ProPaintball.com Reports Return of NPPL Team Arsenal Kidz

One of the NPPL’s highlight Divisional teams is returning to the series. Arsenal Kidz is a team based of players from the U.S. Northeast. We are told that a few old school ‘Kidz will be filling out the roster.

Fans will recall the success of the Arsenal Kidz in the NPPL. Taking home consistent 1st place finishes and dominating Divisional play in the NPPL, the return of the team will no doubt breathe new life into the restructuring Arsenal franchise. Arsenal Kidz were one of few outstanding teams from the Northeast to bring national interest to the region. At the time- it seemed there was no stopping the Arsenal Kidz, but with a variety of Arsenal franchise teams at the time, the Kidz would eventually dissolve.

As we reported earlier Today, Tom Fore, Owner of the Arsenal franchise, will indeed be involved with the development of the team. It is reported to be the farm team we mentioned earlier. Rick Carver (from OXCC) is said to be making strides with team management and that the team will be based out of Outdoor Xtreme Chesapeake City (OXCC) Paintball Park of Chesapeake City, Maryland.

Discussion Board: NPPL 2012 New Rules and Regulations

We want to hear from YOU on the latest changes in the NPPL.

In a recent newsletter on behalf of the NPPL it is revealed that new rules and regulations will be set in place for 2012.

The most important change coming to the NPPL in 2012 seems to include a required ROF-fi technology (produced by Virtue Paintball LLC.) to be attached to all electronic paintball markers used in the NPPL (NPPL ROF Document). This technology is said to track player rate of fire statistics using Wifi (RF signals) which report data to a virtual NPPL “hub” (NPPA Ranking system) among other variants.

“The network effects of automatically “sharing” some of your key stats with thousands of Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc. can not be overlooked. With Rof-fi statistics, paintball has a chance to not  only legitimize itself as a serious, high tech sport, but to leverage the network-effects of social media to increase awareness and interest in the sport of paintball.” (More information on the ROF-fi system).- Virtue Paintball LLC

This all sounds well and good on paper but we must ask what is the responsibility of a “piggy-back” chip technology produced by Virtue in line with NPPL regulations and marketing principles?

Additional questions arise-

Will the NPPL produce media and marketing campaigns beyond social networking based on this information? It is almost assured. Clearly, social media is a valuable means to an end but there is no explanation on how players, advertising or provided sponsorship will directly benefit or be affected. How will the NPPL use such information past this idealist future? This isn’t the first time such a system has been suggested or the description of a utopian paintball world pitched by a private company or Major League Paintball.

How does one improve a faulty system of authority by automating results they themselves did not create? Should the NPPL do so?

Case by case, most players would agree that the basis for this decision, unregulated rate of fire, is not the root cause of the issue: a league which has understandably lost participants due to poor reffing and bad calls is the problem. Rather it is suggested the required use of this product is the extension of a surface context, a mismanagement of the rules and a clear avoidance of fair and proper policy made in part by the NPPL.

Why require anything at all? The argument is cicular in this case.

The regulation change does not go to address the actions of players but instead requires the collective into justifying a product placement. With such a valuable asset as automated and processed analytical information, where is the transparency provided for fans, players and teams? What assurances can be made? Will players be rewarded for producing and providing this information as participants under the NPPL/NPPA—and if not, what incentive is provided to play by the rules and use this technology? Is there any at all?

Are there any protections given towards the players for using this technology? What about their personal information? There are none listed or cited.

Despite misgivings, the technology is sound and stands to benefit major attraction for end users. That isn’t the issue- nor is the thought of a required purchase. There is a clear disconnect that somehow using technology will improve performance in officiating results on behalf of the NPPL regulatory staff and that by requiring such integration, everyone will benefit. Based on the working history of the league- we must disagree.

We want to know what you think.

Comment and share your thoughts with us- we would like to hear from YOU on this issue.

The battle between the NPPL and PSP seems to be heating up. Earlier today we learned that Tony Mineo, former NXL commissioner and PSP field supervisor, has joined the NPPL. This move follows the recent rumor that NPPL Commissioner Tom Cole had quit to pursue other opportunities. In addition to running the UWL, Cole is said to be joining the PSP to help manage the affiliate leagues.

