Aight, it's been a long day. Been a good day, too. But a long day. We arrived in Phoenix from Tampa (via Atlanta) around midnight Arizona time Wednesday night. Collected our bags and enjoyed a bit of drama trying to collect our rental. ("This reservation isn't in your name, sir. Give me your driver's license, a credit card and your left foot, please.") Since nobody had dinner we hit the drive thru at a Jack-in-the-Box on the way to our hotel. ("I'll have a number 9 medium with curly fries and a root beer." "Will that complete your order?" "Not even close--") We rolled in around 1:30 am with a team text message letting us know we needed to be in the lobby at 6 am ready to go. Our first match of the day--at 8 am vs. Heat--was part of the last half day's prelims to be made up from the Galveston rain out. We played well enough to pull out a tight win not because we were playing particularly well but because the guys don't let the situation or the score get into their heads and they've been down before and know what it takes to pull games back. Next up for us is Upton 187 who played some tightly contested matches in Galveston and thumped Viscious earlier that morning. This is their first event as pros. With the Infamous win over Legion we were confident we knew how the seeding would break down and focused on improving from our first match. With a good win over 187 we were ready for "Sunday" play.
Before the first quarter-final match started we'd already been on site for seven and a half hours. We stayed in the shade as best we could and constantly encouraged the guys to drink more fluids. There were questions early on exactly how the quarters and semis would be seeded. Divisional has a formula but some of us (myself included) lobbied for a simple formula where the higher seed from bracket A would play the lower seed from bracket B and vice versa--but that ain't what happened. The reason for the suggested formula is to assure fresh match-ups and avoid circumstances like those that occurred when Infamous and Heat played a second match of the day against each other in the quarters. And the Ironmen played Thunder--a team they had also already played in Galveston. Hopefully common sense will prevail by Chicago. (I don't hold out any hopes for this weekend--at least in that respect.)
Moving into the semis was Ironmen and Heat. We played the 'Men and Dynasty played Heat. (Despite the fact the divisional formula seeded the "Sunday" teams for match-ups it doesn't re-seed after the quarters. Instead assigns the winner of the 3/6 match-up to the 2 seed and the winner of the 4/5 match-up to the 1 seed regardless of quarter-final results.)
The finals was us & Heat--who did a great job reaching the finals in their first pro event and will likely be a power to be reckoned with in the foreseeable future. By the finals we were working like a well-oiled machine and pulled out a couple of wrinkles we hoped Heat might not be expecting and took a somewhat misleading 7-1 win--most of the points were hotly contested--for our third PSP pro victory in a row.
And that was just Thursday.
PSP Phoenix begins tomorrow.
Showing posts with label major league paintball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label major league paintball. Show all posts
Friday, April 20, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
MS St. Tropez-Cannes Open: The Venue & Event, part 2
The matches play to the schedule aided by the field design and the tendency of the Eurokids to play a style of paintball I'm guessing they think mimics aggressive American paintball. In general it's more like inexperienced D4 kids running down the field after a kill or two than a well schooled D1 or professional team. (More later.) That isn't of course universally true but suggests that while the European players have high standards of technical proficiency--and many do--that there generally remains a disconnect between individual player ability and cohesive team or line play. (I only saw SPL & CPL play, too.) Throw into the mix the style of reffing and the result makes for some entertaining (if you're not playing) quasi-paintball action much of the time.
The Eurokids have adopted reffing policies of near or zero tolerance and claim to be convinced that the result is both fairer and better for the game. While I am all for refs both knowing the rules and applying them to the game(s) being played strictness isn't synonymous with consistent. The hallmark of a truly professional reffing corps is consistency. And that level of consistency was not on display. (Yes, I know the Eurokids pride themselves on their officiating prowess but for as long as I've been in this game that pride has more often than not been taken in the absence of such claims than in its presence. And that ain't gonna win me any friends.)
Consequently the combination of 3 prelim matches, a lack of coordinated team play and zealous if inconsistent officiating frequently turns what ought to be competitions won or lost on the field into something less than that--and it's too bad given how many things the MS seems to otherwise be doing well.
One of the MS board members suggested to me there were high hopes of returning to the venue next year given the time & effort put into preparing the site. Of course he also suggested that when the site had originally been scouted the wily French had fooled them by showing them accommodations other than those many if not most of the attendees stayed in. Which seems only fair--if you choose to believe it--as the MS fooled us into believing we'd be playing on the Cote d'Azur--which, in a nominal sense we were but about as far from a Malaga type venue as Provence offers.
In fairness to the MS it didn't seem like most of the participants had any issues with the venue or accommodations--but then I don't speak any of the myriad "foreign" languages in evidence either. And I suspect those with the ability to do so made alternative arrangements well in advance already being well-schooled in what to likely expect. For us it was a first time experience with a sometime steep learning curve. Live and learn. Beyond that the differences weren't profound. The language was sometimes a struggle. As was the fact the whole society seems to operate at a much more relaxed pace, shall we say. And apparently there is no word in French for customer service, only a Gallic shrug (or sneer) and an attitude like they are doing you a favor by taking your money. And by our standards a lot of it--money, that is. Europe is--newsflash--expensive. (That of course isn't the Millennium's fault.)
On the scale of those who once rated venues by their parking lot proximity to sporting monuments or the latest "Growing the Game" metric the St. Tropez-Cannes venue was definitely lacking. By the standards of cash-strapped, winter-bound Europeans getting a head start on Spring, perhaps not. While the Cote d'Azur has the potential to offer MS participants an HB-like experience this venue was not it and never will be.
The Eurokids have adopted reffing policies of near or zero tolerance and claim to be convinced that the result is both fairer and better for the game. While I am all for refs both knowing the rules and applying them to the game(s) being played strictness isn't synonymous with consistent. The hallmark of a truly professional reffing corps is consistency. And that level of consistency was not on display. (Yes, I know the Eurokids pride themselves on their officiating prowess but for as long as I've been in this game that pride has more often than not been taken in the absence of such claims than in its presence. And that ain't gonna win me any friends.)
Consequently the combination of 3 prelim matches, a lack of coordinated team play and zealous if inconsistent officiating frequently turns what ought to be competitions won or lost on the field into something less than that--and it's too bad given how many things the MS seems to otherwise be doing well.
One of the MS board members suggested to me there were high hopes of returning to the venue next year given the time & effort put into preparing the site. Of course he also suggested that when the site had originally been scouted the wily French had fooled them by showing them accommodations other than those many if not most of the attendees stayed in. Which seems only fair--if you choose to believe it--as the MS fooled us into believing we'd be playing on the Cote d'Azur--which, in a nominal sense we were but about as far from a Malaga type venue as Provence offers.
In fairness to the MS it didn't seem like most of the participants had any issues with the venue or accommodations--but then I don't speak any of the myriad "foreign" languages in evidence either. And I suspect those with the ability to do so made alternative arrangements well in advance already being well-schooled in what to likely expect. For us it was a first time experience with a sometime steep learning curve. Live and learn. Beyond that the differences weren't profound. The language was sometimes a struggle. As was the fact the whole society seems to operate at a much more relaxed pace, shall we say. And apparently there is no word in French for customer service, only a Gallic shrug (or sneer) and an attitude like they are doing you a favor by taking your money. And by our standards a lot of it--money, that is. Europe is--newsflash--expensive. (That of course isn't the Millennium's fault.)
On the scale of those who once rated venues by their parking lot proximity to sporting monuments or the latest "Growing the Game" metric the St. Tropez-Cannes venue was definitely lacking. By the standards of cash-strapped, winter-bound Europeans getting a head start on Spring, perhaps not. While the Cote d'Azur has the potential to offer MS participants an HB-like experience this venue was not it and never will be.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
MS St. Tropez-Cannes Open: The Venue & Event, part 1
Like the PSP the Millennium is still looking for its own version of Huntington Beach, an iconic season opening event. This year that search brought us to the south of France, to the world famous (and culturally iconic) French Riviera--an extended stretch of coastal communities, sandy beaches, azure sea--celebrities like Prince Ranier and Gina Lollobrigida--that was once the unrivaled playground of the rich and famous. Naming your event the St. Tropez-Cannes Open purposefully evokes that riviera of wealth and privilege. The Provence region of France is also home to tens of thousands of ordinary folks living in proximity to a tourist and resort mecca whose past glories are fading. And then there was the venue.
Between St. Tropez and Cannes is St. Raphael. A few kilometers inland up the DN7 near the town of Puget Sur Argens is the Oasis Village resort. It is part RV park and part trailer park, part permanent residences and part seasonal residences. It turns out that ‘bungalow’ in French means wheeled abode built at four-fifths human scale. What it failed to convey was that the walls are paper thin and the unit water heater was the size of a large coffee can or that the mattresses are approximately 4 inches thick when vigorously fluffed. (Feel free to make your own joke there.) Or that a level floor may be a goal but was not a necessity. On the plus side everything was clean and fresh towels materialized daily. The setting was rustic.
The venue was on a patch of scraped ground at one end of the Oasis Village property and accessible by road or winding paths through the Village. There were four fields; 2 sets of 2 fields side by side. Closest to Oasis Village were the CPL & SPL fields. Closer to the road were the divisional fields and in-between was the vendors set-up, a small food court and the paint trailers. The ground is a dusty brownish-red, as finely ground as an artist's natural pigment. The vegetation is numerous shades of green trending toward the dark and mysterious greens of the dense pine canopies that look like prickly mushroom caps. The landscape could as easily be somewhere in California or even New Mexico. Visible from the VIP are the distant exposed ochre and brick rock formations of the foothills of the Alpes-Maritimes. There's no hint of the not-too-distant sea in the strong breezes that sweep across the venue.
The apparatus of the field set-ups reflect lessons learned in places like Charleroi and Malaga where high winds and pelting thunderstorms (rising seas) tore fields apart and mangled steel supports. The current system is highly portable, compact and most importantly, allows for the netting to be lowered or raised within minutes. The resulting set-up is perhaps a compromise of sorts compared with the current PSP constructions which could almost be permanent installations. Even so it seems a worthwhile compromise as it delivers savings in transport, storage costs, time & labor along with the capacity to survive bouts of severe weather. (In light of the recent damage wrought in Galveston it's a system the PSP might do well emulating in the future.)
The pits too are a model of efficiency and utility. Placed similarly to those of the PSP the Millennium offers two PSP-sized pits at each end with each pair of pits separated by a chrono station. Each pair of pits is also serviced by an air station. Given that two matches are running alternately (but at the same time) the design and size contribute significantly to the league's ability to run simultaneous matches on time and without incident as a general rule. (Likewise tiny, poorly thought out pits at HB produced a very chaotic environment by comparison and compelled less efficient--although still functional clock management--at least on the grandstand field.)
Over the last couple of years the layouts designed for Millennium use have targeted fast paced aggressive play as their ideal--and since the Eurokids generally wish to emulate all things American--don't even bother denying it--it has served the MS well. It helps keep matches moving. It provides extra windows of time in the schedule and helps keep the Millennium wheels greased. The logistics of the multi-game also contribute to minimizing the size and expenses related to providing the tournament venue and at this point in time the league and its reps have the process down to a virtual science. While I appreciate the efficiency of it all I still don't care for broken up matches in terms of the lost energy and suspense of continuous match play.
Between St. Tropez and Cannes is St. Raphael. A few kilometers inland up the DN7 near the town of Puget Sur Argens is the Oasis Village resort. It is part RV park and part trailer park, part permanent residences and part seasonal residences. It turns out that ‘bungalow’ in French means wheeled abode built at four-fifths human scale. What it failed to convey was that the walls are paper thin and the unit water heater was the size of a large coffee can or that the mattresses are approximately 4 inches thick when vigorously fluffed. (Feel free to make your own joke there.) Or that a level floor may be a goal but was not a necessity. On the plus side everything was clean and fresh towels materialized daily. The setting was rustic.
The venue was on a patch of scraped ground at one end of the Oasis Village property and accessible by road or winding paths through the Village. There were four fields; 2 sets of 2 fields side by side. Closest to Oasis Village were the CPL & SPL fields. Closer to the road were the divisional fields and in-between was the vendors set-up, a small food court and the paint trailers. The ground is a dusty brownish-red, as finely ground as an artist's natural pigment. The vegetation is numerous shades of green trending toward the dark and mysterious greens of the dense pine canopies that look like prickly mushroom caps. The landscape could as easily be somewhere in California or even New Mexico. Visible from the VIP are the distant exposed ochre and brick rock formations of the foothills of the Alpes-Maritimes. There's no hint of the not-too-distant sea in the strong breezes that sweep across the venue.
The apparatus of the field set-ups reflect lessons learned in places like Charleroi and Malaga where high winds and pelting thunderstorms (rising seas) tore fields apart and mangled steel supports. The current system is highly portable, compact and most importantly, allows for the netting to be lowered or raised within minutes. The resulting set-up is perhaps a compromise of sorts compared with the current PSP constructions which could almost be permanent installations. Even so it seems a worthwhile compromise as it delivers savings in transport, storage costs, time & labor along with the capacity to survive bouts of severe weather. (In light of the recent damage wrought in Galveston it's a system the PSP might do well emulating in the future.)
The pits too are a model of efficiency and utility. Placed similarly to those of the PSP the Millennium offers two PSP-sized pits at each end with each pair of pits separated by a chrono station. Each pair of pits is also serviced by an air station. Given that two matches are running alternately (but at the same time) the design and size contribute significantly to the league's ability to run simultaneous matches on time and without incident as a general rule. (Likewise tiny, poorly thought out pits at HB produced a very chaotic environment by comparison and compelled less efficient--although still functional clock management--at least on the grandstand field.)
