Playing the MS Bitburg '10 layout

While this particular layout may only apply to a handful of brave (or is that foolhardy) souls the lessons involved apply directly to any form of xball or Race 2 (and often generally to any sort of competitive paintball.) Which means if you don't yet know everything there is know about playing competitive paintball (unlike me, for example) you could find this helpful--at least in parts.
This post focuses on a couple of things; taking (denying) the snake OTB, playing dead zones & why (& how) design matters. This layout is similar to Malaga in order to facilitate finishing that event. Comparing my analysis of that layout with this modification may not help you play it but will help clarify the design elements at work.

Beginning with the snake run OTB we see the Home lanes on the snake side are early in the run (which encourages the runner--or ought to.) With a separate Snake 1 there are two snake runs possible. Snake 2 is an order of risk higher but the run is simply and extension of the move to the TCK that feeds Snake 2. A Home shooter can shoot his/her primary lane and immediately shift to a wide second lane in the Snake 1/Snake 2 gap but the greater risk is a laner somewhere in the DZ behind the nearest TCK (orange shooter and lanes on the layout) who can lane inside the feed TCK, Snake 1 and the corner. The combination of shooters should, undisrupted, be reasonably effective (assuming they know which end of the gun the paint comes out of.) But that's only half the play.

On the upper portion of the layout the gray denoted DZ (dead zones) where the Home shooter is blocked. These areas allow players to ignore the Home shooter. The Blue spot and lanes shows how to support a snake runner by offering suppressing fire aimed at either the Home shooter or the TCK. And the larger secondary DZ offers a wide variety of guns up zone shooting opportunities to complicate the effort to shoot a snake runner OTB. Playing either zone as a moving gun can also be a very effective way of responding to teams that reveal patterns or habitual actions.
Cross field shooting lane options exist but are unlikely to be effective. Of course, other movement combinations for making the move into the snake also exist but the key is to mix it up while suppressing any laners.

Word of warning--even with the obstructed and limited shooting lanes this is a very potent snake capable of dominating this field. Figure out how to contain it or better yet figure out how to exploit it and nothing else will matter much. This is a power field that will reward teams with superior athletic ability and/or paintball skills.

Turning to design I included the basic D-side lanes--both of which are excellent and complicate the initial breakout--but also include the mitigating factor of forcing the shooter to pick. This is a good design characteristic because even with two excellent lanes the necessity of picking one (very few shooters are capable of shooting both with effect) negates the other. As is the choice of a Can for the Home bunker as it presents greater risk when doubled and is easier to pinch from angles. It can be played effectively but isn't a fortress that encourages keeping a player back center indefinitely.
Looking at the bunkers surrounded in green tells us all we need to know about how the design was improved over Malaga. the 50 Dorito is now a dominating presence with a wide variety of shots that can still be actively contested. The corners are now Temples which creates a small but potentially important elevation disadvantage for the corner player and inhibits his/her ability to wrap (or even see much beyond the wire.) Further neutralizing the corner bunker the placement of the forty doritos expose an avenue of attack on the 50 dorito that is more effectively contained by the wider MT. The result is the upfield positions pose a much greater full field threat that matches the greater risk involved playing the position while other changes provide greater balance in shifting the nature of this field in favor of the aggressor where Malaga better suited defensive play.

Have a Little Pride

I don't know about y'all but I'm burned out on lame, frequently moronic anonymous paintball smack. First, it's just plain lousy 99% of the time. Second, nobody cares about the angst of an alienated 14 year old Goth puke who happens to play paintball--badly. Third, anonymous smack is not only weak, it's gutless, and suggests to me that too many baby ballers were breast fed a lot longer than is healthy. C'mon, kids, grow a pair. Pretend like you plan on growing up to be a man one day.
And while you're at it spend less time on the computer and more time playing paintball. And that doesn't mean shopping for more new jerseys and sitting in a safe zone polishing your latest must have new gun. Sack up and have a little pride.