Tony Mineo, pro paintball commissioner, walking with his family. Photo via Warpig.com

View for the Deadbox has more on the Tony Mineo rumors. Interestingly enough, it appears that the NPPL has been listening to our complaints all along. According to the VFTD article, the NPPL laid down some serious money to bring Tony and several of of the PSP referees across with him.

This move, timing aside, was originally considered as a way to resolve reffing problems in the NPPL given that the general consensus has been for some time that the PSP’s pro refs (and staff) were the best in the business. Cole’s move may have precipitated the NPPL’s push to make this happen right now but it isn’t or wasn’t a new idea. It is rumored that the NPPL has not only offered Mineo a pile of cheese but also an ownership stake (better get that in writing, Tony) and autonomy in organizing and overseeing the officiating of NPPL events. It is rumored but unsubstantiated that part of the deal was to pull as many of the PSP trained refs over as possible.

[...]

The existence of two major leagues has been a sharp debate in recent years and whatever else anyone thought of either league they offered, between them, more options for the players. Those days are ending–at least with regards to these two particular leagues. Intended or not this move by the NPPL is a declaration of war and it won’t be over until one or both of the current major leagues is finished. It would behoove the players and teams to think long and hard about what they want and what they hope for in a major league paintball future and decide accordingly. Except of course the paintball half life of too many making such decisions is so short they won’t (and don’t) know what is potentially at stake. As VFTD as been saying for some time it is the industry that will have to choose–and it is no longer a choice they can put off. Choose wisely.

Read the rest of article at View for the Deadbox.

Is this the begining of a new major league war?

As we reported last week- EXPLICIT would be adding new faces to their roster. Tyler Harmon, Neil Eberle, and Ryan Podesta are reported to be joining the team for 2012!

The news first came in this afternoon care of San Francisco EXPLICIT team owner Rob Montiero about their addition of Tyler Dean Harmon. Rob had also posted on ProPaintball.com Discussion Board, PbNation and Facebook about the new pick up. This news was then followed by the confirmation of Pro player Ryan Podesta joining the team.

Last week, ProPaintball spoke with Rob about the Explicit pro team’s outlook for the 2012 season and while he wouldn’t specifically name any Pro roster players, we had a feeling Rob wasn’t just pulling our leg. Tyler Harmon and Ryan Podesta will make an invaluable addition to the team.

Pro Paintball photographer Phillip “Stretch” Baker was on location at the 2011 NPPL Las Vegas Paintball Championships. Check out these killer paintball photos from Friday at NPPL Las Vegas.

In case you missed it, check out part 1 of Phillip’s awesome Vegas photos. Part 2 is available here.

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Pro Paintball photographer Phillip “Stretch” Baker was on location at the 2011 NPPL Las Vegas Paintball Championships. Check out these killer paintball photos from Saturday at NPPL Las Vegas. Stay tuned for part 3 to be released tomorrow.

In case you missed it, check out part 1 of Phillip’s awesome Vegas photos.

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After the collapse of the merger talks, Pro Paintball insiders were taking bets as to what the future had in store for the NPPL. Some insiders predicted the league would stick to the traditional 7-man format, and a few others mentioned adopting Race-To. What no one expected however was the NPPL adopting a basket of formats including 5-man, 7-man, Race-To, Millennium and 7-man styles of game play.

Don’t believe us? Read below for the official NPPL press release:

The NPPL is proud to give 2012 tournament teams a choice by offering both the Traditional 7 man Capture the Flag format and the Millennium Series format which includes Race to 5, Race to 4 and Race to 2. The following 8 divisions will be offered by NPPL for the 2012 season.

The NPPL Professional and Semi Pro 7 Man Divisions:

Professional – 7 man race to 5 Format.

Semi Pro/ D1 – 7 man race to 4 Format.    

The NPPL 7 Man Divisions:                                               

D2 – 7 man Capture Flag Traditional

D3 – 7 man Capture Flag Traditional
D4 – 7 man Capture Flag Traditional                           

NPPL race to 5-Man Divisions:

D2 – 5 man race to 4 (Millennium)

D3 – 5 man race to 4 (Millennium)

D4 – 5 man race to 2 (Millennium)

 

The only changes to the Millennium format rules will be no coaching or ramping. Instead the Rate of Fire (ROF) will be Semi Automatic 15 Balls Per Second (BPS)

What do you think about the additional formats? Will this be good for the league? Are you interested in play the NPPL again? 

