Comments

This page is for customers who have taken the time to write us, with comments or information we think should be shared.

I want to comment on the "rules" you deemed to use in the Tournament on Saturday, March 20, 2004. I find your practices thoroughly unethical. I find it disgusting that you have a team from Ultimate (even if they were renamed Mighty Newbies). I was a spectator at the game between Mighty Newbies and Deliverance and can tell you first hand that YOU WERE WRONG. The girl in question from the Newbies knew she was hit, when the casing was found on her side she turned around and proceeded to yell "We didn't get nothing" (A double negative for sure, however a tell tell sign that she KNEW she was hit and that they should not have won that round). YOUR referee then called a meeting and changed the decision, so guess what, you were the one who was wrong. I can guarantee you that everyone we know in the paintball community will be informed of the happenings of Saturday's event. If you have one ounce of humility you would not only apologize to Team Deliverance for your actions, but you would also refund their entry fee.

Thanks for taking the time to write us. We're sorry you didn't enjoy the tournament.

Ted and I started this field about two years ago with the goal of having a place where families could bring the kids to play without being embarrassed or insulted by other players OR the sport of paintball in general. We don't do a lot of tournaments, or have big prizes because we don't want to attract the hard core players (who tend to be more aggressive, etc) that would intimidate the less experienced /younger/church/family groups we want at our field. We don't put up with foul language and abusive behavior on or around the field; we emphasize SAFETY above all, as well as good sportsmanship and fair play.

We have our own team (Team Ultimate) who finished 3rd nationally last year in the PSP Rookie 5 Man Division. This year, they are competing in PSP's DIV 2 X-Ball. These boys, with Ted's coaching, have excelled in the sport while playing in many different tournaments. The boys know what it takes to be a good referee (they are qualified enough to have reffed at the PSP Mardi Gras tournament in February 2004) and know the frustration of receiving a bad (or biased) call.

27 teams played in our Newbie tournament on 3/20/2004. Many of the players there were REGULAR customers. Some players have practiced a LOT at our field; but, did not have tournament experience. I'm sure there were a few teams that were overqualified (i.e. had some tournament experience) but entered and played anyway (I've had a couple of complaints about that, too). NONE of the teams were sponsored by us, and as far as we could determine, none of the teams had tournament experience.

You did not indicate the paintball experience, or the tournament experience, that you or team "Deliverance" have (although, I would guess that you are related to the Deliverance team member of the same last name). The Naughty Newbies practiced ONCE together at our field, that's it; the Naughty Newbies team included

During the game between Deliverance and Naughty Newbies, John eliminated 4 of the Deliverance players in the first minute or so, before he himself was bunkered. The game concluded when Abby eliminated the last Deliverance player and hung the flag. When the ref (Abby's brother Dave on Team Ultimate) did the final paint check, Abby did indeed have paint on her pod pack and Dave proceeded to call her out (at this point, Abby made the "We didn't get nothing" comment you referred to). But the other refs (including the Head Ref) double checked it and confirmed that 1) there was NO shell on the pack, 2) there was MORE paint in one spot than could possibly come from 1 or 2 paintballs, 3) the paint was aligned vertically along a protruding seam on the right side of her pack.

As the refs reviewed the game AND inspected the last bunker Abby played from, it was evident that 1) the right side of her pack was never visible to Deliverance (because most of the team was eliminated early in the game) while she played out of the LEFT side of the bunker, and 2) there was a big "wipe" missing from the paint on the bunker that aligned with the pack when Abby would be tight against the bunker. Therefore, the Head Ref on the field called her clean and awarded the flag pull and hang to Naughty Newbies.

The presence of paint on a player doesn't always indicate a hit. There is always paint on and around the bunkers that can get on a player. It is the ref's DUTY to make the best call he can make. It is the Head Ref's right and responsibility to make a final judgement when ANY call is questioned (whether by a player, spectator, or another ref). It's not easy, sometimes refs make the wrong call, sometimes they even have to call two opposing players out because they can't determine who was shot first. BUT, in this case our refs made the right call. We had other spectators (who observed the game and ensuing commotion) who thought the refs made a good call, and commended them for taking the time to make the right call.

There are winners and losers in all competitive sports; but, Deliverance gave up their chance to be winners when they got mad and left. Their next game was a BYE (an automatic 85 points), and their final game was against team Chaos. If Deliverance had scored 60 points they would have made the cut-off of 8th going into the Semi-finals; 100 points would have made them 3rd!

Deliverance behaved poorly, wrongly accused the refs of bias, then quit the tournament. They cannot have a refund for quitting, and it is Deliverance that should make an apology.

Finally, I'll save you some time and post this letter on our web site. I think it's a valuable lesson for all the young players who come out to our field to know that

You and Deliverance are still welcome to come play at our fields, and we will try to help you have a good paintball experience. Thanks again for taking the time to write us.