If you haven't checked it out yet, or don't remember any of the details, I encourage you to look over the UCP, universal classification program. The reason for my request is that I'm looking for answers and I need your help. (Mark it on your calendar 'cus it's never gonna happen again.) What I'm curious about is the general appeal of this concept and what, if anything, y'all don't like about it. I'm particularly interested in what event promoters think but don't let that stop you from posting an opinion in the comments.
It's one thing to devise a plan and another thing altogether to get people to jump on your bandwagon. Being a natural pessimist with an abiding mistrust (and dislike) of authority, any authority, I'm about the last guy to see this objectively--which is why I need your help. Tell me why it's a good idea (or a bad idea) and why it will work (or why it won't.) I have some ideas but I'm gonna wait for your comments because I don't want to unduly influence you with my negativity. Knowing the sort of lazy slackers paintballers tend to be your comments could very well have an influence on the final outcome of the UCP project. And if that doesn't motivate you to take a few minutes to participate, well, I'd offer cash but, you know, times are tough.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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17 comments:
I have kinda been waiting for you to touch this, then get dirty with it...
Remember a few years back when Vince McMahon of the WWF/E (whatever the heck it is now) launched his very own football league? XFL I believe is what it was called, an "Professional Extreme Football League" Well.. That wasn't exactly football, and just because you are good at it, or Arena Football, doesn't mean you can go hang in the NFL.
Is it possible that there is a team out there that is amazing at Xball.. Yet sucked pretty hard at 7 man? A certain team comes to mind who just won phoenix... Yet couldn't even keep their spot in the NPPL last year....
Fact is, its a different game, we shouldn't rank people on how they perform in Xball simply because they play 7 man well, or vice versa...
Where do we stop? Woodsball tournaments, if you are a woodsball pro.. Are you a pro player in the PSP? If I start a league where your team first needs to chug a case of beer before they get paint... And have a pro drinking division.. Should they be pro in the PSP as well? (While I exaggerate to prove my point, the last one does sound fun)
-X
If you want your league to be included, you must a) use the PSP's rules and b) use the APPA.
The term "Universal" sounds good, but doesn't really apply here.
Chris
Sure, part of the concept is to create a scarcity of sorts but it also can be viewed as a way to legitmize the upper levels. Even so, the pro thing is the least of it.
As a team(s) owner let me ask you this-- if you had a midwest league running the same format and classifications as the PSP that cost half or two-thirds as much and still offered a path to an end of the year WC championship what would you do?
hippo
While universal may be pushing it the concept is to build a grassroots system of leagues and series that feed the PSP and does the same, more or less, over in Euroland with the MS--and then, who knows?
I just glanced through it real quick cause I have class in a little bit. But to me it seems like they're just trying to make their format the only format. Maybe another attempt to keep out the USPL? If the local teams aren't practicing 7 man because they can only play local xball events why would they go out to a national 7 man league?
Also to me it seems like they're just trying to boost their World Cup attendance. If they invite all these local teams who did decent in their local league to world cup i'm sure they'll be more likely to come since it'll seem more like a privaleage. If they do good they're also likely to come back next season, which is still just more money for PSP.
The short answer is it is something that a lot of APPA customers wanted. The price is adjusting your classification rules to be the same as everyone else, and the payout is your teams get to participate in national standings. We get rid of confusing differences in classification rules from place to place, paintball gets nationwide standings, what's the downside?
lol...Raehl states "We get rid of confusing differences in classification rules from place to place, paintball gets nationwide standings, what's the downside?"
I find that to be a ridiculous statements because there can be ANY given player with a valid APPA ID that can vary their classification in any of these "Uniform Classification Program" series' and in reality creates MORE of a problem than solves it. Players are left without knowing what their classification for any one league will be because they could be one classification in PSP, then a completely different one in USPL, then a completely different one in NCPA, etc.
Uniform, I think not. If anything its made it more of a detriment to use a system that creates more problem than it fixes...and of course Chris' response will be focusing on some other aspect of the argument rather than dealing with the situation.
As for what I feel and I know that others have had to dealt with the UCP and APPA classification system is a flawed-operational system...but I guess it's better than nothing?
Players can only have different classes because leagues choose to have different classification rules. The whole point of UCP is that leagues choose to have the SAME classification rules, and thus players have the same classification regardless of the league. So your concern is that UCP isn't uniform because.... it makes things uniform?
Now, we obviously can't force leagues to use UCP. But the more leagues that do, the LESS variation there is, which seems to fix the very thing you think is a problem, right?
But you think UCP is a bad idea because it fixes the very thing you don't like?
I would address "flawed-operational system", if I knew what that meant.
im gonna have to agree with chris.
However, the info for UCP doesnt really include the 7-man. the rules, races, firing modes are all x-ball (race).
IMO, a UCP could be even MORE of a U system if it allows for 7-man to be included, (that is, it says that you calculate your 7-man/ race rank independately, and the other one is 1 lower then that. IE Your a pro in 7-man, semi pro 5 man.)
I believe thats how it works now, how it hypothetically worked with NPPL and PSP, and the best way to make it a Univ. system.
OR Chris could allow for for this system to fall in place, have every ranking tied up into his system....... then in 2 years....
.... make it so that the only legal gun has a directly read-able software function.
(can you guess who this is?)
I say "flawed operational system" because although the system or at least how leagues "apply" the system is flawed it is better than nothing, I suppose.
The problem arises when a player plays more than one local series and more than one national series because they're rankings in one series place them in different classifications in each. So the level of play varies in each and the player is left with an unbalanced way to understand what there "all-important" classification level is.
The problem is that it leaves the players playing in these UCP leagues unable or unwilling to play in another UCP league because THAT series uses a different level of classification than the other league. Why would a person ranked say D3 PSP want to play in another league, say CFOA, which ranks them D1, etc.?
I'm not quite sure how much clearer this can be made. One more try:
If a league has DIFFERENT classifications, then they CAN NOT BE a UCP participant.
There will be no such thing as two UCP leagues with different classifications. Whatever a player's class is in one UCP league is the same class a player will be in ALL UCP leagues, as the whole point is ALL UCP leagues use UCP classifications ONLY.
what are the 'official' UCP leagues?
or is it just "whoever chooses to use it."
Then can you tell us, so far, who chooses to use it and whether or not a 7-man COULD even choose to use to it?
There are no 'official' UCP leagues yet, as UCP isn't yet official. That's why it says DRAFT in that link Baca posted.
So, then all of the situations that were discussed in this commentary will be dealt with when it becomes "official?"
Depends on what you mean by 'dealt with.' :)
Baca, of course it always does. But, Chris seems very confident in his system and that the "problems" that I've mentioned and others aren't existent in the "Final" version of the UCP.
But the situation offers up another question, why if the UCP is "Draft" are leagues applying it before it's ready?
They aren't applying it. They are using APPA and waiting, some more impatiently than others, to see how the UCP shakes out. Raehl is confident because he's a detail guy and if the details make sense to him he can't see how anyone might disagree or object.
My next UCP post is coming Thursday.
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