Over the last couple of years the layouts designed for Millennium use have targeted fast paced aggressive play as their ideal--and since the Eurokids generally wish to emulate all things American--don't even bother denying it--it has served the MS well. It helps keep matches moving. It provides extra windows of time in the schedule and helps keep the Millennium wheels greased. The logistics of the multi-game also contribute to minimizing the size and expenses related to providing the tournament venue and at this point in time the league and its reps have the process down to a virtual science. While I appreciate the efficiency of it all I still don't care for broken up matches in terms of the lost energy and suspense of continuous match play.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Last Word on HB
Okay. It turns out I'm being taken to task by a few regulars who were generous enough to send emails instead of posting comments--and the bulk of those concern the announcing at HB. Which was (apparently) atrocious. To a man (or woman) the objections are consistently the same. Paintball ignorant, not informative of the actions on field, possibly drunk announcing, heavily shilling sponsors, generally annoying & at times rude and inappropriate sexual comments. (Could it be time to change Pev's nickname? A single letter will do the trick.)
I didn't remark on any of that because I wasn't exposed to most of it. I'm commenting now because I discovered a thread in the HB forum at PBN late last night saying much the same. If the comments have merit the NPPL needs to deal with the situation directly. Like it or not, that is the voice of the league (insert your own joke here) and I can't imagine that is the image the league wants to project to the public or the paintball community at large.
I didn't remark on any of that because I wasn't exposed to most of it. I'm commenting now because I discovered a thread in the HB forum at PBN late last night saying much the same. If the comments have merit the NPPL needs to deal with the situation directly. Like it or not, that is the voice of the league (insert your own joke here) and I can't imagine that is the image the league wants to project to the public or the paintball community at large.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Huntington Beach Wrap-up
Look, nobody condones what happened. Nobody expected it and it shouldn’t have happened. Appropriate apologies have been offered. It was an unfortunate incident but it’s over. Unfortunate in that it shouldn’t have happened, unfortunate in that it provides cover for and overshadows other events and actions and unfortunate because it puts me in a position where I can’t really comment on everything that went on. Yes, that's cryptic and surely completely unsatisfying to the curious. Chalk it up to the politics of the game.
What, you say you have been living under a rock? You don’t know what I’m talkin’ about? At the end of the finals in HB there was some extra curricular activity of the overshooting variety--and it wasn’t pretty--or so I’m told by someone who was watching the webcast. By all apparent appearances initiated by Damage players. It has been dealt with and public apologies have been offered. And if any of that is news you really have been living under a rock. If you’d like to add your two cents in the comments feel free.
Since events constrain I will keep this recap simple. We played XSV in the finals and lost. We beat Dynasty in overtime in the semis to make the finals. And XSV beat Arsenal. In an overtime period teams play 3-on-3. (Ask me why.) I don’t know. The closest I got to an explanation was that there was a concern about teams entering overtime on a penalty and if teams were still playing overtime 1-on-1s there wouldn’t be anybody left to play. But seriously, it’s 7-man, why is anyone even talkin’ about playing 1-on-1s as a tiebreaker? (Why not a sudden death point?) So the upshot is it’s 3-on-3 first and if that doesn’t determine a winner it goes to--you guessed it--1-on-1s.
The way Sunday was going to play out in the pro division wasn’t decided until Saturday--and then it was written in Tony Mineo’s infamous pencil. (Much like the missing parts of the rule book.) (Pencil can be erased, doh!) It turned out to be a sensible way of doing it and at least some of the participating teams were asked what they thought before a final decision was made but this is stuff that should be in that brand spanking new rule book.
On Saturday we fought a tough match with Mutiny and earned a number one seed in our bracket with a convincing win over Impact.
On the plus side of the ledger the new format is an improvement over traditional 7-man. (Many if not most of the comments I will be making about aspects of the Millennium apply to the NPPL--in spades--so if you remember this post you’ll have a fuller picture of HB when I finally get the St. Tropez posts up.) The fifteen minute match time seemed to work as well for a Race 2-5. I’m still not sure about the field dimensions but some matches went to points instead of time so that’s a plus but not a firm one yet. The event logistics and Millennium style of play worked well in terms of its functionality--though I still think some level of suspense and excitement is lost with four teams sharing the field and paired teams playing every other point. Which isn't really an issue for most of the divisions and teams but if one objective is to "sell" the game to the public I don't see how breaking matches up helps--of course I'm not convinced the non-paintball playing public will ever care regardless.
The other signature topic--in its absence--was the universal use of the Virtue chip and the proclaimed data explosion that would result in all sorts of statistics. Besides the fact the chip can't discern ramping guns--and there were plenty even though they were (apparently) capped at 15--it was supposed to regulate ROF (which it can do paired with a cap) but I noticed no instance over the weekend where a player or team was warned or penalised. It may be I simply missed it if it happened or that with viable technology in use everyone abided by the cap. One virtue (pun intended) of employing verifiable technology is players and teams know they will be caught so they don't push those boundaries. And perhaps the NPPL will soon be publishing reams of statistical data for our entertainment but there wasn't a hint or a whisper about any data collection or availability during the event. I mention this in connection with a rumor that began in Galveston that suggests the accurate collection and collation of the chip data is far more unwieldy with mass numbers of chips in guns than it was in a controlled test environment. I don't know if that's true or not but it may be more work will be needed before we see the promised stats.
The big crowds of HB's past were absent. The weekend's weather was the biggest factor in the flat turnout as it was chilly, windy and overcast much of the time and the usual crowds on the beachfront promenade simply weren't there. The same held true of the surfing competition being held on the south side of the pier. But it's also true there wasn't much to see. A casual observer could look down on fields from the pier or get a decent view of field 2 from the promenade but that was it. And the vendor's village was a virtual ghost town much of the time. (I mention this solely for 'growing paintball' crowd who seem to imagine that after a decade on the beach the mere appearance of paintball has some osmotic power to turn disinterested passersby into paintball fanatics. It doesn't. Nor does having a sense of perspective mean that HB as a venue isn't awesome 'cus it is.) Attendance appears to have been off last year’s total by as much as 20% and turnout is unlikely to improve at CPX or Aldie which have both had modest participation in comparison to HB the past two or three years. If that pattern holds true the league is going to need to work fast to turn things around. Will the other league’s format save them? Nothing that happened at HB suggests it will but there were some positive features. There was a visible effort on display to improve on prior efforts and the bulk of those efforts revolved around the game itself--also a positive sign. Other past concerns remain at issue but Rome wasn't built in a day. If steady and consistent progress continues to be made perhaps that will be enough but now that the majority of the industry has turned its back on the NPPL and the NPPL is retaliating against retailers who might be vendors that can't and won't end well for the league. (Having Sapporo and Hooters throw a few beers and wings at VIPs isn't gonna finance the future of the league.) And intended or not it's clear that the Race 2 format as adopted by the Pros and extended to D1 has marginalized the trad 7-man competition and divisions as the divisional Race 2 teams have more in common with the elites now--and it won't be long before the remaining 7-man players notice.
On more than one occasion over the weekend NPPL powers joked or wondered (mock casually) if I could or might say something nice--for once--about their event. The truth is they'll get that from just about everybody else. Back in the Age of PB Magazines the print publications were largely cheerleaders, promoters and star-makers and most paintball websites remain just that. VFTD is more interested in the subjects and details nobody else will discuss and as often as not the result is a critique. Readers can judge for themselves whether those critiques have any merit or not. Nor is VFTD a "mainstream" paintball website; it is, at its best, an open dialogue on the world of competitive paintball.
What, you say you have been living under a rock? You don’t know what I’m talkin’ about? At the end of the finals in HB there was some extra curricular activity of the overshooting variety--and it wasn’t pretty--or so I’m told by someone who was watching the webcast. By all apparent appearances initiated by Damage players. It has been dealt with and public apologies have been offered. And if any of that is news you really have been living under a rock. If you’d like to add your two cents in the comments feel free.
Since events constrain I will keep this recap simple. We played XSV in the finals and lost. We beat Dynasty in overtime in the semis to make the finals. And XSV beat Arsenal. In an overtime period teams play 3-on-3. (Ask me why.) I don’t know. The closest I got to an explanation was that there was a concern about teams entering overtime on a penalty and if teams were still playing overtime 1-on-1s there wouldn’t be anybody left to play. But seriously, it’s 7-man, why is anyone even talkin’ about playing 1-on-1s as a tiebreaker? (Why not a sudden death point?) So the upshot is it’s 3-on-3 first and if that doesn’t determine a winner it goes to--you guessed it--1-on-1s.
The way Sunday was going to play out in the pro division wasn’t decided until Saturday--and then it was written in Tony Mineo’s infamous pencil. (Much like the missing parts of the rule book.) (Pencil can be erased, doh!) It turned out to be a sensible way of doing it and at least some of the participating teams were asked what they thought before a final decision was made but this is stuff that should be in that brand spanking new rule book.
On Saturday we fought a tough match with Mutiny and earned a number one seed in our bracket with a convincing win over Impact.
On the plus side of the ledger the new format is an improvement over traditional 7-man. (Many if not most of the comments I will be making about aspects of the Millennium apply to the NPPL--in spades--so if you remember this post you’ll have a fuller picture of HB when I finally get the St. Tropez posts up.) The fifteen minute match time seemed to work as well for a Race 2-5. I’m still not sure about the field dimensions but some matches went to points instead of time so that’s a plus but not a firm one yet. The event logistics and Millennium style of play worked well in terms of its functionality--though I still think some level of suspense and excitement is lost with four teams sharing the field and paired teams playing every other point. Which isn't really an issue for most of the divisions and teams but if one objective is to "sell" the game to the public I don't see how breaking matches up helps--of course I'm not convinced the non-paintball playing public will ever care regardless.
The other signature topic--in its absence--was the universal use of the Virtue chip and the proclaimed data explosion that would result in all sorts of statistics. Besides the fact the chip can't discern ramping guns--and there were plenty even though they were (apparently) capped at 15--it was supposed to regulate ROF (which it can do paired with a cap) but I noticed no instance over the weekend where a player or team was warned or penalised. It may be I simply missed it if it happened or that with viable technology in use everyone abided by the cap. One virtue (pun intended) of employing verifiable technology is players and teams know they will be caught so they don't push those boundaries. And perhaps the NPPL will soon be publishing reams of statistical data for our entertainment but there wasn't a hint or a whisper about any data collection or availability during the event. I mention this in connection with a rumor that began in Galveston that suggests the accurate collection and collation of the chip data is far more unwieldy with mass numbers of chips in guns than it was in a controlled test environment. I don't know if that's true or not but it may be more work will be needed before we see the promised stats.
The big crowds of HB's past were absent. The weekend's weather was the biggest factor in the flat turnout as it was chilly, windy and overcast much of the time and the usual crowds on the beachfront promenade simply weren't there. The same held true of the surfing competition being held on the south side of the pier. But it's also true there wasn't much to see. A casual observer could look down on fields from the pier or get a decent view of field 2 from the promenade but that was it. And the vendor's village was a virtual ghost town much of the time. (I mention this solely for 'growing paintball' crowd who seem to imagine that after a decade on the beach the mere appearance of paintball has some osmotic power to turn disinterested passersby into paintball fanatics. It doesn't. Nor does having a sense of perspective mean that HB as a venue isn't awesome 'cus it is.) Attendance appears to have been off last year’s total by as much as 20% and turnout is unlikely to improve at CPX or Aldie which have both had modest participation in comparison to HB the past two or three years. If that pattern holds true the league is going to need to work fast to turn things around. Will the other league’s format save them? Nothing that happened at HB suggests it will but there were some positive features. There was a visible effort on display to improve on prior efforts and the bulk of those efforts revolved around the game itself--also a positive sign. Other past concerns remain at issue but Rome wasn't built in a day. If steady and consistent progress continues to be made perhaps that will be enough but now that the majority of the industry has turned its back on the NPPL and the NPPL is retaliating against retailers who might be vendors that can't and won't end well for the league. (Having Sapporo and Hooters throw a few beers and wings at VIPs isn't gonna finance the future of the league.) And intended or not it's clear that the Race 2 format as adopted by the Pros and extended to D1 has marginalized the trad 7-man competition and divisions as the divisional Race 2 teams have more in common with the elites now--and it won't be long before the remaining 7-man players notice.
On more than one occasion over the weekend NPPL powers joked or wondered (mock casually) if I could or might say something nice--for once--about their event. The truth is they'll get that from just about everybody else. Back in the Age of PB Magazines the print publications were largely cheerleaders, promoters and star-makers and most paintball websites remain just that. VFTD is more interested in the subjects and details nobody else will discuss and as often as not the result is a critique. Readers can judge for themselves whether those critiques have any merit or not. Nor is VFTD a "mainstream" paintball website; it is, at its best, an open dialogue on the world of competitive paintball.
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Mysterious Shrinking Field Kit
As reported in the last post it seems Adrenaline Games (Sup'Air) have done a wee bit more than gone "technical" all over the snake props as Huntington Beach was played on brand new Adrenaline supplied "Who Shrunk My Paintball Field?" NPPL style prop sets. It was suggested, not unreasonably, that perhaps the new reduced props are merely a cost saving device. Could be. After all it wasn't too long ago manufacture of Sup'Air props was moved from Morocco to China to pinch some pennies and maybe this is just another cost saving measure as far as Adrenaline is concerned. It's been a tough row to hoe in the paintball biz lately and maybe they're only doing what they had to do.
Except there's that business with the snake props in the PSP recently. That was a unilateral decision made despite the fact they knew full well the PSP was trying to cater to a broader--not to say less skilled or athletic--player base. Of course the PSP owns some of that for not taking control and making sure that everything about their game was consistent with their vision of it. Still, if Adrenaline has now begun shrinking props--again unilaterally--it isn't just a business decision because it can and will effect play on the field--just like those new snake props. And while I commend Adrenaline and Laurent for their contribution to bringing competitive paintball out of the woods it isn't carte blanch to do as they please whenever they please everybody else be damned.
