Can paintball be saved ?

[REDRT]

I fail to see what needs to be saved. I'm mean really. Anytime I go out and play I have a good time. I think some people go out of there way to look for something to complain about.

[rabidchihauhau]

I just finished writing an editorial on this subject; it will be posted to one of the news sites in a couple of days.

Its primarily addressed to the 'investment' companies that now own the #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (arguably) manufacturers/distributors in the industry.

Its basic concept (other than tilting at yet another windmill...if anyone has a 'lance-sharpener', I could sure use one about now...) is that there are arguably four companies that have invested huge dollars in paintball and by virtue of all of them being 'only' investment-for-profit companies, they have more in common, regarding the future success of the industry, than we've ever seen before in the industry.

I offer 9 suggestions for things they ought to be doing together that could only serve to increase their potential profits.

Pie in the sky - absolutely - but hope springs eternal that somone, somewhere will wake up and realize that doing those things are, in the long term, good for them, and that they just happen to be good for everyone else along the way.

[Lohman446]

Maybe the for profit companies will see the lack of return on investment of sponsorship in its current form and abolish it. Without the desire to be the "elite sponsored team" we might get rid of some of the attitudes . Probably not

[Skeeter]

[pyrodragon]

u all complain about the price of the markers, but you'all don't realize how much you spend on paint. i know i have spent more on paint then on my own markers. think about it. how much do you spend going to a feild? feild fees are usually around $10 to $20 and sometimes that includes air and then your spending $45+ per case of paint. some fields only have two or three fields and don't offer much of a change. yes you have the cheaters, but that's easy to solve to. if you know for 100% sure that player cheated, light them up. make sure they get the point. better to call out on the first shot then on the 10th. there is only one answer to "saving" paintball, either be pro-active or sit on the sidelines. every sport goes through changes. all the major sports have changed. football, has moved fieldgoal post from the front of the endzone to the back. hockey is changing it's rule all the time. as far as the refee issues, shoot NCAA refees still get it wrong. example Oklahoma vs. Oregon game. so really that is always going to be a problem. i have the most fun when i take out t he high end markers with either my minimag or my shoebox shocker. i've even played with a spyder and a sheridan as my first markers. the problems with paintball lie within the hands of the players and noone else.

[GT]

Excellent posts in this thread, even TK is in the mix, kinda like the old AO. I think there are many issues at play here, however they culminate around the lack of leadership. In this post I will not only ***** but also offer a few solutions. Allow me to explicate:

Local Leadership

Kids have and will always act like those in which they emulate. You can give these tikes an angel or a blow gun and thier lack of ethics on the field would be the same. Let's be honest thier kids and are idiots just like when we were kids. Most field owners, other players, and parents dont care. How much does it cost to get Jr. out of my hair for a few hours? Infact I would go as far to say that most paintball fields today are grassy day cares with poor bathrooms.

Here is how we got here: One of the most odd things I have witnessed over the years is the lack of parents playing the game. I can remember everyweekend 4-5 years ago their would be atlest 6-10 dads taking the kids out for a game of paintball. Think about this, the market currently panders to the young hip kids, but here is the intresting thing, those dads, with a higher disposal income had no problem buying tons of nice gear for themselves and kids. When the market shifted to be more "hip" what it realy meant was a shift from high price per unit, less unit sales to low price per unit, w/ mass production. What manufactres have done is "marketed out" field leadership at the local level. Think of it this way, the field owner was kept in check by the players and parents, who ultimitly had the buying power.

Fast forward to today and we have what looks like a bunch of anime midgets running around with guns they can barely control with a ROF that can paint the side of a house in a matter of seconds, but no restrictions or rules to govern thier use.

National and International leadership

There is a ton of confusion in paintball right now because no one has a clue where we are going. We have God knows how many "profesional" legues, but not a proffesional body to represent the sport. Part of this stems from the fact that "professional" paintball is run by the manufacters instead of a governing body. The purpose of a governing body is to reperesent the sport of paintball, but what most dont understand is how important a cohesive body is to the development of the sport. For example, all this sillyness with PB being baned in X town. With a unified board they would have lobbying power, i.e. a budget to higher a leagal team, to fight any legislation aganist the sport. The board could also negtionate thier own insurance, develop professional certifications for airsmith, field owners, and refs. Again lots of stuff they could to insure a true sport and not simply a game.


Where do we go from here?

What is really needed is a tranisional governing body. I could invision massive amounts of fighting on who is going to be the chair of rule making or some such nonsense. These need to start with pb confrences every year in a few places through out the country. Start small with Pump and Mech only tourneys. If it becomes fun again it will grow like wild fire. Embed the governing board within these tourneys, electing officials every few years, developing rules and game elements that are fun to play.

I am not looking too fix paintball in 5 years, I am looking at the next 50 years.

[rabidchihauhau]

there is not any ONE single issue, unless you want to lump everything together and call it lack of foresight or lack of responsible business development.