Major League Paintball on Suicide Watch

The not so Grand Tour has now accounted for the stragglers and it looks like 32 teams in 4 divisions will compete this weekend in Mestre, the nearest mainland city to Venice. The 7 team pro bracket includes CPL teams Bullets and Syndicate. The GT also announced this past week the field layout will be the Millennium's Bitberg layout --which is consistent with past practice but left the competing teams virtually no time to prepare. I understand the logic of an MS tie-in from the GT's perspective but at the same time it pretty much relegates their tourney series to second tier status in fact and in the minds of potential customers.

PSP registration increased by 17 teams over last week to a total of 107 with the event still two months away. On its face it appears promising although there is a sharp distinction between xball and 5-man registrations. On the plus side if one includes the so far unregistered pro teams to the xball list the total is within 10 of last year's participation. Chicago has been traditionally--if you can use that term in relation to paintball--the PSP's second largest seasonal event but the bulk of those extra teams--above and beyond events like Phoenix and MAO--is made up of 5-man teams (Race 2-2) and without them the event will take a serious hit.

In the other Chicago event the NPPL has yet to post any information about registration other than it is open and available to teams who wish to participate. For those who want to play a guessing game with NPPL registration keep an eye on the venue and gun rules categories of the current Monday Poll as I suspect they may offer some direction. In other NPPL news the league is looking to drum up some affiliate league (event) interest as it touts the couple of great affiliate events prior to HB. On one hand this is typical public relations blather but I think there's another way to take it. While I didn't participate in either affiliate event prior to HB what I've heard suggests that my definition of "great" varies rather dramatically from the league's definition--as apparently does their definition of affiliate when compared to the PSP. Again, nothing wrong except there is a whiff of me-too-ism about it. As if the NPPL feels it needs to compete against the PSP at the PSP's game and that strikes me as a losing proposition particularly when even the average paintballer can see the difference. The NPPL has shown no indication it intends to restructure the way it puts on events so why the need to appear to be following the other guys? I don't get it.

Skipping back across the pond (while avoiding descending ash clouds) the MS is hoping to get back to business as normal--which means poor communications and poorer customer relations if the past is any indicator. The league is making noises about preparing a texting system to facilitate communications with the teams but there's a difference between having the means and actually following through. Was that unfair of me? Perhaps. Registrations for Bitberg in the open divisions stands at 10 total today.
While no official word has been posted on the MS site as to how the missed matches, etc. will be resolved in the closed divisions an unofficial official statement has appeared on at least one French website suggesting teams that were unable to attend have two optional courses of action. They may take forfeits in any scheduled match they missed in Malaga and play out the others in Bitberg or they can take an average score comprised of their other event results over the rest of the season. If that is in fact the intended MS solution then what happens when team A wants to play in Bitberg and team B (in the same original bracket) wants to take an average score? Will teams be reseeded and new brackets made up? How will that work when some teams have played some matches and others haven't?
In some respects the MS is getting off a second Malaga debacle easy. What if there had been no lightning or volcanic eruptions? There still would have been excessive wind, some rain and tides washing away beach from under the turf and all the teams would have been there and then whose fault would the resulting chaos have been?

The Monday Poll

Way to go, slackers! Excellent response to last week's poll. (Is that your apathy slipping?) Let's see if we can go triple digits two weeks in a row. And to do that we's sticking with a poll inspired, once again, by the NPPL. Think of it as part 2 of a continuing inquiry.

Last week I wanted to know which 5-man national format y'all preferred; PSP or NPPL. This time I'ma try to pin down the reasons why. In all likelihood more than one reason will apply but you will only be allowed to pick one which means you will have to prioritize--pick the one reason most important to you. There are eight options provided--some of which strike me as marginal but who knows? It's your opinion that matters in the Monday Poll. And just so you're clear I'm going to explain some of the options so there are (hopefully) no question about how they apply. The choices will be; Vibe, Venue, Entry, Officiating, Gun Rules, Coaching, Layouts & Format. Vibe reflects on the tournament as a whole. Venue is where the event(s) is held. Entry is the cost of competition. Officiating is officiating. D'oh! Gun Rules are "semi-auto" or capped ramping and/or enforcement of the rules. Coaching is the presence or absence of sideline coaching. Layouts are about field dimensions and types of bunkers in play. And Format is about traditional 5-man scoring versus Race 2-2.