So, what's the deal, Sup'Air? Are new tinier bunkers part of the "stealth" Adrenaline vision of how the game should be played or just a cost saving measure? And in either case why was the action taken unilaterally? Was nobody supposed to notice?
And finally what are the leagues that currently do business with Adrenaline gonna do? Maybe shrunken bunkers aren't the end of the world but a free pass can only encourage more of the same sort of conduct.
Except there's that business with the snake props in the PSP recently. That was a unilateral decision made despite the fact they knew full well the PSP was trying to cater to a broader--not to say less skilled or athletic--player base. Of course the PSP owns some of that for not taking control and making sure that everything about their game was consistent with their vision of it. Still, if Adrenaline has now begun shrinking props--again unilaterally--it isn't just a business decision because it can and will effect play on the field--just like those new snake props. And while I commend Adrenaline and Laurent for their contribution to bringing competitive paintball out of the woods it isn't carte blanch to do as they please whenever they please everybody else be damned.
So, what's the deal, Sup'Air? Are new tinier bunkers part of the "stealth" Adrenaline vision of how the game should be played or just a cost saving measure? And in either case why was the action taken unilaterally? Was nobody supposed to notice?
And finally what are the leagues that currently do business with Adrenaline gonna do? Maybe shrunken bunkers aren't the end of the world but a free pass can only encourage more of the same sort of conduct.
Monday, March 19, 2012
The Monday (Mega) Poll
This week another The Monday Poll first. The mega poll. Instead of answers this week's mega poll will offer pairs of statements and for each pair you pick (vote) the one you most closely agree with. that means you get to vote multiple times but please, while I know mouse clicking can become addictive, stick to one pick (click) per pair of statements.
For example, A team primarily rostered with American players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. A team primarily rostered with European players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. Your vote is cast for the statement you think most accurately reflects what will happen. Got it? Good. Pretty simple, right? So what are you waiting for? Get to clicking, picking and voting. (Not necessarily in that order.)
Monday Poll in Review
Okay, last week's question was (more or less) 'What state should host the first PSP event in 2013?' Historically Cali hasn't always been all that welcoming and Galveston has gone back-to-back in trying to kill an event. (The first year high winds flattened the fields 2 days before the event.) Arizona has proved a positive pleasant environment but in its traditional location a bit pricey.
The list of choices included all the southern boundary or coastal states except New Mexico. I left it out as Albuquerque is high desert and not really a suitable early season venue. Years of Mardi Gras experience ought to be a clue as to what the league could expect from Louisiana and I only tossed in Mississippi and Alabama to extend the choices and because Biloxi is a popular entertainment & gaming destination and Mobile is an historic city near the tip of Florida's panhandle. Georgia probably couldn't host a first event but might manage a second. SoCar is the home of the long time standard MAO venue--but again, not so much a first event of the season kinda place in a five event schedule. I tossed in Hawaii, Mexico and Cuba out of curiosity more than anything. Nobody is going to either Hawaii or Mexico for a MLP event any time soon and despite the romantic and exotic appeal nobody is going to Cuba either. And the votes, by and large, confirmed all those things. Mexico and Mississippi each got 1% of the vote. Alabama and Louisiana garnered 2% each. Hawaii & Georgia pulled 3% each and Cuba got a whopping 5%--probably because it just sounds cool. SoCar got 11%. Arizona & Texas tied at 14% and Florida grabbed 17%. (Two events? Works for me but I'm biased.) Cali came in on top with 23% of the vote. But with Cali we're realistically talking SoCal and coastal SoCal at that and some of the highest prices in the country.
If I were a betting man I'd guess another Texas venue in either the first or second slot--but not Galveston--and cross my fingers.
For example, A team primarily rostered with American players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. A team primarily rostered with European players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. Your vote is cast for the statement you think most accurately reflects what will happen. Got it? Good. Pretty simple, right? So what are you waiting for? Get to clicking, picking and voting. (Not necessarily in that order.)
Monday Poll in Review
Okay, last week's question was (more or less) 'What state should host the first PSP event in 2013?' Historically Cali hasn't always been all that welcoming and Galveston has gone back-to-back in trying to kill an event. (The first year high winds flattened the fields 2 days before the event.) Arizona has proved a positive pleasant environment but in its traditional location a bit pricey.
The list of choices included all the southern boundary or coastal states except New Mexico. I left it out as Albuquerque is high desert and not really a suitable early season venue. Years of Mardi Gras experience ought to be a clue as to what the league could expect from Louisiana and I only tossed in Mississippi and Alabama to extend the choices and because Biloxi is a popular entertainment & gaming destination and Mobile is an historic city near the tip of Florida's panhandle. Georgia probably couldn't host a first event but might manage a second. SoCar is the home of the long time standard MAO venue--but again, not so much a first event of the season kinda place in a five event schedule. I tossed in Hawaii, Mexico and Cuba out of curiosity more than anything. Nobody is going to either Hawaii or Mexico for a MLP event any time soon and despite the romantic and exotic appeal nobody is going to Cuba either. And the votes, by and large, confirmed all those things. Mexico and Mississippi each got 1% of the vote. Alabama and Louisiana garnered 2% each. Hawaii & Georgia pulled 3% each and Cuba got a whopping 5%--probably because it just sounds cool. SoCar got 11%. Arizona & Texas tied at 14% and Florida grabbed 17%. (Two events? Works for me but I'm biased.) Cali came in on top with 23% of the vote. But with Cali we're realistically talking SoCal and coastal SoCal at that and some of the highest prices in the country.
If I were a betting man I'd guess another Texas venue in either the first or second slot--but not Galveston--and cross my fingers.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Top 5 Worst MLP Events [*]
[*] Given the caveat 'within my memory.' Doesn't mean I was there. Only that I'm semi-confident contemporaneous reports told the real story. And before you start whinging--(tossed that in for our UK friends)--I know I promised it a day or so ago. If this is the first time in your memory I have failed to deliver a timely post you'll get used to it. Foolishly I decided to do a bit of research and make sure my list was impervious to challenge. First, it was taking way too long and second, somebody is always gonna disagree no matter what so there was really no point in over analyzing the possibilities. Instead I've decided to offer a list that not only delivers a Top 5 but also a few honorable mentions. And do it off the top of my head--which means, among other things, I'm not even exactly sure which year it was for some of the events. Y'all can fill in the details--or, of course, suggest your preferred alternative events. Instead of the definitive list consider this a conversation starter.
My criteria is simple. If I wasn't playing paintball when it happened it ain't on the list. Mostly. If I don't consider it to have been a major league event it isn't included. That's it.
I wanted to say that rain alone wasn't enough to get an event on this list but that's not quite true. I've been to so many events where it rained that I can't put a number to them but there's rain--and then there's rain. So without further delay--
Honorable Mention
Sometime in the mid-Nineties there was a Mayhem Masters? that I seem to recall was a massive mudfest.
It rained relentlessly at NPPL Pittsburgh in '98 leaving puddles and small ponds (and larger ponds) on the mounds field(s) and while not completely unplayable a snorkel would have come in handy.
A couple of Mardi Gras events not including Muddy Gras--I'll explain down the list.
It might have been the first NPPL (Pure Promotions) Miami held in a park not far from the airport. The rain came down in sheets and if it had continued for the duration there wouldn't have been a tournament.
NPPL Houston, cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike [?] which left the entire Houston area devastated. (Didn't make the list because the event never got started.)
PSP Texas in '06 when it dropped 50 degrees overnight and snowed turning the fields into mush and while not unplayable the conditions were singularly unpleasant.
The Top 5
5. There's a 3-way tie at number 5 'cus it let's me fudge the numbers a bit. MS Charleroi which saw high winds tear down field stanchions and enough rain to produce nearly knee deep mud. NPPL Jersey in '03 next door to the dragstrip was another massive rain and mudfest. And then there's Muddy Gras. I distinguish the various wet & muddy Mardi Gras events by two things; being a PSP-sanctioned season opening event and by the crazy winds that tore down the fields and sent some of the props into the bayou in, I think, 2004.
4. PSP Chicago at the Badlandz in 2010.
3. PSP Los Angeles in Pomona. I want to say '05. Rain, rain, rain and more rain. Mike Ratko on the NXL field digging runoff trenches. Mid-calf puddles at both starts. Players diving the snake literally disappearing.
2. MS Malaga Beach in 2008 [?] Only other event I can recall that wasn't able to finish play the Mills did the same thing as the PSP by carrying over pro play to the next event. Severe and sustained winds not only blew the inflatable net supports hither and yon they tore the traditional fields apart as well.
1. PSP Galveston 2012. Sustained high winds and a chilly rain flattened the majority of the venue and lasted long enough to make immediate reconstruction impossible. It also kept the PSP from completing an event for the first time in their history. (I think.)
My criteria is simple. If I wasn't playing paintball when it happened it ain't on the list. Mostly. If I don't consider it to have been a major league event it isn't included. That's it.
I wanted to say that rain alone wasn't enough to get an event on this list but that's not quite true. I've been to so many events where it rained that I can't put a number to them but there's rain--and then there's rain. So without further delay--
Honorable Mention
Sometime in the mid-Nineties there was a Mayhem Masters? that I seem to recall was a massive mudfest.
It rained relentlessly at NPPL Pittsburgh in '98 leaving puddles and small ponds (and larger ponds) on the mounds field(s) and while not completely unplayable a snorkel would have come in handy.
A couple of Mardi Gras events not including Muddy Gras--I'll explain down the list.
It might have been the first NPPL (Pure Promotions) Miami held in a park not far from the airport. The rain came down in sheets and if it had continued for the duration there wouldn't have been a tournament.
NPPL Houston, cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike [?] which left the entire Houston area devastated. (Didn't make the list because the event never got started.)
PSP Texas in '06 when it dropped 50 degrees overnight and snowed turning the fields into mush and while not unplayable the conditions were singularly unpleasant.
The Top 5
5. There's a 3-way tie at number 5 'cus it let's me fudge the numbers a bit. MS Charleroi which saw high winds tear down field stanchions and enough rain to produce nearly knee deep mud. NPPL Jersey in '03 next door to the dragstrip was another massive rain and mudfest. And then there's Muddy Gras. I distinguish the various wet & muddy Mardi Gras events by two things; being a PSP-sanctioned season opening event and by the crazy winds that tore down the fields and sent some of the props into the bayou in, I think, 2004.
4. PSP Chicago at the Badlandz in 2010.
3. PSP Los Angeles in Pomona. I want to say '05. Rain, rain, rain and more rain. Mike Ratko on the NXL field digging runoff trenches. Mid-calf puddles at both starts. Players diving the snake literally disappearing.
2. MS Malaga Beach in 2008 [?] Only other event I can recall that wasn't able to finish play the Mills did the same thing as the PSP by carrying over pro play to the next event. Severe and sustained winds not only blew the inflatable net supports hither and yon they tore the traditional fields apart as well.
1. PSP Galveston 2012. Sustained high winds and a chilly rain flattened the majority of the venue and lasted long enough to make immediate reconstruction impossible. It also kept the PSP from completing an event for the first time in their history. (I think.)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Upcoming Events
Tomorrow the Millennium begin their season with the CPL 'Drawing From The Hats' ceremony to determine the St. Tropez brackets. Not exactly NCAA March Madness when it comes to bracketology it's a bit of Euro weirdness not indulged in the other divisions. This time, for the first time, the top four teams will lead the 4 brackets. In Hat #1 will be teams 5-8 which will be drawn at random and assigned a bracket until there are 2 teams in each bracket. That will be followed by a Hat #2 random draw then a Hat #3 random draw whereupon 4 brackets of 4 teams are set. While it makes little sense when a perfectly logical seeding system exists we'll chalk it up to eccentricity.
The event begins a week from Friday and I gotta say I'm looking forward to it. Despite the proximity of the event there appears to be a few teams still not settled into their divisions just yet. In locked divisions (SPL & D1) that have maxed out at 32 teams playing the SPL currently has 29 with 5 other teams pending. Whatever that means. In D1 they have 26 with 9 teams pending. Be interesting to see what the final numbers are in the next few days. (How many teams are reffing?)
Finally I still wonder how it is some Euro teams end up picking up the American players they choose. I know in some instances it's a matter of sponsor affiliation but frankly that still leaves some questions in my mind. Are some teams compelled--or enticed?--into putting players on their rosters? Do teams always know what they're actually getting in the players they pick up? Without wishing to be too controversial or specific I've often looked at some of the U.S. players playing for Euro teams and I just don't get it. So how 'bout an anonymous or two Euro team captains (or owners) explaining some of the U.S. pro players pick-up ins & outs for me. Hey, a guy can ask, right?
Lastly a quick note on HB. Today the registered teams total was at 108. I still think we'll see more Pro teams in HB than the 11 presently listed. But I also think the final team totals participating will be under 100. Alot of the registered teams still don't have rosters posted and they are running out of time to do it online for the discounted price per ID. Also no updates on prize calculations given the new divisions--although it looks like 5-man race 2 will only happen in D3 & D4. 2012 rules were posted recently and I'll have a look at them before the event but haven't had a chance to look them over yet.
The event begins a week from Friday and I gotta say I'm looking forward to it. Despite the proximity of the event there appears to be a few teams still not settled into their divisions just yet. In locked divisions (SPL & D1) that have maxed out at 32 teams playing the SPL currently has 29 with 5 other teams pending. Whatever that means. In D1 they have 26 with 9 teams pending. Be interesting to see what the final numbers are in the next few days. (How many teams are reffing?)