Its been proven time and again that meaningful change is only ever effected from the top. So long as those with the most financial wherewithal continue to believe that 'marketing through sponsorship', 'the never-ending arms race', 'no industry org' and whatever else you care to point at remains in their financial best interest, they'll continue to do things the old way.

This is primarily characterized by short-term thinking/profit taking as opposed to 'building' something that has long-term sustainability and profit.

For example: the arms race is composed of two primary drives - the competition drive and the volume paintball drive. Rather than confining these drives and using them to everyone's advantage, the powers-that-be have caused/allowed them to influence/corrupt every single aspect of the industry. Rather than the current state of affairs, where players last an average of 18 months, teams little longer, where everyone cherrypicks everyone else, where the rules are easily subverted by someone with dollars and a new board, it would be much better to have a completely contained system whereby players progress from one level to the next in a defined manner, where teams are encouraged to have longevity, where one series feeds off of lower-level series, where the dollars that prop up one or two teams are instead used to lower the cost for all teams (and therefore increase overall participation), etc. A structured advancement (through both technology and competition levels) will encourage the individual player to participate longer and spend MORE money - even if it is over a longer length of time.

Ask a field owner what he wants? the same x number of people coming out reliably every weekend, with an occassional bump of new players, or having to generate new customers every weekend?

Again, ask what he wants? random occurrences of a huge volume of paint being used - or regular use of x amount every weekend?

What sustains player interest more? being able to play every weekend, seeing a steady improvement in skill, for a relatively affordable price, or getting thrown into the deepend where they have to spend thousands all at once if they want to be considered to be a 'decent' player?

If the kids could go out and play PB 'little leage' during the summer, with fixed technology and fixed costs (even if at little or no profit) wouldn't that serve to create much larger number of players who want to 'move to the next level'? instead of throwing everyone into the mosh pit and being happy with the two or three who end up liking it?

short-term will win almost every time against long-term - they tie up the dollars and choke off the competition - but winning the dollar game does not necessarily mean that that approach is better.

Paintball's short-term thinking is going to get swamped by the 'next-best-thing' that comes along with $ and long-range goals behind it.

[GT]

there is not any ONE single issue, unless you want to lump everything together and call it lack of foresight or lack of responsible business development.

I think this is where you are wrong. Name one sport that manufacters drive sport? Does wilson or reebok make rules or run football games. Does Rawlings advise the houston Astros on when they can and cannot open the roof on minute maid park? Does Ping or Nike determine player ranking for golf?

The problem is we have allowed the manufacters to define to the public what our product, paintball is. Manufacters should never be the top of any sport. I would value thier input as compatent proffesionals but thier input on where the sport should go is way to biasised.

it would be much better to have a completely contained system whereby players progress from one level to the next in a defined manner, where teams are encouraged to have longevity, where one series feeds off of lower-level series, where the dollars that prop up one or two teams are instead used to lower the cost for all teams (and therefore increase overall participation), etc. A structured advancement (through both technology and competition levels) will encourage the individual player to participate longer and spend MORE money - even if it is over a longer length of time.

I love this idea. It is not the first time I have heard it, but its great.

[pyrodragon]

there is not any ONE single issue, unless you want to lump everything together and call it lack of foresight or lack of responsible business development.

Its been proven time and again that meaningful change is only ever effected from the top. So long as those with the most financial wherewithal continue to believe that 'marketing through sponsorship', 'the never-ending arms race', 'no industry org' and whatever else you care to point at remains in their financial best interest, they'll continue to do things the old way.

This is primarily characterized by short-term thinking/profit taking as opposed to 'building' something that has long-term sustainability and profit.

For example: the arms race is composed of two primary drives - the competition drive and the volume paintball drive. Rather than confining these drives and using them to everyone's advantage, the powers-that-be have caused/allowed them to influence/corrupt every single aspect of the industry. Rather than the current state of affairs, where players last an average of 18 months, teams little longer, where everyone cherrypicks everyone else, where the rules are easily subverted by someone with dollars and a new board, it would be much better to have a completely contained system whereby players progress from one level to the next in a defined manner, where teams are encouraged to have longevity, where one series feeds off of lower-level series, where the dollars that prop up one or two teams are instead used to lower the cost for all teams (and therefore increase overall participation), etc. A structured advancement (through both technology and competition levels) will encourage the individual player to participate longer and spend MORE money - even if it is over a longer length of time.

Ask a field owner what he wants? the same x number of people coming out reliably every weekend, with an occassional bump of new players, or having to generate new customers every weekend?

Again, ask what he wants? random occurrences of a huge volume of paint being used - or regular use of x amount every weekend?

What sustains player interest more? being able to play every weekend, seeing a steady improvement in skill, for a relatively affordable price, or getting thrown into the deepend where they have to spend thousands all at once if they want to be considered to be a 'decent' player?