Narrow it down, make your pick and then complain about the ones you wanted to choose in the comments and about how much better the poll would have been if you were allowed multiple choices.

Monday Poll in Review
No big surprises from last week's Monday Poll as the PSP version of 5-man dominated the NPPL variety 72% to 28%. Although it is intriguing that in actual numbers of people who paid to play so far this year we haven't seen anything like those percentages play out on the field. Maybe the poll should have included a generic category for PSP affiliate as well. Oh and that gives me an idea for next week's poll. It will be interesting to keep track of 5-man participation over the season and see how it ends up in real numbers and how it compares to our poll results considering the NPPL has already brought out their big gun with HB and the PSP is holding WC in reserve.

The Further Adventures of Small Ball

Or, the Rise or Demise of Joy Division?

You may recall after Phoenix I reported on a conversation I had about small ball and more specifically GI Milsim's future plans. At that time the North American focus looked to be aimed directly at the mil-sim market--which still seems to be the case.

But Euroland looks a bit different. A new French team Boost Air Rennes joined the SPL--bought their way in--were handed an open spot--whatever--sponsored by Paint Distribution, the French distributor of GI Milsim in order, one presumes, to give 50 cal paint and guns a boost. (Yes, I did that on purpose.) They appear to have played one match and I'm quite certain that short of a podium finish, SPL or not, nobody cares. (Although I suppose it's conceivable that French forums are full of Boost Air Rennes watchers--but I doubt it.)

Which is where Joy comes into play. (I am assuming the Nanos in question are of the small ball variety although I have yet to receive official confirmation. Far as I can tell GI Milsim do not produce a 68 cal version of the Nano.) It's a no-brainer that Joy has the profile to make their use of small ball and the Nano marker a story of interest regardless of results--and they have a history of being one of the CPL's top teams as well. That makes Dark Sports interest obvious and standard operating procedure for a new company intent on promoting its products. On the flip side this could be a make or break situation for tournament small ball. If Joy don't continue with their consistently high results won't small ball get the blame, deserved or undeserved?

Of greater interest (to me) is what it says about Joy (and Angel Paintball Sports) and sponsorship in the present environment. Over the years no team has shown greater brand and sponsor loyalty than Joy in their relationship with Angel but the present realities (at both Angel and Joy) are compelling changes. It's swell to say Joy will continue using Angels in non-MS events but the simple fact is the MS is Joy's showcase series and the majority of fans will only follow those results. And how does a team of Joy's rep and longevity start a season without a paint deal? And how is it Angel allowed things to come to this pass? Doesn't this mean that either they simply aren't able to support Joy the way they once did or that they couldn't justify making that level of commitment?

Tourney ball doesn't need anymore cautionary tales. What we need are some new success stories--which leaves me a little torn when it comes to the future of small ball in the competitive paintball arena.

UPDATE: Sems there's some contradictory info out there. For links and the latest check out the comments.

Off Topic Reffing (Sorta)

I used to be a huge basketball fan. Mostly pro hoops. Had season tickets for years when I lived in Phoenix and I still have a soft spot on my head for the Suns. And even then I had problems with the refs. But back in those days the game was more physical than it is today (not more athletic but more physical) and, as happens in paintball too, the refs favored the aggressor. Nowadays pro ball is too often star driven isolation offense and zone defense.And has, if possible, lousier officiating than ever. Case in point: Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. The NBA's star system extends to fouls called--can you say Micheal Jordan?--but Orlando's coach recently complained in print that not only did Howard not get any slack he routinely got called for all manner of ticky-tack fouls. I'm not a Magic fan but I've seen them play and Coach Van Gundy had a point. So what happened today? Fouls were called on Howard, early and often, as the refs made sure the Magic know who's in charge. That's why I don't watch much anymore. Even at the professional level with millions of dollars at stake the league seems less interested in consistent quality officiating than they are in covering up problems and selling their stars.

So what's the point? Only that no sport is immune from reffing issues but how you handle them is the measure of how seriously you take your sport. (And the NBA made the mistake of turning a team game into a showcase of stars a long time ago.) I was talking to a friend today after practice. He has been a PSP/NPPL ref for a few years but in some instances found it both political and hard to justify in terms of time off work, etc. In part I was sounding him out to see if he had any remaining interest in reffing major league paintball. (Besides being an old teammate he's also an excellent ref with the ideal temperament and personality for the job--and has never once cut me a break.)

