The worst features of the airsoft shooting organiser from the player's perspective
How to spot a bad airsoft game organiser?
Depending on what our local legal conditions are, organising a skirmish can be a more or less complicated undertaking. In Poland, it is enough to know one of the places where meetings are held and you need to announce yourself. That's a pretty low entry barrier. In other countries, however, more investment is needed. Sometimes you have to lease or buy land and organise a commercial arena on it. However, no matter what model is in use in the area, organisers can be victims of some bad features that will potentially reduce the value of the game.
In today's article, I wanted to present a few features that, in my opinion, are the worst in people organising airsoft games. I will be based on my own experience, so this list is definitely subjective. If you have any other suggestions, look for me on Instagram and let me know in a private message. Maybe we'll make a second version of this article with your suggestions. However, it is difficult for me to say which of the following phenomena is the worst, so let's assume that the list is open-ended without the first and last place. Certainly, the described features are fluid. Sometimes they bother us more and sometimes less. Other times they don't appear at all.
Poor time management and greed
The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word "skirmish failed" is poor time management. Do you know it? We meet at 9:00. At 9:15 the organiser arrives, starts chronoing people. Then, around 10:00 am, the briefing begins, suddenly it turns out that the next part of the players has just arrived. So, we wait again, we measure the power of their airsoft guns and around 11:30 the first round finally starts. Once I was at a skirmish that got delayed for a really long time because one of the players had a broken replica and we were waiting for a friend to bring him a spare one. Only at our suggestion to the organiser that it might be worth playing at least one round and the friend waiting for the airsoft gun will join later, the game began. Respecting time is important
On the other hand, good time discipline is something that defines a successful day for me at the very beginning. If in the information before the game we read that the briefing starts at 10:00 and I hear a whistle or a meeting call at that exact time, then I feel very good. And it's not that I'm old and get up early because I have nothing to do. If I have time to play until 12:00 or 1:00 because I have to take care of things at home, my time is very limited if the briefing extends from 10:00 to 11:00.
Fireside assemblies on winter games sometimes takes for ever!
Another thing is the benefits on the skirmish. This issue may look different depending on where you are shooting and what the legal conditions are. In Poland, most gamers were free for a long time. They operated as a social gathering of several people at some unofficial place. Over time, as events grew, so did the need for team marking tape. Other organisers decided to buy water to drink at the respawn point. And it's all understandable. However, if we do a fundraiser and the players only get packing tape in return to mark different teams. In addition, so little that it is barely enough to mark one hand, something is wrong. Especially when the game takes place in an abandoned building, where you don't pay for the use of land.
Of course, I'm not talking about big events like Mission Afghanistan or MARSH. There, the costs of participation are high, but we get a lot in return. The situation is just as different when the game is played to a high standard and we can count on benefits such as water or snacks. Renting the site is also a significant cost for the organiser. If that's the case, I have no problem paying more for the game.
The rules are for the chosen ones
Sometimes the organiser plays together with others. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Of course, depending on the scale of the event. I can't imagine that at a large game for several hundred people, the person responsible for the organisation would disappear somewhere in the game for several hours. But at regular Sunday meetings? Why not? When we are dealing with a situation where a skirmish is organised by a well-knit team only to put a band of rookies in the second team, it raises a red flag. This situation is a boost peoples’ ego. We set up the game so that a team made up of the organiser's colleagues dominates the field and wipes the floor with novice players. Some are having a great time; some are having a bad time. Maybe it's me again, but when I organise games, I try to keep the teams on an even level. When one team clearly dominates, I try to balance the game so that both sides have equal opportunities.
Speaking of the rules, it is worth mentioning another situation that often spoils the fun for players. Loose approach to the rules by the organiser is a signal for me to avoid his events in the future. When we agree on a certain power limit for replicas, but it turns out that it can be stretched, because someone I know has recently assembled a strong replica and wants to test it, it is worth to quickly end such a game and go home. Fortunately, such situations happen less and less often, and when they do, the organiser checks with other participants of the event if they have any problems with it.
How to be a good airsoft organiser?
As I mentioned earlier in the text about player misconduct from the organiser's perspective, not everyone is suitable to organise airsoft games. However, I believe that much of it can be learned. For starters, all you need to do is avoid the mistakes mentioned above. Another thing is independence. Often the organisers are people with a vision. The problem arises when our airsoft event grows and we need to convey this vision to other people involved in the organisation. Some people creating larger shooters or rallies may have a problem with this. If the organiser acts completely independently, at some point he will encounter the limit of his capabilities and this will also affect the game. Therefore, a good organiser is a person who can work as a team, is able to convey his vision to others and has no problem with delegating tasks. Finally, I wish you and myself that we meet only with such organisers!
Author: Boreq
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