If the kids could go out and play PB 'little leage' during the summer, with fixed technology and fixed costs (even if at little or no profit) wouldn't that serve to create much larger number of players who want to 'move to the next level'? instead of throwing everyone into the mosh pit and being happy with the two or three who end up liking it?

short-term will win almost every time against long-term - they tie up the dollars and choke off the competition - but winning the dollar game does not necessarily mean that that approach is better.

Paintball's short-term thinking is going to get swamped by the 'next-best-thing' that comes along with $ and long-range goals behind it.

by far one of the best ideas i have heard. the other thing in the post ahead of yours is that there needs to be a NPPA. just like the NFLPA, MLBPA, and the NHLPA. get the players involved in the game they play. but that'll be some time before the "pro" players realize that. see the problem with a lot of paintball fields is they want to see the green without realizing what it takes. seen lots of paintball fields fall apart because they only want to see short term and not long term. sure you want to make money but like any small business the first 2 years are usually red before the they finally start to see the black. so when fields are coming and going it's hard to keep local leadership. the other problem is parents. how many times have you seen a parent get upset for looking at their children the wrong way? that's why i think little leagues would be great. use field rental markers with the only cost being paint. shoot run the paint at a discounted rate.

[pyrodragon]

I think this is where you are wrong. Name one sport that manufacters drive sport? Does wilson or reebok make rules or run football games. Does Rawlings advise the houston Astros on when they can and cannot open the roof on minute maid park? Does Ping or Nike determine player ranking for golf?

The problem is we have allowed the manufacters to define to the public what our product, paintball is. Manufacters should never be the top of any sport. I would value thier input as compatent proffesionals but thier input on where the sport should go is way to biasised.



I love this idea. It is not the first time I have heard it, but its great.

have you hear of the reebok new design for the NHL sweaters? of course it's the both reebok and the league changing the rules but reebok is gonna be the only hockey sweater maker of the NHL. don't you think they have some say?

[rabidchihauhau]

the history of sports basically divides into two eras; there is the era of sports that matured prior to mass-marketing, sports-marketing, etc and it is true that the leagues that control those sports run things, not the mfgs.

Then there is the era of 'new sports' - and you can take to the bank that virtually every single one of them is 'run by the manufacturers'.

That is, of course, only in cases where the hardware is a dominating factor - such as racings sports and the newer hi-tech ones.

I could make a very good case as well to show you that even considering the older sports - basketball, baseball, football, hockey, that the so-called mfgs dominate those industries; they donate big time (if you can use that word) to the college and non-professional levels of the game, buy players, buy stadiums, buy teams.

I guess, to put it bluntly, its much more accurate to state that there are few, if any, sports that are NOT run by the business interests associated with them.

***

As for the rest of it - ALL of those suggestions have gone before; some were even attempted. Some failed because the time was not right, others failed because it was not seen as being in the interest of the people who have the money, and still others failed because 'independance' is a threat to some business interests.

[rabidchihauhau]

skeeter,

the problem is NOT field owners who don't know what they're doing. The problem is the lack of a field organization that can help new fields get started, avoid the pitfalls and offer some standardization for the customer to judge things by.

and we don't have such an org because its not in the money interests to see such a thing; after all, some of them might get together and start making joint purchases...

[Skeeter]

skeeter,

the problem is NOT field owners who don't know what they're doing. The problem is the lack of a field organization that can help new fields get started, avoid the pitfalls and offer some standardization for the customer to judge things by.

and we don't have such an org because its not in the money interests to see such a thing; after all, some of them might get together and start making joint purchases...

[GT]

have you hear of the reebok new design for the NHL sweaters? of course it's the both reebok and the league changing the rules but reebok is gonna be the only hockey sweater maker of the NHL. don't you think they have some say?

A uniform is a uniform. There has to be some kind continuity throughout the leguea. I dont know much about hockey but I would imgine that not all goallies use the same equipment, nor any player using the same brand stick. Let's be honest, what say does reebok get? The legue goes out to bid on jersey's and the market responds. That is way different that what happend right now in paintball. Manufcters want ramping guns, as do the paint suppliers, as do the field owners, more money for all reguarless of the repercutions.

[GT]

+1

I could make a very good case as well to show you that even considering the older sports - basketball, baseball, football, hockey, that the so-called mfgs dominate those industries; they donate big time (if you can use that word) to the college and non-professional levels of the game, buy players, buy stadiums, buy teams.

Yes and no,
Today's more popular sports do have signifgant tie back to sports equipment and retailers, however no one in basketball is debating where the three point line is or what the size and weight of a basketball should be. I have no problem with buisness making money, but in the last 5 years alone we have seen drastic changes in paintball. 6 years ago there was no halo, no ramping, and two electros on the market, shocker and angel (emag?) and they both limited to maybe 13bps. All of these "inovations" have led to drastic changes in the sport for better or worse.