That conversation and this post weren't just idle chat. I have an idea or two for improving the NPPL's reffing. (I'm not going to say it sucked, cause it didn't, but it needs to be better.) It needs to be better because it's one of the positive and proactive things the league (and owners) can do to prove they are a players league. I'll be passing my ideas along to Rich (Telford) and we'll see. I don't know if it's a realistic option or not--but it won't be hugely cost intensive. (And, hey, I've got a couple of ideas for the PSP too but the programs are in two different places.) Players don't need to be athletes or pros to appreciate and deserve the best officiating possible. I guess the real question is--in the current environment what really is possible.

Major League Paintball: The Affiliates

Aight, the PSP has done it again. Announcing today the MPL (Mexican Paintball League) as a new affiliate league. The association officially extends the Race 2 format south of the border. So when can we expect to see an affiliate in Canuckistan? And why the hell is the MSXL a supporting member and not an affiliate?

Chicago PSP registration is up to 72 Race 2-X and 25 Race 2-2 teams. The first deadline for payment is still 3 weeks away and the event is two months away. I'm interested in the affiliates on a couple of counts; I believe (and have advocated for a long time) that regional tourneys and a centralized championship is (was) the way to go. And because the greatest risk to the PSP is in the transition away from the old national model. So both the health of the affiliates and their immediate impact on the PSP are worth following.

The jury is still out on Phoenix. Was the decline the economy, the elevated entry fees in a category or two, or draw down from prior WCPPL & AZPPL events or some combination of them all? After checking the numbers at APPA it seems the Phoenix Race 2-2 entries are (were) generally consistent with Cup & Chicago '09. Also of some interest perhaps is the factoid that anytime Race 2-2 is available as a Sat-Sun or Fri-Sun option the longer Friday thru Sunday draws more teams (except WC 'o7). Probably not all that relevant as Phoenix '10 had both options and numbers were still down 40% over the two years prior.

With respect to each of the affiliates I'm not going to try and draw any conclusions just yet although a few factoids seem worthy of mention. The WCPPL appears to be going great guns with 85 teams registered (when I checked earlier in the week). Seems solid considering its only the second year for the league and first using the Race 2 format(s). Mike's league is also the only one offering pump right now. The AZPPL has 28 Race 2-2 teams registered for its next event and did over 20 in its first event. The Vicious Series is maxed out at 36 for their next event including 16 Race 2-4 teams. And the recent addition MSXL has 24 Race 2-4 teams signed for its next event. In the northeast the Hurricanes Tourney Series is just getting started as ther first event isn't until the end of May--but this is a completely new league launch. Down in Florida the CFPS looks to be down numbers-wise a bit over last year but the best turnouts last year were during the summer months so it will be interesting to see how this season trends. Which brings us to the CFOA which isn't drawing like the old days but has solid numbers in both Race 2-4 and Race 2-2. The CFOA is also committing to a broad offering of 3-man events presumably to help rebuild the competitive base in their region.

Overall, the numbers may look pretty good but it seems to me there's lots of potential for growth despite the hardship factors and it will be interesting to see how this season unfolds.

Hey Hey HEY!

Calling all Pro slackers. Here's a gentle reminder for all you lazy good for nothing pro players if you want to see your Pro*file posted here at VFTD. I don't want to hear about school, job, girlfriend, charity work or any of the rest of your hackneyed and lame excuses. The price of participation is you making a modest effort. For more info look here or drop me an email. (Or have your personal assistant do it for you.)

Over at one of my favorite watering holes somebody leaked a copy of a possible NPPL Chicago field design. It is one of two under consideration and it is a copy of the original that was scribbled on at an HB meeting called to discuss the various submissions. The scribbles are suggested changes (like moving the carwashes further toward the center of the field and switching the Dorito wire corner SDs for the nearby Temples.) An owners vote was supposed to decide which one would be the Chicago layout but apparently the drama continues. It is rumored that white smoke will rise from Eric Crandall's barbecue once a final field is actually chosen.

