As I sit here nursing a swollen lip caused by a careless teammate (thanks again old buddy!)
I have been reflecting upon tonights activities and I have concluded the following:
+ all in all, the event was fairly well thought out and well executed.
- the issue of bringing additional or extra players (more than 12) was somewhat disappointing, I personally would have brought and paid for my team mates to participate.
+ the facility was very nice, although a bit cramped for a group of this size, but still very nice, especially with the (re)movable barriers.
- sadly, in my opinion, there were not enough refs, I would suggest based on my small, limited experience with paintball that they should have 1 ref per 3 players...12 players = 4 refs.
+ referees were very swift with game preparation and very fair.
- there were some issues with safety which I must address, the first being that the 'safe room' had no door, and had a window facing the engagement area, I would suggest a separate area with a larger floor space and a closed door to prevent eye or other injuries
- - second I observed a number of players in violation of the eye protection rules, that is to say that they were outside of the safe-zone without eye protection, during a live-fire event. I observed on of my team mates do this personally and i WILL address the matter with him repeatedly, I think that young men act frequently based on enthusiasm when they should act upon reason after thinking their actions through first, so I will make certain to keep him motivated, but remind him that he needs to have two eyes when he wrestles with crazy people.
- I also observed one young man carrying a rigid plastic knife with chrome paint and a sharp point which I consider to be a bit risky due to the inherent danger of a thrust glancing off of the cheek-bone and sliding right under goggles and causing a severe eye injury. for this reason, I did not use the plastic training-knife which I had as I deemed it unsafe even though it has a round, blunt tip, it just seemed too risky to use while we were running around in the maze. In fairness the young man in question did not use his knife that I saw, but it did raise concern in my mind none the less, because other young people may not have had as good of judgment as he did and might have caused an accidental and needless injury.
- I would suggest additionally that anyone performing the function of referee should not be armed or dressed as if they are a viable target, and when walking should remain as close to the walls as possible to avoid accidental shooting incidents or obstructing a shooters line of sight to a valid target.
- I would suggest that anyone who is performing duties as a referee should refrain from participating in the live-fire exercise so that they can better concentrate on performing their primary function more important than enforcing fair play, which is enforcing safe play such as making certain all players guns are chronographed and making certain that all players have eye/face protection in place. I would recommend that all guns are fitted with a dated sticker or tag denoting the fps speed at which they register and the time and date when the check was performed.
++++ while i did observe a few players fail to call-out when hit, I believe that they were not acting out of poor sportsmanship, and I am certain that they were in fact simply being young, enthusiastic youth. Despite the fact that some may have accused them of cheating, and rightfully so, the referees took swift and I believe fair action to resolve the issue, even though the offending players were members same team as the referee. I would like to recognize Mopedman for this as I believe that candor and good sportsmanship are absolutely indispensable and he exemplified both qualities with his handling of the situation. and turned a potentially negative situation into a positive example in sportsmanship. ;D
my one final concern is regarding storage of sensitive and possible expensive or dangerous property during a game. I would like to recommend that if it is possible (I may be able to help with this) lockers would be a welcome if not necessary addition to provide a safe and secure place to put sensitive items during the game so that they are safe from handling or unintentional damage or loss. Players could bring their own combination/pad locks which would be removed at the conclusion of the evening (or cut off and discarded if left) but would allow for players to secure important items such as wallets, cell phones, etc safely rather than leaving them loose in the safe-zones or outside in their automobile which invites trouble from passers-by. please contact me if you are interested in pursuing this idea as I may be able to be of assistance in procuring a small set of wall lockers.
++ All in all, I found both youth and adults to be very enjoyable company and I would recommend participation in this or similar events to my colleagues/ teammates. ;D
In closing, Hunter and Mopedman, I thank you both for an outstanding evening! ;D
p.s. Due to my schedule I do not know if I would be able to participate in future events, but if I am able, I would be happy to volunteer to assist you with planning of such events as well as reffing in a pinch if you need another set of eyes to help out.