PB Fantasy Governing Committee

[Jeffy-CanCon]

Regarding financing such a hypothetical committee, I again think it would be wise to see how other sports do it.

I don't need to pay Soccer Canada to set up my intra-office league, and I don't (knowingly)pay a fee to them when I buy new cleats, or a ball. But I'd pay them to take a coaching or refereeing course. I'd have to buy an individual membership in order to vote for the Board of Directors. And any provincial or national championship tournament is organised under their auspices, and I think that is where they make most of their money.

To date, the attempts by players to organize paintball have depended on individual membership fees only, which is not enough. The industry (manufacturers and promoters) has ignored these bodies, so as to be able to make their own rules and keep all the proceeds from the tournaments.

[SlartyBartFast]

I don't need to pay Soccer Canada to set up my intra-office league, and I don't (knowingly)pay a fee to them when I buy new cleats, or a ball.

You may or may not. "Regulation" balls can only be identified as such if the governing body sanctions them.

And while playing on a random piece of land might not support the governing body, playing on a sanctioned field may.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

Good catch! I forgot about the balls. It would be a good way for a governing body to make money for paintball, too - licensing fees for approved masks, markers, etc. You'd need to have officially approved gear to play competitively, but not for rec play. So manufacturers could choose to comply, or not.

[PBX Ronin 23]

So manufacturers could choose to comply, or not.

For the whole concept to work, the manufacturers needs to see that Compliance is not an option but rather an obligation with consequences for failure.

[SlartyBartFast]

For the whole concept to work, the manufacturers needs to see that Compliance is not an option but rather an obligation with consequences for failure.

Which means the toughest thing of all: An oversight body that isn't in the back pocket of a vested interest.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

For the whole concept to work, the manufacturers needs to see that Compliance is not an option but rather an obligation with consequences for failure.

Only actual governments can enforce total compliance. The manufacturers only have to obey the governing body if they want their gear to get exposure at sanctioned tournaments. If they want to cater solely to the recreational markets, they can do that. But with the exception of Brass Eagle, not many have chosen that path so far. The tourneys will continue to drive the marketing, regardless.

[shartley]

Which means the toughest thing of all: An oversight body that isn't in the back pocket of a vested interest.

Exactly.

[Jeffy-CanCon]

Answering the original question, as to WHO I would like to see on a fantasy governing body, I did come up with a couple of names:

(1) Jessica Sparks - former head of the IPPA, and a lawyer
(2) Bill &/or Dawn Mills - operators of WARPIG
(3) Durty Dan Leger - rec player since 1984 and former magazine columnist, major proponent of stock-class play, and non-camo uniforms
(4) Col. Jerry Jamison - player since 1983, including the early years of the NPPL with the Wild Geese
(5) Bob Lohmaier - engineer & devil's advocate, player since 1991, tourney experience up to the Millenium Series, but mainly a rec-baller (manike may be his love-child)

I personally know all these people except Jessica Sparks, and am impressed with their intelliegence, experience and integrity. Only Bill & Dawn currently make any money from paintball, and they sell nothing but info & ad-space.

I'm strongly inclined to nominate Mike "Blue" Hanse, as well. He's a former manufacturer and tourney player/promoter, and he has opened the first real paintball museum.

[PBX Ronin 23]

Well, in that case I think first there should be clear goals set.

Which means the toughest thing of all: An oversight body that isn't in the back pocket of a vested interest.

Only actual governments can enforce total compliance. The manufacturers only have to obey the governing body if they want their gear to get exposure at sanctioned tournaments.

I beg to differ. Check the NASD in the securities industry. Or any of the major exchanges for that matter. The securities industry is perhaps a good place to examine as far as the divergent forces working together.

[PBX Ronin 23]

From another Thread

Like I have said before, I would like to see a LAW that required paintball markers to comply with the ASTM standard. In addition, it would be illegal for said markers to be user adjustable such as to make them non-compliant. It will never happen, unless someone wins a big lawsuit because a marker was not ASTM compliant.

Sometimes it takes a major incident for us to find the need to organize and act for the greater good. Perhaps that time is a lot sooner than we would all like to think. When the lawyers representing the families of those who died in last year's CO2 tank incidents gets it in their minds not to quietly settle the suit......WATCH OUT. The potential ramifications should be worrisome to most (if not all) the companies in paintball.

Let's say this does hypothetically happen....what should this governing body do and what should its role be?

[rabidchihauhau]

PBX -

I entirely agree with Slarty and others who have made the good points that picking people is not the way to go about creating a governing body.

EVERY single effort to do so in the past has failed for one primary reason: each and every individual who was tapped for the effort was a problem for at least one other vested interest in the industry.

I have personal experience with many of those efforts, having been involved with creating the PBGA (Paint Ball Gamer's Association, started by PMI), IPPA (started by Jessica and others) NPPL (started by me) IPFOA, etc., etc. acronyms ad nauseum.

The ultimate purpose of a governing body consists of three things: 1. to establish acceptable standards for competition so that everyone is 'playing the same game'; to the extent necessary to support that goal, the standards can include rules, officiating, safety, etc.

2. to present a cohesive MARKETING organization which is capable of speaking for the majority constituency when it comes to obtaining outside support, be it corporate sponsors, television deals, etc., etc.

3. to represent 70+ percent of competition within the given sport so that it QUALIFIES for consideration by organizations such as NCAA, IOC, etc.

So, in effect, no matter how you slice it, it is OUTSIDE organizations which have set the requirements for what a paintball governing body is/will be. If paintball wants to be an NCAA sport, it must meet THEIR requirements. If it wants to compete with NFL, MLB, MLS, NBA, NHL, NASCAR for television time (as in, the network bids for rights), then it must CONTROL its sport. To qualify for IOC consideration, it has another set of IOC based requirements that it must step up to.