The MSXL, the PSP's newest (first) (only) supporting league [Why aren't these guys an affiliate and what's the difference? Enquiring minds] has taken a big step and they are offering an Open Division of play for players ranked pro down to D2. It will be interesting to see if this gets off the ground. So far it looks like a couple of "local" PSP D1 teams are on board. Could be an excellent opportunity for regional D1 and higher ranked players to consider putting new teams together as well as this provides them a place to compete without the expense and uncertainty of jumping into the national fray right away.

UPDATE: dropped by the Big Bullet (after checking out Steve's guest posts at T-Square) and it looked like a brand new site. Looks good. (The purple is gone.) and it's very easy to skim through all the different items quickly to get an overview of what's happening. Also, the right sidebar is dominated by links that go the extra mile and list a number of recent postings on the various sites represented--so if you want to make sure you haven't missed something at the Bullet you can skim all the new stuff at loads of other paintball sites. (And even better, it means you can officially leave Twitter to the teenaged girls--as well as those who might as well be teenaged girls. [You know who you are.] Twitter is not for real men. Call me backward, Neolithic even but if Twitter doesn't make you uncomfortable you probably ought to check your hormone levels, ladies.)

Major League Paintball on Suicide Watch

The MS is currently being sedated and fitted with restraints lest it harm itself once it realizes the full extent of the Malaga debacle. It's being reported that in a brief moment of lucidity during the night the league seemed confused about precisely what had happened. Doctors have counseled waiting until the league is stronger before revealing the truth. That may not be possible as the next event is barely a month away. Unlocked registration for Bitburg stands at 7 teams across 3 divisions. It is hoped that all the stranded teams and players get home in time to turn around and leave for Germany.
VFTD would also like to announce a special offer available only to Millennium teams--pristine waterfront development acreage along the southern Gulf coast of Florida at virtual give-away prices. Contact via email for details.

A sudden (last minute?) influx of teams swelled the ranks of participants for the not so Grand Tour's May 1-3 Venice event to 30 teams. Also announced at the last minute is a change of venue. It seems the original venue, a mainland park with a view across the lagoon of Venice, is overbooked or something so the event has been moved further inland to another Mestre city park. The GT will provide free shuttle service to the new venue. On a sad note nobody took me up on my offer to coach and provide a guided tour of Venice for the price of the plane ticket so it looks like I'll be stuck at home. That means I'll be enjoying a Soviet era May Day celebration with some of my tourney pals as we dress up in authentic uniforms and recreate the excitement of the times with our model tanks and missile launchers, drink vodka and goose step down main street.

In NPPL country registration has opened for the Chicago event scheduled to take place at CPX in Joliet over the Memorial Day weekend. No word yet on teams but registration is limited to a very truncated period of about 3 weeks. Given that Monday will be a national holiday the NPPL has altered the usual event schedule with play beginning on Saturday (instead of the usual Friday) and running thru Monday (instead of the usual Sunday.)
Will there be enough time to get a decent turnout? How 'bout a ginormous rec vs. tourney war on Friday before the event? I mean, we'll have all those Living Legend peeps showing up anyway. Maybe we can settle this once and for all. The world's largest game of Tap Out.
Will flying out of Chicago on a holiday be more expensive than normal?

The PSP has released a Chicago layout with a largely conventional snake (in a break with recent past practice.) Registration is open and there are currently 90 teams registered; 70 Race 2-X and 20 Race 2-2. Otherwise everything is fairly quiet at the moment. (I'll be doing a special affiliates update later in the week.)