Finally I still wonder how it is some Euro teams end up picking up the American players they choose. I know in some instances it's a matter of sponsor affiliation but frankly that still leaves some questions in my mind. Are some teams compelled--or enticed?--into putting players on their rosters? Do teams always know what they're actually getting in the players they pick up? Without wishing to be too controversial or specific I've often looked at some of the U.S. players playing for Euro teams and I just don't get it. So how 'bout an anonymous or two Euro team captains (or owners) explaining some of the U.S. pro players pick-up ins & outs for me. Hey, a guy can ask, right?
Lastly a quick note on HB. Today the registered teams total was at 108. I still think we'll see more Pro teams in HB than the 11 presently listed. But I also think the final team totals participating will be under 100. Alot of the registered teams still don't have rosters posted and they are running out of time to do it online for the discounted price per ID. Also no updates on prize calculations given the new divisions--although it looks like 5-man race 2 will only happen in D3 & D4. 2012 rules were posted recently and I'll have a look at them before the event but haven't had a chance to look them over yet.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Supporting Divisional Paintball
In yesterday's Monday Poll in Review section (and at VFTD the Facebook Page) I threw out the possibility that VFTD would make an effort to give more coverage to national divisional competition if some of you lazy slackers would volunteer to help. I am reiterating that offer here for those who couldn't be bothered to read all of yesterday's post. (I know, it was long and after sounding out some of the big words your attention wanders. It's okay.) Since I seldom see any divisional action I need you guys to fill in the details. Report on the action in your division. I will take all the reports and integrate the info into a post-event divisional report; one post for each division, D1-D4 Race 2 X. That would be nearly a full week of divisional paintball talk and provide the basis for y'all to get involved via comments. I will be happy to credit (or not) the content contribution of the volunteers without attributing specifics to any individual. So far we have one volunteer in each division for Galveston. If this is going to work we need more. If you'd like to see your division receive more attention it's time to stop sitting on the sidelines. I'm willing to provide the platform and put in my time too but it won't happen without you. Drop me a line for details.
UPDATE: VFTD has received a pre-season ranking of the D2 teams signed up for Galveston. I will post the list up tomorrow. Consider it a sample of what's possible if you're willing to get involved.
UPDATE: VFTD has received a pre-season ranking of the D2 teams signed up for Galveston. I will post the list up tomorrow. Consider it a sample of what's possible if you're willing to get involved.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Preseason Look at the Major Leagues
With registrations open for all 3 major leagues and the first event, PSP Galveston, about a month away it seems like a good time to check the pulse of MLP activity. (In the past I have included the rather eccentric Grand Tour kids because they feature a Pro division but their website hasn't been updated since autumn and it's unclear if they are producing a 2012 season.) The PSP & NPPL have chosen to expand this season to a 5 event season again. The MS is standing pat at 4 events. What impact this might have on the overall seasons of each league is uncertain but it seems clear that both leagues are counting on a continuation of last year's unexpected if modest growth trend. The conspiracy minded might see the move to 5 events as a mutual passive declaration of war against the other--and it may work out that way--except there was talk of adding an event last year long before the merger talks failed. Of course then the red pill crowd would say each made the move to 5 preemptively certain that the other league was going to do so. Whatever the motivation it's a five event season with the top 4 scores counting toward divisional series titles--at least in the PSP. (I haven't seen anything from the NPPL on that yet.)
The PSP currently has 146 teams signed up (with at least a few more to come) and 105 paid. There are just over two weeks left to pay and the price increases after midnight tomorrow. Last year Galveston had 126 teams and at this rate it appears the PSP will have similar numbers this year. And that covers the recent brouhaha over Sup'Air's last second introduction of a new snake via an upgrade kit. Efforts to pre-sell the kit has created confusion and animosity in some quarters that threatens not only participation at events but a backlash at the local field level. While there has been no formal response from the PSP yet CEO Lane Wright did post a statement in a field owners forum attesting to the fact the PSP was blind-sided by this new bunker kit release. Nor has there been any official statement forthcoming from Sup'Air or Adrenline Games.
The MS opens their season two weeks after Galveston with the French Riviera Cup at a new location in the south of France. In recent past seasons the upper divisions (CPL, SPL & D1) have been locked and last year the MS introduced a team cap in the open divisions. (D2 & D3) While the cap effectively limited the overall size of a Millennium event it appears to have served its purpose well. It is clear the MS's goal isn't to maximize the size of their events and the cap does a couple of positive things for them. It fixes the logistical requirements well in advance and it creates a scarcity--the limited number of open slots--that pushes interested teams into action. It also serves, for the time-being, as a sort of protection for the upper divisions as the open divisions are the path upwards. (While not altogether true--spots can be purchased and divisions jumped--that is a function of availability. Should those spots fail to be available in the future the option won't exist. At least theoretically.) The defined path to success, scarcity of open slots, closed upper levels all function to establish and maintain the MS's preeminence in Euroland--which is particularly important with the growing strength of national leagues in Germany and France, for example.
Assuming numbers matching last year the Riviera Cup will have 126 teams participating. That isn't a foregone conclusion because there is no info available yet as to the status of any of the locked divisions. Last season the MS worked frantically behind the scenes to fill in upper division slots lost to attrition and they scoured all of Europe to do it. Since there hasn't been the same level of off season talk about teams dropping out VFTD is assuming that the locked divisions have remained relatively stable. This year VFTD will be able to deliver live post event reports on all the MS events.
Overlapping the end of March beginning of April is the NPPL's now customary opening event, Huntington Beach. In a positive move, except when you're parking, the league has moved the venue to the northside of the pier this year which is where is was originally. For whatever reason it is a much preferred location. The one drawback is that it will limit, to some degree, the logistics of the venue although one supposes the NPPL is expecting the MS style Race 2 formatting to allow them a more compact venue. And the league has posted that there are limits to available spots but haven't posted any numbers. A check of the team list indicates 64 teams signed up so far. the new Race 2 brackets are very light with the majority opting for the standard 7-man with a couple of teams registering in both. (Presumably in order to pick one or the other at some point.) The numbers look a little thin but there is more time to register and pay for this event than either of the other two.
At this stage it is also hard (or perhaps impossible) to judge the impact of off season changes other than to say the NPPL made more of them than any other league. Much ballyhooed was the move to 5 events--including one in Vancouver, Canada, the introduction of a Race 2 format option, changing Pro and D1 to a Race 2 variant exclusively, the hiring of Tony Mineo as Commish [and head of officiating], an increase in entry prices and finally the introduction of the mandatory Virtue chip to confirm the ROF cap and provide collateral statistical data.
If participation comes in under expectations (and even if it doesn't) HB will be the first and most important test of how well all the changes will be incorporated and what impact they will have further into the season.
The countdown has begun. Tick, tick tick ...
The PSP currently has 146 teams signed up (with at least a few more to come) and 105 paid. There are just over two weeks left to pay and the price increases after midnight tomorrow. Last year Galveston had 126 teams and at this rate it appears the PSP will have similar numbers this year. And that covers the recent brouhaha over Sup'Air's last second introduction of a new snake via an upgrade kit. Efforts to pre-sell the kit has created confusion and animosity in some quarters that threatens not only participation at events but a backlash at the local field level. While there has been no formal response from the PSP yet CEO Lane Wright did post a statement in a field owners forum attesting to the fact the PSP was blind-sided by this new bunker kit release. Nor has there been any official statement forthcoming from Sup'Air or Adrenline Games.
The MS opens their season two weeks after Galveston with the French Riviera Cup at a new location in the south of France. In recent past seasons the upper divisions (CPL, SPL & D1) have been locked and last year the MS introduced a team cap in the open divisions. (D2 & D3) While the cap effectively limited the overall size of a Millennium event it appears to have served its purpose well. It is clear the MS's goal isn't to maximize the size of their events and the cap does a couple of positive things for them. It fixes the logistical requirements well in advance and it creates a scarcity--the limited number of open slots--that pushes interested teams into action. It also serves, for the time-being, as a sort of protection for the upper divisions as the open divisions are the path upwards. (While not altogether true--spots can be purchased and divisions jumped--that is a function of availability. Should those spots fail to be available in the future the option won't exist. At least theoretically.) The defined path to success, scarcity of open slots, closed upper levels all function to establish and maintain the MS's preeminence in Euroland--which is particularly important with the growing strength of national leagues in Germany and France, for example.
Assuming numbers matching last year the Riviera Cup will have 126 teams participating. That isn't a foregone conclusion because there is no info available yet as to the status of any of the locked divisions. Last season the MS worked frantically behind the scenes to fill in upper division slots lost to attrition and they scoured all of Europe to do it. Since there hasn't been the same level of off season talk about teams dropping out VFTD is assuming that the locked divisions have remained relatively stable. This year VFTD will be able to deliver live post event reports on all the MS events.
Overlapping the end of March beginning of April is the NPPL's now customary opening event, Huntington Beach. In a positive move, except when you're parking, the league has moved the venue to the northside of the pier this year which is where is was originally. For whatever reason it is a much preferred location. The one drawback is that it will limit, to some degree, the logistics of the venue although one supposes the NPPL is expecting the MS style Race 2 formatting to allow them a more compact venue. And the league has posted that there are limits to available spots but haven't posted any numbers. A check of the team list indicates 64 teams signed up so far. the new Race 2 brackets are very light with the majority opting for the standard 7-man with a couple of teams registering in both. (Presumably in order to pick one or the other at some point.) The numbers look a little thin but there is more time to register and pay for this event than either of the other two.
At this stage it is also hard (or perhaps impossible) to judge the impact of off season changes other than to say the NPPL made more of them than any other league. Much ballyhooed was the move to 5 events--including one in Vancouver, Canada, the introduction of a Race 2 format option, changing Pro and D1 to a Race 2 variant exclusively, the hiring of Tony Mineo as Commish [and head of officiating], an increase in entry prices and finally the introduction of the mandatory Virtue chip to confirm the ROF cap and provide collateral statistical data.
If participation comes in under expectations (and even if it doesn't) HB will be the first and most important test of how well all the changes will be incorporated and what impact they will have further into the season.
The countdown has begun. Tick, tick tick ...
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Supporting Adrenaline Games
It's that time of year again--apparently--when the PSP supports Adrenaline Games by sticking it to the local field operators that support the PSP and Race 2. Was that too harsh? Upon re-reading it sounds pretty harsh. Unfortunately it's also true.
Confused? Here's the dealio. Every year or so it seems Sup'Air adds some new props that the major tournament leagues incorporate in their event layouts (also frequently designed by Sup'Air) that forces fields with airball fields used for tourney practice to buy the annual new props kit in order to keep up to date. Good for Adrenaline Games, not so good for local fields.
I noticed the NPPL expressly didn't change their bunker set this season--an unequivocal thumbs up--and it appears that Adrenaline Games hasn't kicked them to the curb by refusing to provide event fields or gone out of business. And while I have no desire to see anything bad happen to Adrenaline Games I have a hard time understanding how any league can justify placing their grassroots supporters in that position to benefit a third party. It's practically extortion.
Beyond that I have a couple of other issues too. Since when do real sports let manufacturers dictate what essential elements of the game will be? Yeah, I know, competitive paintball has always been an old boys club. Now's as good a time as any to change. Also, why is somebody other than those responsible for the sport deciding what's an appropriate change? Seriously, the whole thing ought to be a no go.
That doesn't mean the bunkers shouldn't ever be changed. Want to add some interest? Keep the game fresh? Sure. Sounds good but that's a job for the PSP--or any other league purporting to be focused on competitive paintball as sport.
UPDATE: Mr. Curious weighs in with some on point rumorology. It seems the PSP thought they had a deal with Adrenaline Games to make bunker changes every other year and had no intention of changing in 2012. Seems the first the league heard about the latest changes came from sources outside of Adrenaline Games. When confronted Sup'Air allegedly claimed they only had 4 2011 field sets left and given that the league uses upwards of 20 field sets a season the PSP was left with little alternative but to accept this year's changes. It will be interesting, to say the least, how the league responds to this practical blackmail in the future.
Confused? Here's the dealio. Every year or so it seems Sup'Air adds some new props that the major tournament leagues incorporate in their event layouts (also frequently designed by Sup'Air) that forces fields with airball fields used for tourney practice to buy the annual new props kit in order to keep up to date. Good for Adrenaline Games, not so good for local fields.
I noticed the NPPL expressly didn't change their bunker set this season--an unequivocal thumbs up--and it appears that Adrenaline Games hasn't kicked them to the curb by refusing to provide event fields or gone out of business. And while I have no desire to see anything bad happen to Adrenaline Games I have a hard time understanding how any league can justify placing their grassroots supporters in that position to benefit a third party. It's practically extortion.
Beyond that I have a couple of other issues too. Since when do real sports let manufacturers dictate what essential elements of the game will be? Yeah, I know, competitive paintball has always been an old boys club. Now's as good a time as any to change. Also, why is somebody other than those responsible for the sport deciding what's an appropriate change? Seriously, the whole thing ought to be a no go.
That doesn't mean the bunkers shouldn't ever be changed. Want to add some interest? Keep the game fresh? Sure. Sounds good but that's a job for the PSP--or any other league purporting to be focused on competitive paintball as sport.
UPDATE: Mr. Curious weighs in with some on point rumorology. It seems the PSP thought they had a deal with Adrenaline Games to make bunker changes every other year and had no intention of changing in 2012. Seems the first the league heard about the latest changes came from sources outside of Adrenaline Games. When confronted Sup'Air allegedly claimed they only had 4 2011 field sets left and given that the league uses upwards of 20 field sets a season the PSP was left with little alternative but to accept this year's changes. It will be interesting, to say the least, how the league responds to this practical blackmail in the future.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
It's Official: Tony's & Dan's Big Adventure
The Catshack has the NPPL presser posted--even before the NPPL website or their (assorted) Facebook page(s). Link is down on the sidebar--see the kitty in the toilet. (Yes, it is so a link.) Is it because of the new Canadacentric thinking in the NPPL? (That was a joke. No, it wasn't.)
