO has always been famous for its tradeshow, supposedly the largest tradeshow around. This year was a fairly pitiful showing if this was supposed to be an impressive tradeshow. Now, some will argue that the Denver NPPL last weekend hurt the tradeshow. Granted, it would have made me rough on vendors, but they could have arrived by thursday or so. It wasn't impossible. Do the vendors just not care about IAO anymore? Dye, WDP, KAPP, Freeflow, Oddysey, CSG, and a few other vendors simply didn't show up. There were less trailers, and the large vendor tent and main vendor barn were startlingly empty. Everyone in attendence was commenting on the lack of vendors. It is a SERIOUS problem that needs to be addressed. IAO isn't simply a tournament, its an event. Without the vendors, there simply won't be an IAO as we know it.
The Games:
When I heard there were only 16 teams signed up for the 7-man, I knew there was a problem. Last year there were something like 77 teams. What happened to kill the attendance? Well, for one, Debra moved 7-man to earlier in the week, swapping it with 5-man. She hoped to draw roughly the same number of 7-man teams, and increase the number of 5-man teams. I'm not sure of the exact count of how many 5-man teams showed up, but I doubt it made up for 61 7-man teams. If you were running a large paintball event, where large profits are made off paint, wouldn't you want to keep the event that uses the most paint (7-man) at a time when it draws the most players? This one had to hurt in the pocket, which should inspire some change next year. One thing I did notice was a lot less complaints about reffing this year. While there were the ever-present grumbles, they seemed quieter and less common. I think the reffing class they held must have helped, as for the most part the refs seemed much better than most tournaments I've seen. Incidents of bad reffing seemed fairly few and far between.
Due to these factors, attendance was definitely down this year as well. The fairgrounds simply didn't feel as crowded. Last year, when AO went out to the Lone Star, we had like 40 people. This year, when we went out to dinner we had way less except when we went out with other owners groups and such. It was the same across the board, paintballers simply weren't showing up. Did they read about the lack of vendors before they left? Bad timing? I'm not sure. Someone needs to work on this next year.
Overall, IAO this year was a severe dissapointment when compared to last year. The Owners Group division was awesome, but a lot of other parts slipped. A lot of people said they weren't planning on returning next year, or they said if there wasn't a major improvement by next year, they wouldn't bother on planning any more trips to IAO ever.
It would be a real shame to see IAO die, it is one of the best events in paintball where truly anyone can be involved. I honestly hope Debra listens to what players were saying and somehow manages to restore IAO to its glory days.
even with the air card deal they offer its expensive...
ever! I tried asking her a few questions and she kept trying to ride off in her golf cart or she would look away and spark up a ciggarette. She is very rude.
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