None of the individuals you named (and I'm not denigrating them here) are capable of delivering what is outlined above, if only because they are currently competing with each other for who is going to make it to the goal line first.

Sticking Chuck and Paul together in the same room is not going to make one or the other of them give up control of their respective leagues in order to obtain that 70% number.

"Can't we all just get along?" doesn't fly in paintball because everyone sees the governing body (along with TV) as the holy grail and the pot of gold. And, in fact, it is the pot of gold. If NPPL gets big television numbers and lots of outside corporate support, they will move to secure their position and deliver what they need to - the de facto governing body of the sport. This will leave PSP/NXL out in the cold, with diminishing dollars and lessening prestige. The reverse would be true as well.

The solution is -

an outside organization that is above the monetary considerations of the industry, one that is hired by the industry (or enough of the industry to get close to that 70% number) and that is granted full authority and independance to achieve the goals set for it. The folks you listed might well sit on an advisory council, but would ultimately not have any say.

What I'm saying here is that until it is in the industry's economic interest to rise above the commercial competition, nothing is going to happen and any such efforts will be dragged down by competitors who feel that their interests are not being properly met (as in, the other guy will make more money/have more clout than me) and hire a 'baseball commissioner' who is given full and complete autonomy to do the best thing in the interest of the sport, as opposed to what is in the best interest of one group or another.

I say this as a veteran of many, many, many well-meaning efforts to achieve what you are talking about here.

[PBX Ronin 23]

What I'm saying here is that until it is in the industry's economic interest to rise above the commercial competition, nothing is going to happen and any such efforts will be dragged down by competitors who feel that their interests are not being properly met (as in, the other guy will make more money/have more clout than me) and hire a 'baseball commissioner' who is given full and complete autonomy to do the best thing in the interest of the sport, as opposed to what is in the best interest of one group or another.

Point well taken. You are but one of many proponents for a a Juge Landis-type personality to stir the ship.

BTW, are you Steve Davidson?

[rabidchihauhau]

yes, I am.

the reason I propose a 'Judge Landis' type of solution is that I know full well that its the only way to take the business interest and personalities out of the mix.

I also totally reject any of the 'paintball is a new sport' arguments as to why it hasn't or can't happen at this point, since paintball is actually in an extremely envious position:

it has 100+ years of professional sports organization that it can model itself after

it has AT LEAST 24 years of 'in-house' experience in dealing with those things peculiar to paintball

it attracts a key and growing marketing demographic

it has a well-developed infrastructure

in terms of growth, its outpacing all other 'extreme sports'

in terms of market, it is recognized by key organizations, such as SGMA, which provides numbers that other entities trust and rely on

in terms of recognition, it is being heavily looked at by 'wall street', ever since the summit-tippmann deal and the k2-brass eagle deal.

if someone from outside the industry, possessing the proper amount of cash, wanted to "take over", it would literally be an almost 'turn-key' operation.

Unfortunately, no one in the industry is willing to put short-term dollars aside for long-term gain/growth and, unfortunately, the rest of the business world currently agrees with that particular model of doing things. I think it has something to do with MTV...

[PBX Ronin 23]

Unfortunately, no one in the industry is willing to put short-term dollars aside for long-term gain/growth and, unfortunately, the rest of the business world currently agrees with that particular model of doing things. I think it has something to do with MTV...

Unfortunately, that is undoubtedly the case. Even a company like K2 likes to look at things on a quarterly/bi-quaterly basis in terms of impact to the bottom line.

Good insightful post, thanks.

[Lurker27]

I'm reminded of a similar situation in which short-term profit is oftentime put far ahead of long term growth. I'm referring to the world chocolate industry. Producers of raw cacao, most saliently the Ivory coast, have been forced, more or less, by the larger production conglomeraes to enter into an organization whose main purpose is to promote chocolate. This ends up benefitting sales, with the trickle down effect benefitting everyone in the long term.



The fundamental problem with paintball right now is the lack of standardization. If such a governing body was formed, you'd first need the cooperation of every major paintball company, and you'd have to convince them that the organization would increase their profits.

The first way to do this, of course, is by the creation of a league format that is marketable. X-ball, as it stands, is a good format for a league (matches are about the right length, Best team is more likely to win, W-L record is compiled over the course of a season rather than a series of largely arbitrary tournaments, where you place)

I would propose that a new league backed by the Paintball Board be created, in which teams are split into 4 divisions, each team has a major sponsor, and each team is affiliated with a city. This allows for rivalries to develop, travel costs to be kept down, and a local fanbase to be established (geographic loyalty is nonexistent in paintball, conversely, Patriots fans in my area are currently in hiding). This has the effect of standardizing team equipment (more marketability), as well as giving the greater effect of uniform. (see: NFL rules on dress)

In addition, a full line of stats needs to be kept: %eliminated, Tags, Eliminations, pulls, and hangs. This will create more marketable stars, which in turn creates more consumer spending. I'm not proposing such ludicrous indulgences as Chris Lasoya action figures, but rather, more specific sponsorship deals (going back to Lasoya, he does have his own Intimidator).

Such a league would have to have bounce/ramp rules policed similarly to the NPPL, with a 1000 round per player team paint allotment. In theory, it seems like that would be not enough paint to get the manufacturers to agree to it, but I think a net effect would see more people trying to get their money's worth in each game, and the overall number of balls would increase.

So, in summation:

Create a governing body composed of major manufacturers, add some salient players/advisors. (once NPS is on board, a 70% field filter-down effect could more than likely be expected)
Have said body create a "halo" league, with well-kept statistics, enforced rules, local loyalties, and an x-ball format.
Let said league guide paintball down the standardization path.