Anyway, there are only a few things to say about this move. First, it's an admission, despite the presser's jargon, that the officiating was broken before. Second, it's going to cause a major culture clash. Third, we don't know how many, if any, of the PSP pro refs they took with them.
If the PSP refs went with Tony then it is, at a minimum, a short term problem for the PSP that could become an endemic problem. If the core of the refs stayed then the PSP will carry on and decide how they want to replace Tony's role.
Bringing in Tony means, among other things, that the NPPL agrees to do things Tony's way--not the other way around. The only way that isn't true is if there's so much cash on the table Tony will acquiesce to league requirements. And if that's the case then the league has simply thrown a bunch of money around without fixing the core problem--their own inability to follow the rules. It will be interesting--and perhaps even entertaining--to see how the "owners" and the pro teams respond to the Mineo Regime. It will also be interesting to see if there's any noticeable improvement across the board over the course of the season.
At the end of the day bringing in Tony has the potential to actually solve their problems as well as appearing to solve their problems. Will the league let Tony do things his way when push comes to shove? Will that way produce more consistent officiating? Will pre-existing NPPL refs feel undervalued? How will the experiment in Millennium style Race 2 work out? What will the PSP do? Will refs demand more money across the board? And most importantly what choices will teams looking to play national events decide to do?
To the great unwashed it's a PR coup. To the knowledgeable it's still an open question: Can Tony overcome the institutional dysfunction or will it overcome him? Only time will tell and it will, at least, make for an interesting 2012 NPPL watching season.
Anyway, there are only a few things to say about this move. First, it's an admission, despite the presser's jargon, that the officiating was broken before. Second, it's going to cause a major culture clash. Third, we don't know how many, if any, of the PSP pro refs they took with them.
If the PSP refs went with Tony then it is, at a minimum, a short term problem for the PSP that could become an endemic problem. If the core of the refs stayed then the PSP will carry on and decide how they want to replace Tony's role.
Bringing in Tony means, among other things, that the NPPL agrees to do things Tony's way--not the other way around. The only way that isn't true is if there's so much cash on the table Tony will acquiesce to league requirements. And if that's the case then the league has simply thrown a bunch of money around without fixing the core problem--their own inability to follow the rules. It will be interesting--and perhaps even entertaining--to see how the "owners" and the pro teams respond to the Mineo Regime. It will also be interesting to see if there's any noticeable improvement across the board over the course of the season.
At the end of the day bringing in Tony has the potential to actually solve their problems as well as appearing to solve their problems. Will the league let Tony do things his way when push comes to shove? Will that way produce more consistent officiating? Will pre-existing NPPL refs feel undervalued? How will the experiment in Millennium style Race 2 work out? What will the PSP do? Will refs demand more money across the board? And most importantly what choices will teams looking to play national events decide to do?
To the great unwashed it's a PR coup. To the knowledgeable it's still an open question: Can Tony overcome the institutional dysfunction or will it overcome him? Only time will tell and it will, at least, make for an interesting 2012 NPPL watching season.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Major League War!
It's on! Sometime today, in all likelihood, the NPPL will be announcing the coup that will bring former NXL Commissioner--and current PSP Pro field supervisor--Tony Mineo over to the NPPL. It is rumored that some number of the support staff and referees (from the pro field) will also make the move. If this at first seems like a response to the PSP hiring of Tom Cole, it isn't. The NPPL seems to have convinced itself that Tom was "stolen" away from them by the PSP. Just like the PSP "stole" Camille Lemanski away from them last year. It isn't true. In either case. Tom quit. The antecedents of Tom's decision to leave the NPPL date back at least to the DC event last year. And the NPPL wasn't paying Camille her contracted salary when she left--and hadn't for some months. (Look, I don't care if everybody denies any or all of this. What else would you expect?)
This move, timing aside, was originally considered as a way to resolve reffing problems in the NPPL given that the general consensus has been for some time that the PSP's pro refs (and staff) were the best in the business. Cole's move may have precipitated the NPPL's push to make this happen right now but it isn't or wasn't a new idea. It is rumored that the NPPL has not only offered Mineo a pile of cheese but also an ownership stake (better get that in writing, Tony) and autonomy in organizing and overseeing the officiating of NPPL events. It is rumored but unsubstantiated that part of the deal was to pull as many of the PSP trained refs over as possible.
As a practical matter this is apparently a lucrative deal for those making the switch and will almost certainly improve the quality of the officiating--at least on the center court field--if enough of the PSP refs also make the move. As a business move it may or may not make sense. That will depend on what the real dollar numbers are and whether it has any impact on NPPL participation (and/or the league's reputation.) It is an effort to purchase competence in an area where the NPPL was weak. It is also certainly intended to be a PR coup as well. And lastly it must be seen as an attempt to weaken the competition.
Will it effectively change anything? Time will tell. The NPPL fields are different with some key different props. None of those making the move have any experience organizing and running the Millennium style of play. And neither Mineo or his staff developed or trained the refs initially. At this point it's a grand experiment.
The existence of two major leagues has been a sharp debate in recent years and whatever else anyone thought of either league they offered, between them, more options for the players. Those days are ending--at least with regards to these two particular leagues. Intended or not this move by the NPPL is a declaration of war and it won't be over until one or both of the current major leagues is finished. It would behoove the players and teams to think long and hard about what they want and what they hope for in a major league paintball future and decide accordingly. Except of course the paintball half life of too many making such decisions is so short they won't (and don't) know what is potentially at stake. As VFTD as been saying for some time it is the industry that will have to choose--and it is no longer a choice they can put off. Choose wisely.
This move, timing aside, was originally considered as a way to resolve reffing problems in the NPPL given that the general consensus has been for some time that the PSP's pro refs (and staff) were the best in the business. Cole's move may have precipitated the NPPL's push to make this happen right now but it isn't or wasn't a new idea. It is rumored that the NPPL has not only offered Mineo a pile of cheese but also an ownership stake (better get that in writing, Tony) and autonomy in organizing and overseeing the officiating of NPPL events. It is rumored but unsubstantiated that part of the deal was to pull as many of the PSP trained refs over as possible.
As a practical matter this is apparently a lucrative deal for those making the switch and will almost certainly improve the quality of the officiating--at least on the center court field--if enough of the PSP refs also make the move. As a business move it may or may not make sense. That will depend on what the real dollar numbers are and whether it has any impact on NPPL participation (and/or the league's reputation.) It is an effort to purchase competence in an area where the NPPL was weak. It is also certainly intended to be a PR coup as well. And lastly it must be seen as an attempt to weaken the competition.
Will it effectively change anything? Time will tell. The NPPL fields are different with some key different props. None of those making the move have any experience organizing and running the Millennium style of play. And neither Mineo or his staff developed or trained the refs initially. At this point it's a grand experiment.
The existence of two major leagues has been a sharp debate in recent years and whatever else anyone thought of either league they offered, between them, more options for the players. Those days are ending--at least with regards to these two particular leagues. Intended or not this move by the NPPL is a declaration of war and it won't be over until one or both of the current major leagues is finished. It would behoove the players and teams to think long and hard about what they want and what they hope for in a major league paintball future and decide accordingly. Except of course the paintball half life of too many making such decisions is so short they won't (and don't) know what is potentially at stake. As VFTD as been saying for some time it is the industry that will have to choose--and it is no longer a choice they can put off. Choose wisely.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Numbers Game
The final numbers are in for the 2011 season major league paintball participation. Back in July I posted on the mid-term--(Buy the Numbers?)--and while the numbers are correct I got it wrong. I predicted by the end of the year participation numbers would stabilize across both leagues and end up similar to 2010 numbers. As it turned out both leagues saw real numbers rise. Good for everybody.
Since my views are already pretty well known I'ma just give y'all the rest of the numbers and you people can fight about what it means, or ought to mean and what comes next. In keeping with prior practice I've left the Pro teams out of both equations. (Read the other post if you want to know why.) I've also broken the numbers down by format; 7-man teams compared to Xball Lite teams (even though 5-man in the NPPL doesn't directly compare to Race 2-2.) In four events PSP averaged 160 teams and the NPPL averaged 79 teams. [There is a discrepancy however. NPPL's team list for Vegas had (has?) 136 teams but after the event the league only ranked 103 teams in the various division rankings. They left out the new D4 7-man so I used the Team List number of 15. And then of course Mutiny was a no show which left Vegas turnout at a potential high of 135 to a low of 117. Similar discrepancies exist between the Chicago & DC lists and final rankings as well with the lists in all 3 cases being the larger number. The total plus/minus over the season is 33 teams. I used the rankings because those numbers reflect post event results and seemed to me more likely to be correct with respect to teams that actually competed. To be consistent I also checked both the APPA's paid list against PSP's ranking results and those numbers matched for each event.] For the NPPL it was a significant bump. Between 2009 and 2010 NPPL 3.0 only improved by four teams per event average whereas this past season the bump was up 13 teams per event on average (although virtually all the gains can be attributed to HB & Vegas.)
The direct format comparison saw an average of 53 7-man teams per event and 90 Race 2-X teams. That is an 7-man increase of 9 teams per event over last year. So of the plus 13 teams per NPPL event 9 were in the primary format. And the 90 Race 2-X is a decline of 3 teams per event over 2010 but the PSP more than made up that difference in Race 2-2. Much of the PSP losses in recent years have been from the 5-man ranks and the gains of 2011 were plus 21 teams (80 versus 59) over 2010.
So there you have it.
I would ask one question though. While I know the industry wishes for a single national league what exactly do the players who want one league think it will do either for them or for paintball? Riddle me that.
And just so the Eurokids don't feel left out--it seems one CPL spot is already up for sale and if this off season mirrors last year the MS will be scrambling to try and find teams. I suspect it won't be as bad--assuming the goal is to hold the line at or near 2011 team numbers--because the league had event limits in 2011 that were below 2010 attendance numbers (for the most part) and if the Euro trend is similar to the U.S. (which saw rising participation numbers) there should be teams to fill in the spots that might otherwise have gone missing from normal attrition. (It's a good thing too since the MS went far and wide last year scouring the east and all the distant corners of near Euroland for replacement teams already so that is an option that won't be available again in the near term.) Of course all bets are off if the failing eurozone economies explode the Euro and the whole things starts tumbling like falling dominoes.
Since my views are already pretty well known I'ma just give y'all the rest of the numbers and you people can fight about what it means, or ought to mean and what comes next. In keeping with prior practice I've left the Pro teams out of both equations. (Read the other post if you want to know why.) I've also broken the numbers down by format; 7-man teams compared to Xball Lite teams (even though 5-man in the NPPL doesn't directly compare to Race 2-2.) In four events PSP averaged 160 teams and the NPPL averaged 79 teams. [There is a discrepancy however. NPPL's team list for Vegas had (has?) 136 teams but after the event the league only ranked 103 teams in the various division rankings. They left out the new D4 7-man so I used the Team List number of 15. And then of course Mutiny was a no show which left Vegas turnout at a potential high of 135 to a low of 117. Similar discrepancies exist between the Chicago & DC lists and final rankings as well with the lists in all 3 cases being the larger number. The total plus/minus over the season is 33 teams. I used the rankings because those numbers reflect post event results and seemed to me more likely to be correct with respect to teams that actually competed. To be consistent I also checked both the APPA's paid list against PSP's ranking results and those numbers matched for each event.] For the NPPL it was a significant bump. Between 2009 and 2010 NPPL 3.0 only improved by four teams per event average whereas this past season the bump was up 13 teams per event on average (although virtually all the gains can be attributed to HB & Vegas.)
The direct format comparison saw an average of 53 7-man teams per event and 90 Race 2-X teams. That is an 7-man increase of 9 teams per event over last year. So of the plus 13 teams per NPPL event 9 were in the primary format. And the 90 Race 2-X is a decline of 3 teams per event over 2010 but the PSP more than made up that difference in Race 2-2. Much of the PSP losses in recent years have been from the 5-man ranks and the gains of 2011 were plus 21 teams (80 versus 59) over 2010.
So there you have it.
I would ask one question though. While I know the industry wishes for a single national league what exactly do the players who want one league think it will do either for them or for paintball? Riddle me that.
And just so the Eurokids don't feel left out--it seems one CPL spot is already up for sale and if this off season mirrors last year the MS will be scrambling to try and find teams. I suspect it won't be as bad--assuming the goal is to hold the line at or near 2011 team numbers--because the league had event limits in 2011 that were below 2010 attendance numbers (for the most part) and if the Euro trend is similar to the U.S. (which saw rising participation numbers) there should be teams to fill in the spots that might otherwise have gone missing from normal attrition. (It's a good thing too since the MS went far and wide last year scouring the east and all the distant corners of near Euroland for replacement teams already so that is an option that won't be available again in the near term.) Of course all bets are off if the failing eurozone economies explode the Euro and the whole things starts tumbling like falling dominoes.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
What Doesn't Happen In Vegas
I don't have anything new on the merger (Kaboom!) front but when has that stopped me before? If, in fact, this signals the end of serious talks about a merger for the foreseeable future--and there seems little doubt that it does--then a post mortem is in order. And if it's all some sort of misunderstanding--I didn't know she was your wife when she stepped out of my shower--we can consider it just another one of those wacky Vegas misadventures along the rocky road to happiness--but it's not. But seriously, odds are, given the rumors exploding last weekend in Vegas, and the sudden posting of an HB event schedule for 2012 it sure sounds like everything went Kaboom! So what happens now? Is top flight national competition paintball in trouble? And what about some of the reported rumors? And how does the sale of Procaps effect national level competitive paintball, if at all?
