Sponsorship

[Master_Blaster]

Quick question for you PB'lers.
Who are the serious Air Ball playing teams in New Zealand that have current sponsorship? What are these sponsorship? :cool:

[Snackman]

Dude. There are none. The closest you'll get to sponsorship here is a few guns and parts at cost or maybe a wholesale paint price at a local field. Nothing is free.

[Master_Blaster]

Dude! That is so sad! There's an incentive to gear up NZ Paintball! If you make it more prominent companies will sponsor teams.

[Snackman]

Well what we need is media coverage which we're not going to get because we don't have enough players to sustain a magazine or something similar.

By the way. If your in Auckland you should come out to the five man this weekend (Sunday the 25th.)

[Master_Blaster]

Hey Snacker! I should be in Aukland in Mid-August if all goes well!

Hopefully when I get there I can hustle myself a spot on a team ASAP.

[Big SY]

A few team have field sponsers.. cheaper paint .. field use..
The likes of Black ops have an empire deal.. thru field..
Saints have had on again of again deals with Wdp..
One team Raiderz had a clothing gun deal with Macdev.. nothing free ..
Evil had a deal thru Hells Pizza
Legion is sponsrd by Scalinis Pizza.. tournie after meal mmm etc
We have tried many but never huge amounts..

[Vijil]

Then let's put everything we can behind BBT. Pitch in and help out, don't just play. Make it a really professional looking tourney and the sport will gain a whole lot more publicity.

Publicity = sponsorship. TV coverage = sponsorship. People watching = sponsorship.

I for one will be pushing for a PA system so spectators know whos playing who and what's going on - so they have someone to cheer for.

[Snackman]

In other words, If your not playing, turn up with huge painted picket signs that say "LEGION PWNS HATERS!" and wave them around and yell "We love you Seth".

[Master_Blaster]

Dude! Vijil! You've got it taped! People need to think "What will a sponsor get out of it"
These oaks want exposure, exposure, exposure! The more fanfare and bling-bling you can offer the more likely companies will sponsor you.
The more visible you are the more players you get, the more companies will notice paintball, the more players you get. Round and round we go.

[Snackman]

Rob why don't you do the commentary?

[Vijil]

Not sure I know enough about the sport or commentating as I should (need to get hold of those ESPN games and see how they do it), but I do know how to set it up. And I guess I have read every paintball related article I could get my hands on...

Be happy to though. Part of the problem is that most of us would rather play than actually help out!

[ANTSMAN68]

"Not sure I know enough about the sport "

really?

[Vijil]

Maybe I do. gosh!

:)

[Big SY]

Seths paint collection =14 hehehe

Um one downer with loud speakers, PA.. public will then cheer from the side line..ppphppp

The idea has been put to the organizers.. pretty girls with paintball knowledge in the crowd..

[Krazy Mike]

pretty girls with paintball knowledge in the crowd..

Is such a thing possible?? :p I thought the 2 were mutually exclusive

[Vijil]

"public will then cheer from the side line"

yeah I was thinking about that last night.

How to commentate paintball:

"All players, 30 seconds"
"10 seconds, silence please"
**hooter**

Then wait til the point has been played out before making some comments about what just happened. Between games one could spiel about how safe the sport is and how it's growing really fast and some stats about the players and markers, however if the public want to yell and scream during games then the players should have to deal with it - it's the same for both teams (except those who've trained with no comms, heeheehee ;))

They do in every other spectator sport. I doubt the crowd would be yelling *that* loudly though most of the time. More just silence followed by the occasional oooh or aaah when someone pulls a big move like in tennis. The crowd would only really go nuts during a close tiebreaker or a tense 1v1.

[dannefaerd]

The issue you've got is that paintball is boring to watch unless you're actually involved in the sport. While having commentators who know what they are doing/talking about can help - it won't make the difference in terms of having a sellable product.

There are a host of things that can be done simply to assist in doing this kind of thing - but realistically we've got a whole host of things that need fixing first before we even try and get on TV/large crowds/etc.

Having viable events, with semi-decent turn out team wise - and a robust body to deal with the toy throwers (can you imagine if we'd had lots of spectators/TV/Sponsors at the Easter event? *shudder*) should be a priority.

