On May 28th, the second of our Year 2000 series tournaments,
our Road to Arruba 3 man speedball series begins around 10:00 am. The weather cooperated
with us-- this time. Perhaps, this is the one big variable that makes or breaks a
tournament, however it is well out of our control. At last, The field was ready to welcome
the 10 teams that are going to participate in today's event.
Around 8:00 the first of the teams arrive. From the First Knights to the Yahoo Boys,
the teams were getting set in the parking lot. Some of the young guns were nervous after
seeing the Cockers, Angels, and other high-end guns. A thought crosses my mind, how could
we make the event more far for them? Perhaps a young guns tourney? Yeah, that is it! But
for today, we will just make sure they have fun, because after all, that is what it is
about. You don't play paintball because it is like a job. You don't play paintball because
your parents make you. You play for the adrenaline rush, you play for the love of the
sport. The time quickly approaches 10:00am, and it's time to start the event, but does it
really start there?
Months ago, the dates were arbitrarily picked out of the calendar, with the hopes that
the weather was going to be in our favor. As it turns out, we are 1 for 2. Our first
tournament on April 9th was a disaster! It was cold, windy, and snowing. We
addressed the captains of the teams, and asked if they wanted to try and play. The answer
was yes!
We finished first round and had to stop shortly after that due to the weather which
subsequently broke a pole. The tournament had to be rescheduled that minute due to our
countless birthday parties, bachelor parties, and other events such as the Zap Amateur
Open already filling our calendars. Next Sunday was no good. How about the Sunday after
that? Easter? Would people really want to play on Easter, the answer was a surprising yes.
One disaster adverted.
After the dates were set, the hardest part was about to begin. We would have to
advertise to get the word out, but where? We decided to try the magazines, we ran ads in
Paintball 2Xtremes and Paintball Sports. The response we received from New York, New
Jersey, and Massachusetts was great, but what about Connecticut? How come Connecticut
players were not responding? It is a fact that most Connecticut teams play outside of
Connecticut. Our store team, The Wyld Kards do, Connecticut Mayhem, Backlash, Flash Over,
and Fire Storm all do.
Besides the fact, there aren't many paintball teams in Connecticut as there are in
California, New York, etc. We had to convince a new generation of paintball players that
the tournaments were not going to be "cheating amateur teams that like to light
players up with their Angels". The perception by most non-tournament experienced
players is that the tournaments are either too competitive, too much cheating, or are too
expensive. In fact, we had to tell them that they could just throw together a bunch of
guys to come down and just play because most did not have 'teams'. After reassuring them
it would be fun, they started signing up.
As we approach the May 28th event date, certain things had to be completed.
The field was redone from the last tournament to allow for a better game flow. Schedules
were being re-worked as a majority of the teams registered after the deadline. Refs had to
be lined up for the day. Gas and paintballs had to be ordered and delivered to the field.
Prize packages had to be decided on. And then finally we get to the morning of the
tournament.
Most of the crew awoke around 5 in the morning to complete final preparation to the
field. The music had to be set up. A problem with the nets had to be fixed. Tanks and
paint must be carried out to be sold. Final walkthroughs for all those involved was
finally completed by about 9:30. At that time, the captains' meeting was set to start. A
quick walkthrough with the head refs to ensure everyone understands the rules and to just
reinforce the idea that this is going to be a fun day.
Finally, the calls for paint and air rang out. Team schedules were passed out. The
first game was set to begin in five minutes. After we finish the Road to Aruba tournament,
there is not much time before the next, where this process begins all over again.
Hopefully when you go to a tournament or big game in the future, you'll appreciate the
behind-the-scenes efforts that go on, and more importantly you'll enjoy the event!
The Preliminaries and Semi-Finals went by quickly, without any problems. The younger
players got the taste of their first tournament, and did surprisingly well! Despite their
gun troubles (most had trouble with the chrono limit of 250 fps) all of the 'young guns'
teams did a great job. Most were eliminated from the finals early on, but they stuck
around and watched the rest of the games, knowing that someday, in the very near future,
they will be there.
When the first two rounds were done, four teams emerged victorious and ready to enter
the finals. They were High Velocity (NY), First Knights, Juvenile, and Requiem.
It was a tough battle for the winner, but eventually High Velocity had come out the
winners, and would be sent on to the regional site to battle for a chance to play in
Aruba.