While I'm not privvy to any first person insider info--go figure--I think there are a few reasonable conclusions that can be drawn (and I'm willing to climb out on a limb and offer a few up.) Back in September I posted a couple of merger-related posts. The first one, Merger Counterfactual, addressed the possibilities of what happens if there is or isn't a merger. I stand by that post and have a rumor or two to toss into the pot as I go all in. In Monday's post I alluded to the rumor that KEE was threatening a hard line with its sponsored teams if there was no merger. A hard line that favors the PSP. (There's even been some talk of a united industry--minus PE--determined to break the 2 league sponsorship cycle--but color me skeptical of that one.) If true that would mean KEE would likely pressure teams like Dynasty, Infamous and XSV to abandon the NPPL. (Of course the reverse could also be true but that isn't the way the rumors were flying.) And think of all the teams shooting Axes & RPS paint. That doesn't paint a pretty picture for the NPPL's future success.
Merger Machinations was also posted in September. In that post I identified some impediments to the merger I believed to be accurate. (And I've had no reason or received any info to suggest otherwise since.) Admittedly there are more current rumors but only the folks in the room discussing the merger know what actually happened and why and I would be very surprised (shocked actually) if the whole process wasn't covered by non-disclosure agreements. [I use them with some regularity and while not foolproof non-disclosures provide some extra legal protections again sensitive or proprietary information being leaked.] That is however just a supposition on my part. That said all the "insider" rumors about the meeting are coming from one side; the NPPL side.
What's perhaps more interesting than speculating about exactly what happened is speculating about what will happen next. Rumorology has suggested (for some time now) that there will be more events next season--rumor says 5 but who knows, is back to the old schedule of 6 events possible? I would guess not but that would only be a guess. Further I would expect the PSP to maintain the status quo when it comes to rules and format and such. After a reputedly successful 2011 (and the general playership aversion to change) a little continuity would likely prove quite popular. (Although a return to the shorter field might be change everyone could appreciate--and would help reverse the more paint, fewer points trend of 2011.) And then there's the sale of Procaps. Richmond has always flagshipped his paint brand with high visibility sponsorships--the current GI Sportz line-up for example--and there's no reason to imagine that will change. The question really is--will DraXXus be retained as a separate brand line (that incidentally ends up competing with GI) or will Procaps be subsumed into GI? And what happens to DraXXus sponsored teams as a result? Does GI spread the wealth and go with the numbers or focus their resources on a few well chosen teams? (Last year, KEE picked up a number of teams on the relative cheap with their Axes & RPS deals because there wasn't any real alternatives available.) Will the Procaps sale force further belt tightening and if it does what will that mean? In the Pro division it will likely mean a number of the NPPL only Pro teams won't have any real option about where they play; it will be NPPL or nothing.
And then there are the players. How many players play for multiple teams? How many teams are made up largely of players who also play elsewhere? Back in the day the NXL attempted to restrict player movement and I can imagine a time, in the not so distant future, when that becomes a more viable policy. When the NXL tried to restrict player movement there was too much money and too many options available to make it stick but that isn't the paintball universe of today.
Recently the league wars have been relatively mild low grade conflicts, schoolyard pissing contests if you will, but if the industry really does pick a side will it signal a heating up of the war? In the aftermath of whatever caused the merger to fail are there hard feelings, bruised egos and bitter recriminations? Frankly that's the stuff of paintball wars past--will it be the basis for a hot war going forward?
So many questions. So much unknown and/or uncertain going forward. At least there will be something to talk about over the winter.
While I'm not privvy to any first person insider info--go figure--I think there are a few reasonable conclusions that can be drawn (and I'm willing to climb out on a limb and offer a few up.) Back in September I posted a couple of merger-related posts. The first one, Merger Counterfactual, addressed the possibilities of what happens if there is or isn't a merger. I stand by that post and have a rumor or two to toss into the pot as I go all in. In Monday's post I alluded to the rumor that KEE was threatening a hard line with its sponsored teams if there was no merger. A hard line that favors the PSP. (There's even been some talk of a united industry--minus PE--determined to break the 2 league sponsorship cycle--but color me skeptical of that one.) If true that would mean KEE would likely pressure teams like Dynasty, Infamous and XSV to abandon the NPPL. (Of course the reverse could also be true but that isn't the way the rumors were flying.) And think of all the teams shooting Axes & RPS paint. That doesn't paint a pretty picture for the NPPL's future success.
Merger Machinations was also posted in September. In that post I identified some impediments to the merger I believed to be accurate. (And I've had no reason or received any info to suggest otherwise since.) Admittedly there are more current rumors but only the folks in the room discussing the merger know what actually happened and why and I would be very surprised (shocked actually) if the whole process wasn't covered by non-disclosure agreements. [I use them with some regularity and while not foolproof non-disclosures provide some extra legal protections again sensitive or proprietary information being leaked.] That is however just a supposition on my part. That said all the "insider" rumors about the meeting are coming from one side; the NPPL side.
What's perhaps more interesting than speculating about exactly what happened is speculating about what will happen next. Rumorology has suggested (for some time now) that there will be more events next season--rumor says 5 but who knows, is back to the old schedule of 6 events possible? I would guess not but that would only be a guess. Further I would expect the PSP to maintain the status quo when it comes to rules and format and such. After a reputedly successful 2011 (and the general playership aversion to change) a little continuity would likely prove quite popular. (Although a return to the shorter field might be change everyone could appreciate--and would help reverse the more paint, fewer points trend of 2011.) And then there's the sale of Procaps. Richmond has always flagshipped his paint brand with high visibility sponsorships--the current GI Sportz line-up for example--and there's no reason to imagine that will change. The question really is--will DraXXus be retained as a separate brand line (that incidentally ends up competing with GI) or will Procaps be subsumed into GI? And what happens to DraXXus sponsored teams as a result? Does GI spread the wealth and go with the numbers or focus their resources on a few well chosen teams? (Last year, KEE picked up a number of teams on the relative cheap with their Axes & RPS deals because there wasn't any real alternatives available.) Will the Procaps sale force further belt tightening and if it does what will that mean? In the Pro division it will likely mean a number of the NPPL only Pro teams won't have any real option about where they play; it will be NPPL or nothing.
And then there are the players. How many players play for multiple teams? How many teams are made up largely of players who also play elsewhere? Back in the day the NXL attempted to restrict player movement and I can imagine a time, in the not so distant future, when that becomes a more viable policy. When the NXL tried to restrict player movement there was too much money and too many options available to make it stick but that isn't the paintball universe of today.
Recently the league wars have been relatively mild low grade conflicts, schoolyard pissing contests if you will, but if the industry really does pick a side will it signal a heating up of the war? In the aftermath of whatever caused the merger to fail are there hard feelings, bruised egos and bitter recriminations? Frankly that's the stuff of paintball wars past--will it be the basis for a hot war going forward?
So many questions. So much unknown and/or uncertain going forward. At least there will be something to talk about over the winter.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Post PSP Jersey Open Report
Yes, we're thrilled with the win in Jersey. The guys played great (for the most part) and we now have the rest of the season to live up to our standards. Thanks too to all the well wishers. Now to the rest of the story.
The venue was somewhere in north/central New Jersey and continued the by now well established pattern of hiding major league tournament paintball in plain site, er, sight. There was a giant Howdy Doody-looking figure out front but nary a sign for paintball or a PSP logo large enough for anybody not trying to find the place to notice. (I'm also not sure such efforts really make much if any difference anyway but I continue to hear about it from some peeps who consider it a failure of both imagination and to adequately promote events.) There was some talk prior to the event that the area we would be playing on was heavily overgrown and would needed to be cut down (or cut out) of the lushly wooded and verdant countryside. If that's what they did they did a good job of it. The fields weren't pristine but then they never are. (The NXL played a couple of years at Disney--yep, Disney--House of the Mouse--with green mats covering drainage grates on the field.) Our field was fine and the paint trucks were close. What else do you need? The vendors were arrayed in lozenge-shaped semi-circles around the entrance and I, for one, appreciate the fact the PSP didn't create a maze of vendors we were forced to walk through to get to the fields. (Can you say, Phoenix?) They were handy if you wanted to check them out but we weren't driven like a herd of cattle past them one by one. A good--and fair--impression of the venue can be seen in the Gary Baum aerial photo PSP events is using on their front page--oops, they've substituted that photo--(which you can probably see at PaintballPhotography)--with a photo of the winning team. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Once again the PSP provided a live webcast hosted by Matty Marshall & Friends and once again--except for some occasional weather-related difficulties--was a smashing success that enabled fans from around the world to tune in and watch the action. Always a good thing for competitive paintball so thanks to the PSP for making it possible--along with Patrick S. and the rest of the technical crew. Which is all well and good but I'm curious about a couple of things. Even with a reduced presence and fewer cameras, etc. it must still be a significant expense, right? Is it being underwritten by any particular sponsors? If you matched up the co-hosts with their employers or primary sponsors it seems to make sense--with one glaring exception. As I said, I'm just curious.
How 'bout a breakdown on each of the pro teams? (I know, I'm just asking for trouble but I want to make a couple of specific points. Players should be less fans and more students of the game when they are watching the pros play--and maybe it's just me but that seems to be lost on most of y'all. Why aren't most teams more consistent? A lot of what's going on is influenced by factors other than simply playing the game. And of course the field layout can have an impact as well. More later this week.)
Let's begin with CEP. I like this team and I like the kids playing for them. It's a positive organization focused on learning and improving--which they are doing. It hasn't shown up in their match results yet but they are a better team than the one that began the season. Not unlike Vicious in their first season but I think CEP is a more versatile team.
In their first outing without Greg Pauley Vicious looked on Friday like they were lost and demoralized. Somehow overnight Friday they turned it around and came out and played much improved hard paintball with an intensity they didn't have the day before. That is the kind of resilience teams & players must have in order to be successful at the highest level but the jury is still out on whether or not the team has the horses to really challenge the top teams.
In the case of Infamous I think a number of factors likely played into their unexpectedly poor performance. It was a difficult bracket regardless of the Russians misfortunes. It was not a layout that played to Infamous's strengths. Some bad luck and a penchant across the board to gunfight hard. While never a bad thing the team had some difficulty locking things down when they needed to and, so it appeared to me, tended to engage in some battles they didn't need to fight and lost more of them than they usually do. Given the layout of key positional loss frequently started the dominoes falling on a given point.
What to say about the Russian Legion? A very uncharacteristic performance punctuated by very poor performances from some of their best, most experienced players. Have they had poor events before? Yes, but I can't remember anything quite like NJ. I consider this an aberration and assume the "real" Russian Legion will be back at Cup. (More below in rumorology.)
X-Factor is a tough team to get a handle on. Any given day they are capable of being world beaters and other days they beat themselves. Fundamentally they don't make many mistakes and they tend to mix conventional tactical play with bursts of wild unpredictability though less so on this layout as it didn't provide those sorts of opportunities really. They played a lot of close points and at the end of the day they simply lost more of those than they won. Always a dangerous team to play.
It seems that almost every event one team or another falls foul of some rules arcana and unfortunately that's what happened to 'Shock in New Jersey. (If you were interested I'm sure you know by now how all that worked out from other sources.) Of more interest to me was the turnaround 'Shock made in Jersey over the first two events of the season. This was the first event the team played under the leadership of former Aftershock legend Mike Bruno and it was a telling change for whatever reason. (It may be as simple as providing active support to a group already gung ho.) Shock always plays hard and is always aggressive but can sometimes be scattershot in the process. In Jersey they were also an effective team playing with no pressure to perform and no where to go but up. It will be interesting to see how things progress for them up to Cup.
I had some doubts about Impact leading into the season. Not so much about their talent, which is first rate, but about their chemistry given the roster changes the team has been making over the last couple of years. Even so the team continues to contend event after event with great consistency and I think they remain capable of winning any event they enter. I tend to think of them like an X-Factor but less prone to extremes as their temperament and style matches that of their coach, Jason Trosen.
The Ironmen have done a remarkable job this seasons without Ollie. The mix of experienced pros with some young, hungry and coachable players has produced solid results. And the team has bought into the system and it allows them to play smart, aggressive and controlled paintball. It may coaches vanity but I tend to attribute much of that to SK's efforts and the fact he clearly has the support of the team's vets. They don't beat themselves even when battling through penalties. I'd also like to take a moment to suggest to all young divisional players you could do a lot worse than emulate Kyle Spicka. For those who have known him in and around paintball for a few years his determination, dedication, will & perseverance ought to be a model of the right way to overcome obstacles and achieve success as a player.
The mark of a truly great team is the ability to consistently perform at a high level and by any rubric that is Dynasty. Most teams can only dream about Dynasty level success and most players would consider it a great career to achieve the kind of success Dynasty has often managed in single seasons. Before this year Dynasty looked like they might be on the wane but the return of Ollie and the addition of Mike H. & the youth movement has proved to be just what the team needed to reinvent itself. While they don't have weaknesses in the normal sense on the NJ field there were a couple of elements we had some success focusing on. Some of the younger players tended to be impatient and try and force certain rotations and as a team Dynasty perhaps lacks some team speed and if they can be forced into situations where they have to get wide a disciplined team can make them pay. (Or anybody else for that matter, D'oh!)
Despite the lack of household names Damage has world class talent in a mix of experience and youth. Damage's only significant fault is the occasional loss of focus that at times leads to a sudden loss of confidence. When they play together, play in the moment, they are capable of contesting with the very best and being one of the best.
