any potential disaster , Steve and Laurent oversaw a number of trial events to try to determine if the new format does in fact reduce paint usage and uphold the character of our game . Thankfully , usage was significantly down with no discernible compromise being made to the competitive element .
It seems the old format sometimes created a war of attrition whereby the sheer volume of paint from both teams acted as an active deterrent to aggressive play , consequently racking up the paint bill as the game was stretched by a volume orientated standoff . The best way I can frame the comparison between the ‘ race to ’ format we ’ ve had as against the new format that ’ s proposed by Steve and Laurent is by likening the old format to playing draughts ( Checkers to you Yanks ) and the proposed limited paint format , to playing chess . The new format requires a more measured approach and as any chess player will know , the more thought-out your moves are , the greater your degree of control you have over your opponent . Of course , people can still adopt the ‘ wham-bam thankyou ma ’ am ’ style of play we ’ re used to in the ‘ race-to ’ format , but to do so would place too much emphasis on things going exactly to plan with very little room to maneuver should things go awry .
Another important introduction is a time limit on games which can only benefit this new format and so the prospect of a dwindling paint supply of a team coupled with the need to win the game and its associated temporal pressures will undoubtedly affect the flow and direction of many games under this new format . The allocation of paint prior to the game will now be inextricably linked to whatever tactical strategy you plan to adopt . You can set up your back players with the lion ’ s share of the paint leaving the middle and front guys to follow the plan with the back-guys suppressing the way for the front men , depending upon which way you ’ ve set up and whatever game plan you ’ ve adopted . The pro division starts out with a 15 minute limit with a mercy call being levied if either team reaches five points within the game time . After all , if you go five-zero down with thirty seconds to play , a mercy call is imposed and the torment is relieved . played with a reduced price-tag has to be good for our sport . The time-frame for seeing a greater inflow of players into tournaments due to a reduced cost will be measured in years I ’ m afraid , but at least it ’ s a positive first step in the right direction . It ’ s much better we settle for the right format now and allow market forces to influence the flow of players into our side of paintball , rather than maintain a format that we already know is injurious to our sport ’ s best interest . As an aside , field designs will be released one month prior to the event . There are of course consequences to this , one of which , it provides teams with an opportunity to practice the field designs at their local fields . This then has a knock-on effect of generating income for local fields which on the face of it seems a philanthropic consequence , but it makes sense to keep all aspects of tournament play turning over , and that includes local fields across Europe .
The top pro teams tend to be those who have the greater degree of industry support in the form of sponsorship , which means they can practice more on the fields before the event ; but there is always gonna be this inequality amongst teams so it ’ s nothing new . I really hope this new initiative works for many reasons , not least of which it breathes new possibilities into our sport and let ’ s face it guys , paintball needs tournament play . It is undoubtedly the more serious side of our sport and with no disrespect to the rec-scenario people , tournament paintball is the pinnacle of our sport and unless we provide the conditions that enable us to thrive , paintball would then be defined in terms of weekend Rambos , and our tournament scene is so much more than that .
Steve , Laurent and Richmond have now changed the tournament landscape in the hope of provoking more players being channelled through to tournament play and I for one believe it ’ s a step in the right direction . It remains to be seen if this change has the desired effect but I know this much , the old format would have sentenced our tournament scene to a protracted demise . Such cautionary insight is what ’ s needed , but at least these guys have done something in an attempt to put things right . Let ’ s hope providence lends a hand and we can get back to where we once were . • • •
The game time is scaled down as you move from the semi divisions through to the open divisions , such that the semi division gets a 10 minute time limit with a 4 point mercy call . And so on down to the open divisions whereby game times are 8 minutes with a two point mercy intervention . Those who really understand our game will be able to negotiate the challenges this new format presents , but it will come as a welcome change to people ’ s wallets and a style of play that possesses a greater reliance on tactical preparation . Will this new format achieve the aspirations of Steve , Laurent and Richmond in ultimately encouraging a greater flow of players into tournaments ? I think anything that enables our tournaments to be
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