Quit Yer Moaning and Start Soluting! Or Solving, If You Prefer The Grammatically Correct Version
Everyone (yes, that means you!) is complaining about cheaters these days. If you aren’t complaining about cheating and are instead doing the cheating then you can get the hell off this site and go read some idiocy on Small Talk about condom slogans or pick up lines.
Well, my friends (assuming those cheating bastards have left), it is time to do something about it! Heck, and not just cheating either! This about being heard. You are the customer, the athlete, the player, and you need to be heard.
I invite you to be heard. Start small - talk to local field owners about things you’d like to see in the future for the fields in your area. Then take an active role in it, whether that means volunteering your time to set up a better hyperball field or helping put together picnic tables near the staging area.
A lot of fields are short on refs, and if you’re willing to learn and take it seriously, then you should definitely give it a try. This is a good way to promote sportsmanship and fairness in a proactive manner. If you see someone cheating, make sure you get them out of the game, and then talk to them afterwards. Say something like “Hey, man, I saw you wipe that hit, can you make sure not to do that again?” Make sure they acknowledge you. It’s important that they know that it is absolutely not okay to cheat.
And if they cheat again, there’s no need to let them keep playing against honest ref-fearing folks like you and me. Talk to the field owner, and be sure you know exactly what the field policy is in a case like that.
Here is your chance. Start taking more of a part in the paintball community at large. Don’t accept the status quo, instead work for a better environment for everyone from professional players to rookies just renting their first guns.
August 9th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Dana,
I couldn’t agree with you more. There is nothing worse than going out for a day of fun and some tool shows up who is so wrapped up in winning everytime that he’ll do anything to achieve that goal. 95% of players are doing it for fun, not becuase there is money involved but because they enjoy the sport. We cannot allow poor sportsmanship to ruin what we love. I would like to make one addition to you comments, however. As a player it is your responsibility to set the good example. If you see the previousely mentioned “tool” cheating, don’t start yelling and screaming at him after the match. This behavior is no better than wipeing. Calmly approch the ref after the match and tell him what you saw. Ask him POLITELY to keep an eye on the guy. Then let it go! The refs are working thier butts off out there, don’t make thier job any harder than it already is. As far as changing things, Dana your spot on. We are the ones spending the money, playing the fields, and, in most cases, reffing. If you see something wrong FIX IT! Don’t just whine about it to the field owners. Offer to fix it, tell the owners if they buy the material, you will get a crew together to install it. If we do not make the effort to change things, they are not going to fix themselves. Get involved, fix the bad, and talk about it. Post pictures online of what you fixed. Share your experiences with the world. Soon everyone will get onboard and the things we all see that we hate will go away. It is our responsibility to make the world a better place. So stop bellyaching, put on your big boy pants, and take a stand!
August 10th, 2007 at 10:28 am
That is a very good point about being good examples ourselves, especially on the playing field.
August 10th, 2007 at 11:35 am
I personally almost never see cheating where I play, but I do see players who think they the greatest and everyone else is just a noob.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
[...] Here are some of the things that I’ve written in the past about cheating in paintball, and what you can do to help remedy the situation. [...]