One ongoing discussion over the course of this season has been long points and paint usage. (We shot nearly 20 cases in the final match.) Heck, it's a subject VFTD has commented on numerous times. Within the context of the NJ event there are a couple of additional things to be said. The rain may have contributed to some long points on Sunday but the rain didn't cause them. Nor did the rain alter the way most teams chose to play the field. Everybody I saw was playing the same ways on Friday and Saturday. The field did not encourage fast play though it was sometimes possible to press a power point if it was timed correctly or executed in concert with a key elimination OTB. But what I want to address in more detail is this notion of defensive paintball versus offensive paintball because it comes up when there are a lot of long slow points. A key element of competition is the imposition of a team's collective will on their opponents and paintball is no different except we do it with paint and position. (I'll be discussing this in more detail in a separate post this week.)
In the rumorology department there was lots of Legion talk at the Open. (This is not Mr. Curious material, just the on site scuttlebutt.) There was curiosity about the apparent name change--the word being that Sergey was unhappy with the old NXL nomenclature of "Boston" and wanted Russia back front and center. Then there was also the rumor that the Legion had lost its backing from Sergey and was scrambling to reorganize. And this is where Bear D'Egidio fits into the picture. (There has also been a fair bit of discussion on how Bear got a spot on the Legion given the majority opinion seems to think he isn't a pro caliber player.) The dominant rumor being that his dad (a partner in a number of large Cali paintball operations) greased the skids, so to speak. Even if the rumors are accurate it wouldn't be the first time such things have happened in prime time paintball. Whatever the truth is the Legion struggled mightily at NJ and it seems to me there must have been more to it than missing a couple of players.
(Rumor segue: Remember when Mr. Curious told y'all HydroTec would begin producing paintballs in mid-August? Facefull confirms. Sort of. I know, but still ... would you believe HydroTec?)
In closing a VFTD shout out to all the Florida players and teams that performed well in New Jersey. Way to go, kids. Okay, that about covers it from my perspective. If any of y'all have any questions post them up in comments and I'll (probably) try to answer them.
The venue was somewhere in north/central New Jersey and continued the by now well established pattern of hiding major league tournament paintball in plain site, er, sight. There was a giant Howdy Doody-looking figure out front but nary a sign for paintball or a PSP logo large enough for anybody not trying to find the place to notice. (I'm also not sure such efforts really make much if any difference anyway but I continue to hear about it from some peeps who consider it a failure of both imagination and to adequately promote events.) There was some talk prior to the event that the area we would be playing on was heavily overgrown and would needed to be cut down (or cut out) of the lushly wooded and verdant countryside. If that's what they did they did a good job of it. The fields weren't pristine but then they never are. (The NXL played a couple of years at Disney--yep, Disney--House of the Mouse--with green mats covering drainage grates on the field.) Our field was fine and the paint trucks were close. What else do you need? The vendors were arrayed in lozenge-shaped semi-circles around the entrance and I, for one, appreciate the fact the PSP didn't create a maze of vendors we were forced to walk through to get to the fields. (Can you say, Phoenix?) They were handy if you wanted to check them out but we weren't driven like a herd of cattle past them one by one. A good--and fair--impression of the venue can be seen in the Gary Baum aerial photo PSP events is using on their front page--oops, they've substituted that photo--(which you can probably see at PaintballPhotography)--with a photo of the winning team. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Once again the PSP provided a live webcast hosted by Matty Marshall & Friends and once again--except for some occasional weather-related difficulties--was a smashing success that enabled fans from around the world to tune in and watch the action. Always a good thing for competitive paintball so thanks to the PSP for making it possible--along with Patrick S. and the rest of the technical crew. Which is all well and good but I'm curious about a couple of things. Even with a reduced presence and fewer cameras, etc. it must still be a significant expense, right? Is it being underwritten by any particular sponsors? If you matched up the co-hosts with their employers or primary sponsors it seems to make sense--with one glaring exception. As I said, I'm just curious.
How 'bout a breakdown on each of the pro teams? (I know, I'm just asking for trouble but I want to make a couple of specific points. Players should be less fans and more students of the game when they are watching the pros play--and maybe it's just me but that seems to be lost on most of y'all. Why aren't most teams more consistent? A lot of what's going on is influenced by factors other than simply playing the game. And of course the field layout can have an impact as well. More later this week.)
Let's begin with CEP. I like this team and I like the kids playing for them. It's a positive organization focused on learning and improving--which they are doing. It hasn't shown up in their match results yet but they are a better team than the one that began the season. Not unlike Vicious in their first season but I think CEP is a more versatile team.
In their first outing without Greg Pauley Vicious looked on Friday like they were lost and demoralized. Somehow overnight Friday they turned it around and came out and played much improved hard paintball with an intensity they didn't have the day before. That is the kind of resilience teams & players must have in order to be successful at the highest level but the jury is still out on whether or not the team has the horses to really challenge the top teams.
In the case of Infamous I think a number of factors likely played into their unexpectedly poor performance. It was a difficult bracket regardless of the Russians misfortunes. It was not a layout that played to Infamous's strengths. Some bad luck and a penchant across the board to gunfight hard. While never a bad thing the team had some difficulty locking things down when they needed to and, so it appeared to me, tended to engage in some battles they didn't need to fight and lost more of them than they usually do. Given the layout of key positional loss frequently started the dominoes falling on a given point.
What to say about the Russian Legion? A very uncharacteristic performance punctuated by very poor performances from some of their best, most experienced players. Have they had poor events before? Yes, but I can't remember anything quite like NJ. I consider this an aberration and assume the "real" Russian Legion will be back at Cup. (More below in rumorology.)
X-Factor is a tough team to get a handle on. Any given day they are capable of being world beaters and other days they beat themselves. Fundamentally they don't make many mistakes and they tend to mix conventional tactical play with bursts of wild unpredictability though less so on this layout as it didn't provide those sorts of opportunities really. They played a lot of close points and at the end of the day they simply lost more of those than they won. Always a dangerous team to play.
It seems that almost every event one team or another falls foul of some rules arcana and unfortunately that's what happened to 'Shock in New Jersey. (If you were interested I'm sure you know by now how all that worked out from other sources.) Of more interest to me was the turnaround 'Shock made in Jersey over the first two events of the season. This was the first event the team played under the leadership of former Aftershock legend Mike Bruno and it was a telling change for whatever reason. (It may be as simple as providing active support to a group already gung ho.) Shock always plays hard and is always aggressive but can sometimes be scattershot in the process. In Jersey they were also an effective team playing with no pressure to perform and no where to go but up. It will be interesting to see how things progress for them up to Cup.
I had some doubts about Impact leading into the season. Not so much about their talent, which is first rate, but about their chemistry given the roster changes the team has been making over the last couple of years. Even so the team continues to contend event after event with great consistency and I think they remain capable of winning any event they enter. I tend to think of them like an X-Factor but less prone to extremes as their temperament and style matches that of their coach, Jason Trosen.
The Ironmen have done a remarkable job this seasons without Ollie. The mix of experienced pros with some young, hungry and coachable players has produced solid results. And the team has bought into the system and it allows them to play smart, aggressive and controlled paintball. It may coaches vanity but I tend to attribute much of that to SK's efforts and the fact he clearly has the support of the team's vets. They don't beat themselves even when battling through penalties. I'd also like to take a moment to suggest to all young divisional players you could do a lot worse than emulate Kyle Spicka. For those who have known him in and around paintball for a few years his determination, dedication, will & perseverance ought to be a model of the right way to overcome obstacles and achieve success as a player.
The mark of a truly great team is the ability to consistently perform at a high level and by any rubric that is Dynasty. Most teams can only dream about Dynasty level success and most players would consider it a great career to achieve the kind of success Dynasty has often managed in single seasons. Before this year Dynasty looked like they might be on the wane but the return of Ollie and the addition of Mike H. & the youth movement has proved to be just what the team needed to reinvent itself. While they don't have weaknesses in the normal sense on the NJ field there were a couple of elements we had some success focusing on. Some of the younger players tended to be impatient and try and force certain rotations and as a team Dynasty perhaps lacks some team speed and if they can be forced into situations where they have to get wide a disciplined team can make them pay. (Or anybody else for that matter, D'oh!)
Despite the lack of household names Damage has world class talent in a mix of experience and youth. Damage's only significant fault is the occasional loss of focus that at times leads to a sudden loss of confidence. When they play together, play in the moment, they are capable of contesting with the very best and being one of the best.
One ongoing discussion over the course of this season has been long points and paint usage. (We shot nearly 20 cases in the final match.) Heck, it's a subject VFTD has commented on numerous times. Within the context of the NJ event there are a couple of additional things to be said. The rain may have contributed to some long points on Sunday but the rain didn't cause them. Nor did the rain alter the way most teams chose to play the field. Everybody I saw was playing the same ways on Friday and Saturday. The field did not encourage fast play though it was sometimes possible to press a power point if it was timed correctly or executed in concert with a key elimination OTB. But what I want to address in more detail is this notion of defensive paintball versus offensive paintball because it comes up when there are a lot of long slow points. A key element of competition is the imposition of a team's collective will on their opponents and paintball is no different except we do it with paint and position. (I'll be discussing this in more detail in a separate post this week.)
In the rumorology department there was lots of Legion talk at the Open. (This is not Mr. Curious material, just the on site scuttlebutt.) There was curiosity about the apparent name change--the word being that Sergey was unhappy with the old NXL nomenclature of "Boston" and wanted Russia back front and center. Then there was also the rumor that the Legion had lost its backing from Sergey and was scrambling to reorganize. And this is where Bear D'Egidio fits into the picture. (There has also been a fair bit of discussion on how Bear got a spot on the Legion given the majority opinion seems to think he isn't a pro caliber player.) The dominant rumor being that his dad (a partner in a number of large Cali paintball operations) greased the skids, so to speak. Even if the rumors are accurate it wouldn't be the first time such things have happened in prime time paintball. Whatever the truth is the Legion struggled mightily at NJ and it seems to me there must have been more to it than missing a couple of players.
(Rumor segue: Remember when Mr. Curious told y'all HydroTec would begin producing paintballs in mid-August? Facefull confirms. Sort of. I know, but still ... would you believe HydroTec?)
In closing a VFTD shout out to all the Florida players and teams that performed well in New Jersey. Way to go, kids. Okay, that about covers it from my perspective. If any of y'all have any questions post them up in comments and I'll (probably) try to answer them.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
A Secret Meeting & Patents Rising
VFTD would like to congratulate the ProPaintball guys on their merger talk meeting story. Nice job. Because it was indeed a secret meeting despite the fact VFTD aluded to the fact it was happening a couple of weeks ago. Which reminds me: Almost any time some sort of sensitive info leaks into the public this site is assumed to be involved. Au contraire. If VFTD burned sources and/or broke promises Mr. Curious would quickly be out of business. And to prove it to y'all I'ma tell you something about the meeting you don't know.
WHAT'S HE GONNA SAY!?! OMG!
Rumor has it that everyone involved signed a non-disclosure up front and if that is true then whoever passed information on to ProPaintball should oughta be mighty red-faced right about now assuming the details published by ProPaintball are accurate--something VFTD can neither confirm or deny. Next time some beans get spilled y'all might want to look a little closer to home.
As sensitive as the secret meeting was Mr. Curious has stumbled onto a rumor buried so deep in the industry's basement it was surely intended to never see the light of day. Assuming it's accurate. It is, in fact, so sensitive that VFTD isn't going to identify the company--but those of you not hopelessly out of the loop should know who is being referenced--and further no mention will be made of specific numbers.
Remember back in the day when Smart Parts was involved in one litigation after another mostly revolving around their ability to enforce certain patents? And the upshot was some sort of cross deal was made between SP & Dye & Angel (more or less) and everybody else ended up having to come to terms with SP and pay licensing fees in order to manufacture and sell electronic paintball markers. Or get out of the gun biz. Do you remember what happened to those patents? And do you remember a press release made regarding those patents?
Rumor has it that some gun makers have been approached and informed they will be required to pay a lump sum upfront plus a per gun licensing fee that is approx. 40% - 50% greater than SP ever demanded. (Inflation, I guess.) While the company is perfectly within its legal right to do so that would appear to contradict past public statements of intent. VFTD does not know how or if this rumor may affect any company that had agreed to terms previously with SP. In looking for additional and related info it seems that the duration of active patent protection (in this category) is twenty years which leaves a goodly number of years that the patents will remain in force--assuming annual maintenance fees are kept up to date.
WHAT'S HE GONNA SAY!?! OMG!
Rumor has it that everyone involved signed a non-disclosure up front and if that is true then whoever passed information on to ProPaintball should oughta be mighty red-faced right about now assuming the details published by ProPaintball are accurate--something VFTD can neither confirm or deny. Next time some beans get spilled y'all might want to look a little closer to home.
As sensitive as the secret meeting was Mr. Curious has stumbled onto a rumor buried so deep in the industry's basement it was surely intended to never see the light of day. Assuming it's accurate. It is, in fact, so sensitive that VFTD isn't going to identify the company--but those of you not hopelessly out of the loop should know who is being referenced--and further no mention will be made of specific numbers.
Remember back in the day when Smart Parts was involved in one litigation after another mostly revolving around their ability to enforce certain patents? And the upshot was some sort of cross deal was made between SP & Dye & Angel (more or less) and everybody else ended up having to come to terms with SP and pay licensing fees in order to manufacture and sell electronic paintball markers. Or get out of the gun biz. Do you remember what happened to those patents? And do you remember a press release made regarding those patents?
Rumor has it that some gun makers have been approached and informed they will be required to pay a lump sum upfront plus a per gun licensing fee that is approx. 40% - 50% greater than SP ever demanded. (Inflation, I guess.) While the company is perfectly within its legal right to do so that would appear to contradict past public statements of intent. VFTD does not know how or if this rumor may affect any company that had agreed to terms previously with SP. In looking for additional and related info it seems that the duration of active patent protection (in this category) is twenty years which leaves a goodly number of years that the patents will remain in force--assuming annual maintenance fees are kept up to date.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
More MLP Merger Talk
Time for you kids to learn to read between the lines. The proverbial little bird has tweeted in Mr. Curious's good ear--he's deaf as a post in the other--and passed along some intriguing info. VFTD is not however gonna pass it along to you--hence why you need to learn to read between the lines.