Basically I suppose the message is lets get our own house in order first and then move forward.

[Vijil]

Good points all. Even still, isn't the fact that people are watching a good incentive to play nice in itself?

I still think a PA would be good though. I mean, it wouldn't be a *bad* thing.

[Master_Blaster]

Yip! Watching is very cool and a commentator is very cool too. It could be a bit of a disturbance to the players. I mean think about it you can hardly hear the guy on the other side of the field if all hell is raining in on your bunker.

But I get the idea.

As for a clean house! Dream on... It will never happen. There will always be problems. Murphy is on the management team of every event. Also players will never see the good, but lo and behold if things go wrong.

From a spectator perspective things are not that difficult. Remember that Joe Soap is interested only in seeing some guys shooting the crap out of each other and some dude busting some crazy run through or dive. They don't give a hoot whether the marshall made a bum call or some player is playing with a ramped up marker. I'm not saying it's right and it should be fixed.

You've gotta give them the vibe and the action. People remember experiences. If it was nice they will come again.

In my opinion the marketing before the event is extremely important and always neglected. If you can get the crowd there you're in. I bet you some kid is going to whine with his mom to either buy him a gun or to let him and his mates go and play a round at the local field. Hence the growth seed has been planted.

The return on investment is not obvious and not immediate. But it is there.
The BBT thing is an awesome idea and a good start.

[Krazy Mike]

Yip! Watching is very cool and a commentator is very cool too. It could be a bit of a disturbance to the players. I mean think about it you can hardly hear the guy on the other side of the field if all hell is raining in on your bunker.

But I get the idea.

Try X-ball when calling from the side is not only allowed but encouraged.


As for a clean house! Dream on... It will never happen. There will always be problems. Murphy is on the management team of every event. Also players will never see the good, but lo and behold if things go wrong.

Not so much a clean house, but an ordered house. you step out of line you know the results.

[Vijil]

Yeah, it's simple enough how others do it. Clean up that is. Have clear and enforceable rules as Mike says.

As for commentating, "wait til the point has been played out before making some comments about what just happened" - commentator noise during the point itself wouldn't be an issue. Xball is certainly best for spectators (and apparently players) in any case.

[Krazy Mike]

As for commentating, "wait til the point has been played out before making some comments about what just happened"

Commenting after the point just makes people feel stupid, like they should have known what was happening when it happened... kinda like explaining a joke. It's one of the quickest ways to lose an audience, no matter what the subject.

[Vijil]

Depends how you put it across I guess, and what you're talking about regarding the game. It doesn't lose audiences in BMX at any rate.

[Krazy Mike]

Depends how you put it across I guess, and what you're talking about regarding the game. It doesn't lose audiences in BMX at any rate.

yeah but BMX, has a main focal point...the leaders, Rugby/soccer/etc have the ball as the main focal point.
Paintball doesn't have a main focal point...infact the action can come from any one of 14 places, or even 14 of 14 places. A gun fight in the snake between 2 players can be ended by someone across the field moving forward 1 bunker and taging out the snake.

Our knowledge of paintball clouds how the non-paintballers understand/feel about the game.
It's the same in any sport, you can't understand why every doesn;t love it the same way you do.

Unfortunately most people will still think Paintball is running through the woods playing rambo, as this is how it is portrayed on TV and how they experience it.

[Vijil]

I realise that - and it's not so long at all since I was watching some games with absolutely no knowledge of the sport, so I have some idea what it's like.

I do know that I wished someone was commentating so that I knew what the hell was going on. There is so much depth to the sport that you just dont get otherwise.

Stating the obvious in paintball wont be as bad, for the simple reason that there is no focal point as you say. Commentators may see things the audience did not, and mentioning that will help people feel in the loop.

In the end though, the only way to know is to try it.

[dannefaerd]

Commentators can work - and in real time. Matt Marshall, Will Aryo and others have done fantastic jobs (both at X-Ball and 7-man) ... it's all about personality and how you do it.

The last thing you want is "and he's moved to the dorito." "That's another one gone" ... etc.