NPPL 2011

I don't know about you but I'm (temporarily) tired of talking about the PSP--so it really doesn't matter whether you are or not. I'd like to have something to talk about when it comes to the other guys, NPPL & MS, but they are both laying low right now. I do have a pdf from the fevered imagination of the Millennium's marketing collective that couldn't be more disconnected from reality if it had been written by a long-time opium addict. (Yes, it's the 2011 sponsorship package.)

Otherwise all I've got is the NPPL capping "semi-auto" at 15 bps & the new bunkers, cubes and big wedges. Whoop-dee-freaking-doo. Oh, and the NPPL has put out hard dates for their complete 2011 schedule of events. The locations are the same as last year's but there's nothing wrong with that as the season opens with the now traditional Huntington Beach, Chitown at Challenge Park outside Joliet (IL) Pev's in Aldie (VA) and Vegas. The one thing I do notice is that none of the events occur during the summer. April, May, September & November? What? There's almost 4 months between events two and three. I'm mildly surprised that the can't-wait-for-the-new-NPPL-season-to-get-started crowd--yes, that's sarcasm--hasn't uttered a peep about the weird break in the season. Of course the NPPL crowd are pretty laid back. PSP changes one bunker and all hell breaks loose with local fields across the country practically bursting into flames with the news; the NPPL changes two bunkers including the "new" family-sized wedge and a couple of stoners notice and go, "Whoa. Cool, dudes." Then again there are so few NPPL fields around the country the impact across the paintball community is negligible. Regarding the capped gun thing nobody seems too put out by that one either. Oh, sure there's a few lamenting the loss of their trigger pulling skill 'cause they can pull 18-20 easy--but if it helps the league with enforceable gun rules--well, okay. We don't yet know how the league intends to enforce their cap but they'll get around to it. Right?

There is one other thing that interests me. Could too much success put the NPPL in the PSP's predicament? Part of the PSP's current problems are a product of scale; how many teams must play in order for an event to be profitable? The NPPL 3.0 has, from Day 1, been looking to mimic some of the elements of the PSP like the regional affiliates. They are also making an effort to expand their reach but what if Huntington Beach registrations push the league beyond two fields? To three or four even. Is that necessarily a good thing?
If NPPL 3.0 were to go to a best of 3 (Race 2-2) format that would put the two major leagues that much closer given the changes in store for the PSP in 2011. (From what I hear it may happen for the Pros but is unlikely for the lower divisions which may have something to do with the logistics of running Race 2-2 on two fields. It hasn't been easy to run the Race format as a 3 day event for the PSP.)