There is no united PBIndustry front but active elements are once again pushing for the one league solution. As noted before without cooperation amongst the paint manufacturers each in turn is afraid to act unilaterally. Which is why NPPL 3.0 wasn't strangled in the cradle and why past leverage was applied to try and compel the leagues to sort things out amongst themselves. (Which they did once. Just before Pacific Paintball declared bankruptcy. General terms were agreed to over a weekend. On Monday Pacific called it quits. Or something quite like that.)
Assuming there's renewed dialogue what are the pros and cons of the leagues making some sort of deal. (Btw, VFTD is assuming the future one league would be the PSP with the NPPL merging and not the other way round.)
The NPPL owners, however many of them there are now--is it over 20?--get a piece of a viable national tournament series with the world's most prestigious event in a format played virtually everywhere else in the paintball world. But only a piece. Certainly a non-controlling piece at that but one that is likely to include the so-called place (or places) at the table as might be agreed upon. So they get a real stake and a real voice.
What do the NPPL owners lose? Control over their own tournament series.
What do NPPL owners bring to the table? They are going to claim they bring years of experience in dealing with potential outside sponsors, lots of contacts, the HB venue and a significant number of pro teams. They in fact bring the pro teams--a number of whom do not play the format. As to the rest what value does one assign years of failure? And as for the beach venue if there is no NPPL the date is open. If there is a NPPL the lack doesn't seem to have been too difficult for the PSP to overcome in the past.
What does the PSP bring to the table? The more popular format. The larger series. The World Cup. Superior leadership and staff with a history of getting the job done. General organization from Raehl's APPA to Tim's reffing program. A viable tournament series.
What does the PSP lose? Current owners may lose some of the value of their share(s). Take on new partners who may prove to be divisive. (Too many chefs and all that.)
What does the PSP gain? Unified industry support and at least a temporary monopoly on national events. A significant number of pro teams highly motivated to help make the league succeed.
That's a major over-simplification but you get the idea. There could be something in it for both sides if rational and appropriate terms can be agreed to. (I figure it's ten to one against.)
Is a merger the be all, end all that fixes all competitive paintball's ills? No, but it could be the move that gets us a little closer.
And just to show y'all my heart is in the right place I'ma tell you how to make this work. (Which is probably the kiss of death.) There are seven shares split among the PSP owners today. One of those belongs to a giant of the PBIndustry. That industry member "sells" its share to the NPPL. The result A) gets a major industry player out of the tournament business, and B) doesn't dilute the value of the existing shares. The "cost" is nominal, the industry player favors the merge and buys a lot of general goodwill in the process. The PSP then restores HB as the season's lead off event but with a twist. The logistics of trying to put on a full fledged PSP event on a prestige beach are (almost) certainly a losing proposition. However, retaining the showcase value of the event would be the perfect bookend to WC. So split the difference and offer a capped event designed to showcase world class competitive paintball. And return to five seasonal events. Maybe it's just the pros, D1 & D2 in limited numbers. Whatever works. But if it is restricted that's all the more motivation for up and coming teams to meet the requirements and be included.
One league supported by a united industry is far better positioned to weather the current tough times than two leagues with split support.
There is no united PBIndustry front but active elements are once again pushing for the one league solution. As noted before without cooperation amongst the paint manufacturers each in turn is afraid to act unilaterally. Which is why NPPL 3.0 wasn't strangled in the cradle and why past leverage was applied to try and compel the leagues to sort things out amongst themselves. (Which they did once. Just before Pacific Paintball declared bankruptcy. General terms were agreed to over a weekend. On Monday Pacific called it quits. Or something quite like that.)
Assuming there's renewed dialogue what are the pros and cons of the leagues making some sort of deal. (Btw, VFTD is assuming the future one league would be the PSP with the NPPL merging and not the other way round.)
The NPPL owners, however many of them there are now--is it over 20?--get a piece of a viable national tournament series with the world's most prestigious event in a format played virtually everywhere else in the paintball world. But only a piece. Certainly a non-controlling piece at that but one that is likely to include the so-called place (or places) at the table as might be agreed upon. So they get a real stake and a real voice.
What do the NPPL owners lose? Control over their own tournament series.
What do NPPL owners bring to the table? They are going to claim they bring years of experience in dealing with potential outside sponsors, lots of contacts, the HB venue and a significant number of pro teams. They in fact bring the pro teams--a number of whom do not play the format. As to the rest what value does one assign years of failure? And as for the beach venue if there is no NPPL the date is open. If there is a NPPL the lack doesn't seem to have been too difficult for the PSP to overcome in the past.
What does the PSP bring to the table? The more popular format. The larger series. The World Cup. Superior leadership and staff with a history of getting the job done. General organization from Raehl's APPA to Tim's reffing program. A viable tournament series.
What does the PSP lose? Current owners may lose some of the value of their share(s). Take on new partners who may prove to be divisive. (Too many chefs and all that.)
What does the PSP gain? Unified industry support and at least a temporary monopoly on national events. A significant number of pro teams highly motivated to help make the league succeed.
That's a major over-simplification but you get the idea. There could be something in it for both sides if rational and appropriate terms can be agreed to. (I figure it's ten to one against.)
Is a merger the be all, end all that fixes all competitive paintball's ills? No, but it could be the move that gets us a little closer.
And just to show y'all my heart is in the right place I'ma tell you how to make this work. (Which is probably the kiss of death.) There are seven shares split among the PSP owners today. One of those belongs to a giant of the PBIndustry. That industry member "sells" its share to the NPPL. The result A) gets a major industry player out of the tournament business, and B) doesn't dilute the value of the existing shares. The "cost" is nominal, the industry player favors the merge and buys a lot of general goodwill in the process. The PSP then restores HB as the season's lead off event but with a twist. The logistics of trying to put on a full fledged PSP event on a prestige beach are (almost) certainly a losing proposition. However, retaining the showcase value of the event would be the perfect bookend to WC. So split the difference and offer a capped event designed to showcase world class competitive paintball. And return to five seasonal events. Maybe it's just the pros, D1 & D2 in limited numbers. Whatever works. But if it is restricted that's all the more motivation for up and coming teams to meet the requirements and be included.
One league supported by a united industry is far better positioned to weather the current tough times than two leagues with split support.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Buy the Numbers?
A metaphoric rock, with a note attached, was lobbed--again metaphorically--through my front window claiming VFTD is biased in favoring the PSP. (The claim was in the note, not the rock.) It suggested that even if I criticized everybody I still liked the PSP best. (boo hoo, boo hoo) And went further to suggest I was helping in holding the NPPL down when I should acknowledge the inevitability of the 7-man future 'cus the numbers were (are) going up, attesting to the health & vitality of 7-man whereas the PSP is the league in decline. (That's the short version. The actual missive was mostly text speak and half-formed thoughts and if there was an ap for it I'm sure it would have had tear stains on it.)
As to the charges: yes, I prefer xball--even the watered down version we're currently playing. Yes, I criticize everybody, mostly, and mostly they all deserve it--at least when I do it. No, I'm not holding anybody down. For example, in Chicago VFTD had nothing to do with the shortage of refs, the placement of the fields, the bikini contest, the delay in posting scores or players (kinda, sorta, not really) headbutting one another.
Now that my crimes have been dealt with let's get to the interesting stuff. Is national 7-man on the rise and is the PSP in decline? Maybe, but probably not & yes. But of course the numbers game is dependent on which set of numbers one chooses to examine. If, for example, all the national 7-man results were included in the data set the current state of the NPPL would look bleak indeed compared to the peak years--much worse in fact than the PSP. But since this is a new NPPL (3.0) we're only looking at the numbers generated by this version of the league and even then it's hardly robust or indicative of growth. In 2009, the USPL year, the league averaged 64 teams an event not counting the Pros. [As stakeholders in the ownership of the league I'm considering their contributions as operating funds & investment as opposed to income generated by paying/participating teams. And while the same isn't true in the PSP as a matter of numbers I left the PSP pro teams out of the numbers as well.] In 2010 that average went up to 66 teams per event. [Participation totals in the NPPL 3.0 were calculated from info available at the NPPL website, npplnetwork website & Warpig via schedules, prelim scores and rankings. All PSP numbers came from APPA.] Through two events so far in 2011 the NPPL average is 85 teams. That number is however, somewhat misleading as it is skewed by the league's best attended event, HB, and only one other event. Further suggesting the numbers will even out over the season is that while the HB turnout was up slightly (less than 10) the Chicago turnout was on par with past second events. If DC is consistent with past DC turnouts then the reasonable expectation is that 2011 will look very much like '09 & '10 before it. And in the present economic environment there are worse things than stability and/or consistency--assuming the league isn't operating in the red.
If we were to look at the entirety of the PSP's numbers we would discover, in the old NPPL prior to the separation, a rising trend from the late 90's that peaked, in real numbers, at the last 10-man led World Cup. With the transition to Xball numbers dipped and then began to rise again until the economic downturn which saw participation numbers begin to decline again. Over the last three (2 and a half) seasons the PSP saw a precipitous drop between 2009 and 2010. In 2009 the average turnout was 193 teams per event. [Let's backtrack for a moment into 2008. It was the last year with 5 events and the average was 185 teams per event counting all five. If the fourth event is removed from the calculation the number jumps to 201. A case can thus be made that '09 saw an improvement over '08 or at worst a modest decline. It might be enlightening to review the changes made between the '08 & '09 seasons as in the first case the league temporarily reversed the decline and the second case suffered a significant loss. Just a thought.] In 2010 the PSP's average was 142. So far in 2011 it's 130. As the 2011 numbers were likely somewhat misleading in the NPPL's case they are also probably misleading here as well. The reason is that in direct comparison of event to event from last year to this both of this year's PSP events are up (slightly) over last year's individual event numbers. Remember, the PSP numbers don't include pro turnout to keep the comparisons equal even though the PSP pro teams do add to the league's revenues.
Do you buy the numbers? It's clear to me the NPPL turnout isn't going anywhere in any significant way despite the incomplete '11 numbers. And only time will tell if the PSP's decline is stabilizing. In raw numbers the PSP still holds better than a 2 to 1 advantage in participation over the NPPL. So there you have it: another case of poor old Baca holding an MLP series down. Strong like bull.
As to the charges: yes, I prefer xball--even the watered down version we're currently playing. Yes, I criticize everybody, mostly, and mostly they all deserve it--at least when I do it. No, I'm not holding anybody down. For example, in Chicago VFTD had nothing to do with the shortage of refs, the placement of the fields, the bikini contest, the delay in posting scores or players (kinda, sorta, not really) headbutting one another.
Now that my crimes have been dealt with let's get to the interesting stuff. Is national 7-man on the rise and is the PSP in decline? Maybe, but probably not & yes. But of course the numbers game is dependent on which set of numbers one chooses to examine. If, for example, all the national 7-man results were included in the data set the current state of the NPPL would look bleak indeed compared to the peak years--much worse in fact than the PSP. But since this is a new NPPL (3.0) we're only looking at the numbers generated by this version of the league and even then it's hardly robust or indicative of growth. In 2009, the USPL year, the league averaged 64 teams an event not counting the Pros. [As stakeholders in the ownership of the league I'm considering their contributions as operating funds & investment as opposed to income generated by paying/participating teams. And while the same isn't true in the PSP as a matter of numbers I left the PSP pro teams out of the numbers as well.] In 2010 that average went up to 66 teams per event. [Participation totals in the NPPL 3.0 were calculated from info available at the NPPL website, npplnetwork website & Warpig via schedules, prelim scores and rankings. All PSP numbers came from APPA.] Through two events so far in 2011 the NPPL average is 85 teams. That number is however, somewhat misleading as it is skewed by the league's best attended event, HB, and only one other event. Further suggesting the numbers will even out over the season is that while the HB turnout was up slightly (less than 10) the Chicago turnout was on par with past second events. If DC is consistent with past DC turnouts then the reasonable expectation is that 2011 will look very much like '09 & '10 before it. And in the present economic environment there are worse things than stability and/or consistency--assuming the league isn't operating in the red.
If we were to look at the entirety of the PSP's numbers we would discover, in the old NPPL prior to the separation, a rising trend from the late 90's that peaked, in real numbers, at the last 10-man led World Cup. With the transition to Xball numbers dipped and then began to rise again until the economic downturn which saw participation numbers begin to decline again. Over the last three (2 and a half) seasons the PSP saw a precipitous drop between 2009 and 2010. In 2009 the average turnout was 193 teams per event. [Let's backtrack for a moment into 2008. It was the last year with 5 events and the average was 185 teams per event counting all five. If the fourth event is removed from the calculation the number jumps to 201. A case can thus be made that '09 saw an improvement over '08 or at worst a modest decline. It might be enlightening to review the changes made between the '08 & '09 seasons as in the first case the league temporarily reversed the decline and the second case suffered a significant loss. Just a thought.] In 2010 the PSP's average was 142. So far in 2011 it's 130. As the 2011 numbers were likely somewhat misleading in the NPPL's case they are also probably misleading here as well. The reason is that in direct comparison of event to event from last year to this both of this year's PSP events are up (slightly) over last year's individual event numbers. Remember, the PSP numbers don't include pro turnout to keep the comparisons equal even though the PSP pro teams do add to the league's revenues.
Do you buy the numbers? It's clear to me the NPPL turnout isn't going anywhere in any significant way despite the incomplete '11 numbers. And only time will tell if the PSP's decline is stabilizing. In raw numbers the PSP still holds better than a 2 to 1 advantage in participation over the NPPL. So there you have it: another case of poor old Baca holding an MLP series down. Strong like bull.
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