Expanding on yesterday's Monday Poll the numbers are running about where I expected them to with PSP holding a 2:1 advantage. The one area I didn't mention was pricing. It was suggested to me on the weekend that perhaps price had something to do with the Phoenix PSP turnout. I wasn't sure so I took a look and sure enough this year's Phoenix was priced higher in some categories. (Then I recalled questioning the 5-man pricing last year as it seemed designed to either "encourage" teams to register for Fri-Sun or take advantage of those intent or only able to play on Sat-Sun. On the flip side the league could argue there are/were logistical reasons, etc. for the price differences.) Anyway, it seems possible price also had an impact on the Phoenix turnout and scheduling might have had an effect as well given that 5-man play was only Saturday and Sunday in Phoenix. (Curiously, the league has gotten more 5-man teams to sign up for Fri-Sun than Sat-Sun even though the shorter schedule would seem more convenient.)
For Chicago the prices are consistent and Race2-2 is only being offered on Sat-Sun. When the variables keep changing it's hard to know which ones have the most influence. Perhaps the PSP ought to include a brief survey for team captains at registration in order to get some feedback? Just a thought.
As interesting as all that might be in a direct comparison PSP 5-man is distinctly less expensive than the NPPL version, ranging anywhere from $100 - $400 dollars less depending on division and schedule. I smell another 5-man related poll coming next week.

The Monday Poll

Tomorrow in the MLP weekly update I'm gonna spend some time on a NPPL/PSP comparo and I want to get a head start with this week's Monday Poll. I'm going to keep it simple: All I want to know is which version of 5-man you'd rather play, NPPL 5-man or PSP Race 2-2. Keep in mind the differences in the field layouts, the gun rules, the scoring etc. You may even consider the venues in the case of the competing Chitown events coming up. Whatever your reason which one will you (or would you) spend your hard earned cash on?

Why 5-man? Because I think there's a fair chance it will be the 5-man competitors who are the deciding factor between profit and loss, failure and success, for both leagues. And the NPPL seems to be at a disadvantage in every category except venue--and perhaps timing, as it comes before Badlandz but leaves a smaller window for registration and payment.

Dear Millennium Series

Last year when God kicked your ass in Malaga it wasn't just another game. It was a message. Given that many of you Euro-types aren't on speaking terms with the Almighty I'd like to help. The message is (and was): Get the hell off my beach and stay off!

Okay, I can see how you might have misunderstood the weather but this time you got the weather and a volcano. A volcano! Really? Please, Millennium Series, take the hint. You are seriously inconveniencing a sizable chunk of the planet with your obstinacy. And I'm pretty sure the next message includes a plague of locusts.

Cut everybody some slack and get with the program.

PS--God ain't thrilled with you peeps blaming him for your intransigence. He also thinks you're treating some of the teams pretty shabbily. Just saying.

Notes on the Chitown PSP layout

I'm moving in a new-ish direction with general field analysis--as recent posts might have suggested. With PSP Chicago I want to point out a few features (or factors) that will come into play and should be kept in mind as you familiarize yourself with this layout. It is a good design on a couple of counts and, in my estimation, is lacking in a couple of others. Overall, it's an interesting design that offers quite a lot of variety in the ways it can be played. I'm not a big fan of design elements that tend to break momentum as the D-side does on this field but that's a quibble.

The red denotes positions and OTB lanes. Keep in mind the snake side cross field lanes are much higher risk than any of the others and can really only be used irregularly. (The alternative method for slowing your opponent down if you're consistently losing the D-side is to a) accelerate your snake attack (which may prove difficult) or b) play the X more frequently with the expectation of cutting down the opponent's d-side player(s) quickly (while forcing them to defend against the X which will also slow their attack in future points.)

Shifting attention to the purple boxes note the orientation of the Cake(s). It has two significant effects; One, it makes Snake 1 virtually unplayable and Two, it neutralizes the gap between snake 1 and snake 2 in such a way that the only positions that can contest a move into Snake 2 is down the wire or from the snake-side MT (and a standing player. Otherwise it should be possible to crawl around snake 1 at will--though the precision of the actual set-up could have an effect.

Moving on to the blue circle [Snake 2] the blue lines demonstrate the domination of the snake position over all the forward D-side spots. The result of this bottleneck (of sorts) is that the race for control is between the D50 and Snake 2. And in the larger context of the whole field I suspect many teams will tend to play this layout defensively or as a counter-punching field. (By counter-punch I mean the willingness to give up some spots because it's more advantageous to be the second one there. For example, always bunker out the D50 instead of seeking to get to it first. One of the reasons for choosing that option is the D50 is a better holding point than it is an attacking position.)

