Is our sports fading a little???

[tolley]

Paintball mania in my area seems to be on the way out. I see less players at the fields, I see less products in the shops (except Walmart). Are you guys seeing this too, or is it just me???

[ttink]

I've noticed alot of people getting out of it here too. I think it's just because our local field/shop sucks though.

[egb groupie]

Paintball mania in my area seems to be on the way out. I see less players at the fields, I see less products in the shops (except Walmart). Are you guys seeing this too, or is it just me???

tolley, I know of at least 2 excellent fields in VA, Splatbrothers in Hopewell, VA (played it, great field) and Skyline Paintball in Strausburg, VA (haven't played it, but have heard good things) That should be a good start for you....

[AGDlover]

what I've been seeing the most of is not lack of product but the segration so to speed of noobies and advaved players so to speek

[rx2]

Ebb and flow. I have been at it for 14 years, and sometimes it booms, only to bust.

[txaggie08]

Meh it comes and goes. The hardware stores are just starting to pick CO@ back up, and we still dont have a field in this area...


When i started ten years ago, there were two fields, two or three pro-shops etc.

[nate2k191]

it will never die completely, so theres no worries, there will always be people who do it for b-day parties and stuff, plus i dont think im quitting anytime soon. no worries

[RoadDawg]

It's a roller coaster. It fades in and fades out. It really depends on the economy. For example with Gas prices busting over $3 in many areas (wish it was that low in my area) people are running low on the "extra" cash to play with. Therefore you'll see a decline in the people playing. Another factor is the game is getting expensive (paint wise). With markers shooting faster, more paint is being consumed and people are spending more then they can afford to.

[Jaan]

I think part is that it got to big and technical. Nobody wants to spend that kind of money for a simple hobby, especially if they're up against pre-teens with rich parents, a $1500 gun shooting 2 cases or more of paint. When my friends and I were younger, without families in the early 90's we could afford it, now some weeks it's hard to get even an extra $30 to spend. I'm seeing now, slowly but surely, a return to the game being fun and people starting to play pump games. I think the weekend hobbyists are starting to reject the "bigness" that paintball has become.

It could be just me though. lol

[gibby]

It's a roller coaster. It fades in and fades out. It really depends on the economy. For example with Gas prices busting over $3 in many areas (wish it was that low in my area) people are running low on the "extra" cash to play with. Therefore you'll see a decline in the people playing. Another factor is the game is getting expensive (paint wise). With markers shooting faster, more paint is being consumed and people are spending more then they can afford to.

I definitely think this is true. As for me, paintball used to be the thing that ate up all the extra cash I had. But time has passed and my spending priorities have changed. Where I live now, I don't think there's a field with all day air. We pay per 1000 psi...so that kinda blows. Especially if you shoot a mag with LX. LOL!

But eventually I'll see myself on the field again. Maybe not as religiously as before, but just to have fun with old friends.

[Lohman446]

Is it that the sport is receding or you are improving? When I first started I would play against anyone, push myself, and have a great time. I find myself now playing against newer players and not going all out or pushing as hard. So the people I greatly enjoy playing against are a smaller group of the more skilled players. I could make it a less people on the skill level I play with means contraction, or I could simply see that I am playing in a smaller niche.

[hipster]

you also have to add in the fact that there are more stores than ever more web stores than ever and more fields which means you local pb community is now more scattered /spead out though the area.

[dahoeb]

in my area i noticed that it was pretty big for awhile but is starting to fade some. at the popular local field, they have a 2 speedball fields and some decent woodsball fields. the local field sponsored team comes every weekend, and being friends with the refs and owner, are able to get get the refs to listen to them and not the other players, so we always end up playing almost exclusively speedball there anymore.
well when you have a field sponsored tourney team, with dm's, egos, and the best equipment money can by, and you throw billy noob and his spyder xtra up against them, the results aren't pretty and that poor noob isn't going to have very much fun. this local team basically comes every weekend to beat up on the local newer players to make themselves feel good about themselves....thats probably why they haven't done well in any tourneys....
if the refs don't seperate the advanced and beginners it can really make for a bad day. most fields i go to are pretty good about that but the field i'm talking about above usually doesn't have quite enough players to seperate into different skill levels, and the tourney team refuses to split up.
i'm optimistic that this stuff doesn't regularly happen at many fields, but i can say i think thats a reason its faded a little in my local area. newer players have been quitting out of frustration.

[peewee]

Paintball has a history of cycling ( but general #'s increase ). many are gung ho for a while then fade away. The true players come back after a while.

[robnix]

I think part is that it got to big and technical. Nobody wants to spend that kind of money for a simple hobby, especially if they're up against pre-teens with rich parents, a $1500 gun shooting 2 cases or more of paint. When my friends and I were younger, without families in the early 90's we could afford it, now some weeks it's hard to get even an extra $30 to spend. I'm seeing now, slowly but surely, a return to the game being fun and people starting to play pump games. I think the weekend hobbyists are starting to reject the "bigness" that paintball has become.

It could be just me though. lol

I disagree, it's all perspective on the value you get for your money. People spend money equivilant to that to go skiing or snowboarding. The problem I see, at least in my area, is a few things:

1) field saturation.
2) field owners that open fields without understanding what customer service is
3) vets making things hard on new players by being rude and overplaying them