In light of the failed pro paintball league merger negotiations, the NPPL is preparing to move forward with the 2012 paintball season. Here is the official 2012 NPPL Pro Paintball Schedule:

Huntington Beach Surf City USA Open beginning March 29th- April 1st, 2012

Chicago Open held at CPX Sports Park Joliet, IL May 18th- 20th

Vancouver Open Vancouver, Canada July 13th-15th

DC Challenge held at Pev’s Paintball Park Aldie, VA August 24th- 26th

Las Vegas World Paintball Championship Las Vegas, NV October 5th- 7th

Looks like we are back to 5 events and one of them is located in Vancouver Canada…Get your passports ready!

What do you guys think about the first Major North American Pro Paintball National level event since Skyball?

Here is the latest (and last?) update from the major paintball league merger discussions.

Dear Industry Members, Teams, Players and Supporters,

In June of this year, the PSP management and the NPPL management met in Las Vegas for a meeting to construct the framework for a merged or newly combined entity to host one paintball tournament event series for 2012 and beyond. Both the PSP and the NPPL supported by the majority of the industry felt that given the past erosion of our industry and the current economic uncertainty, that one league hosting a series of events would be the best thing for everyone involved. After additional meetings in New Jersey, Orlando and Las Vegas combined with countless phone conferences and email correspondence, we were unable to come to an agreement that satisfied both parties. Given the time that is left in the calendar year and the quickly approaching 2012 tournament season, we have exhausted the time to negotiate further.

The PSP & NPPL staff fully recognizes the benefits of a combined league for 2012 and with the most genuine of intentions, deployed all assets and made every effort to make one league a reality for the paintball community. We believe the PSP & NPPL organizations pursued the negotiations with the same intentions and shared our desire to be successful. The PSP & NPPL both recognize the termination of negotiations as a temporary setback but remain committed and optimistic to merging for one league in the future. We want to thank the staff of both the PSP & NPPL and sincerely appreciate the efforts they made to consummate a combined entity.

Regards,

The PSP & NPPL Management.

The 2011 paintball season has come to a close and the paintball community is taking stock and preparing for next year. Back in July we uncovered a secret meeting in Las Vegas, NV between the major US paintball leagues. The subject of that meeting was one that many paintball players and fans take seriously – a merger and unified format for paintball. Response to the pro paintball league merger rumors (and semi-official announcements) was overwhelmingly positive. Those in favor wanted to see both a unified format and a unified push to bring paintball into the mainstream. Many in the community commented that by combining the NPPL and the PSP, paintball would be in a strong position to grow the game. The NPPL would bring the marketing muscle and a wealth of outside industry contacts while the PSP would bring the dominant game format, event experience and player database. Dream come true, right?

The paintball community has been awaiting for an update to the news and rumors concerning the much rumored paintball league merger. During the 2011 PSP World Cup Webcast final match between Tampa Bay Damage and Russian Legion, Dave Youngblood mentioned that the merger was almost complete and to look forward to official announcements in the coming weeks. Two weeks later, the PSP and NPPL met again in Las Vegas, NV at the 2011 NPPL Championships and tried to seal the deal. Sources suggested this would be a “closing” meeting and the deal was “basically” done. Unfortunately we don’t have specifics on the meeting but we do know the meeting took a nasty turn.

ProPaintball insiders figured that the two parties would come to their senses after the season wound down and finish the deal. This however was wishful thinking.

According to very credible ProPaintball insiders, the Paintball League Merger is off the table – Update, an official release has been issued. Each league is said to be going its own way and continuing in a “business as usual” manner.

Is this a major win or an epic fail for paintball? Sound off in the comments below.

Pro paintball player Mike McCormick from San Diego Dynasty

Pro Paintball photographer Phillip “Stretch” Baker was on location last week at the 2011 NPPL Las Vegas Paintball Championships. Check out this killer preview gallery of photos from Friday at NPPL Las Vegas.

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