Lastly let's look at the snake corner (circled in green.) There's two things I like about this bunker. One, it's an excellent launch point to enter the snake, two, the wrap dominates potentially key spots on the opponent's side of the field and three, it's susceptible to the cross field 50 if the player isn't careful. All positions on the field should have a balance of risk and reward.

Okay, that was a very quick rundown. If some aspect isn't clear or you have a related (or separate) question don't hesitate to post them in comments.

Enlistment for the Week

This week's recruit is Hugo Santos. Greetings, Hugo, and welcome to the Deadbox Puppet Army. As for the rest of you slackers--wassup? Where else can you be a crucial cog in a scheme for world paintball domination? (Uh, nowhere is the correct answer. Nowhere else can you be a crucial cog in the scheme for world paintball domination.) Cut loose.

Paintball is a Beach

Today's word, boys & girls, is karma. Can you say, karma? I knew you could. The question is; Whose karma is it that sucks this bad? I'm not sure but there's lots of candidates. At a minimum it would appear that Spain is just not all that hospitable.

Last year a combo of rough weather and the goofy inflatable fields wreaked a bit of havoc on the Millennium's Malaga event. This year some more high winds and unpredictable weather have again conspired to threaten the event and if that wasn't enough a volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded planes all over the UK and Scandinavia leaving who knows how many players and teams scrambling.

Will the league have to reschedule massive chunks of their schedule? Will teams arrive late to discover they've forfeited a match? Will the sea swallow up a field or two? And what about Mary? The drama continues all weekend long. It seems the MS has made an effort to reschedule and will attempt to accommodate all late arrivals. The league is also offering additional assurances that field crews will be working hard to make sure the fields are playable first thing tomorrow.

UPDATE: Apparently the MS was overly optimistic about getting all the fields up and ready as play began today with 2 fields. There was some talk earlier about cancelling but matches have gone forward. Also talk of carrying matches and results over as happened last year. A large number of teams unable to get there at all and no difinitve word from the league how the event will proceed or be resolved.

The Prize Conundrum

There was a rather modest (in numbers) yet boisterous resistance from the online community when the PSP modified their prize packages prior to the start of the 2010 season. Mostly from the affected lower division teams (players) who were seeing their possible winnings reduced or removed altogether. In hindsight it's perhaps worth reconsidering. Did the change in prizes offered affect the turnout? Most of the "lost" numbers--in the Race 2-X categories--compared to last year came from the lower divisions so it's not an unreasonable question.
I've also heard a disgusted mutter or two over the D1 prizes at the recent NPPL HB event--largely for the same reason; there wasn't enough of it. The deficient prizes (according to some) the result of two completely different approaches to the subject.

Btw, I'm going to avoid standing with one approach over the other as I have, at different times in the past, argued in favor of both approaches and find merit in both--for obviously different reasons. Consequently I don't have a dog in this hunt but it's a topic worthy of some time and consideration.

The PSP has decided that mediocre play shouldn't be rewarded and that prize money should instead go to motivating teams to improve, challenge themselves and advance if they want to win prize money. (For the record the PSP doesn't claim lower division play is mediocre play--that would be me--and that's not intended to be pejorative, just descriptive because I don't grade on a curve and my standard of excellence is ridiculously high.) In essence the PSP is saying that your entry entitles you to compete and if the league chooses to award prizes it's a bonus, not a given. [That's my take anyway. If an accredited rep of the league would like to offer a clarification we's all ears and I'll include it in the post.]

The NPPL 3.0 discovered last year that simply offering set prize purses didn't bring in "extra" teams for the most well-rewarded divisions (and while even higher prizes might have the league couldn't afford the ones on offer given the number of competing teams.) Teams that "know" or believe they can't compete at a certain level or against certain teams are almost always correct and when they don't think there's a chance to win the big prize they settle for the next available option. This year they modified the prize structure to reflect the number of teams participating in a given division and to encourage more upper division participation have graduated the percentage of entry fees returned as prizes so that the higher the division of play the greater the percentage returned. The result in HB was a much smaller payout in D1 compared to last season because the teams just weren't there.

Has the PSP gone too far? Will the lesser numbers of upper division teams in the NPPL see further erosion as the season goes on. What should be the purpose of the prize packages? Is it a participation bonus or should it be merit based? Can it be both?