SOP for extreme rulebreakers on the Scenario/woodsball field.
Over the summer, The Spartans in conjunction with 24hourgames.com have come up with a SOP (standard operating procedure) for seasoned players when faced with extreme situations on the woodsball field. First I will go over why this is necessary, second, what the SOP is, and third how it helps scenario and woodsball games.
The average career of a paintballer is three years. They get in, they learn what they can, they decide on a direction to take their game and then after their 3rd or 4rth year they quit the sport or game. Some players think after playing for 2 years that they have seen it all and know all there is to know about paintball. This attitude closes a door to learning more, and being open to others viewpoints of the game. A level headed player should always be open to learning more. Also, by seasoned players leaving the sport, the new players are left with very few "voices of reason" as to team work, ethics, marker maintenance, tactics and game play.
So players start to develop a sense that they are masters in paintball. When these so called Masters are on the field, they develop another attitude that they recognize cheating and rulebreaking situations. So lets say they encounter a supposed rulebreaking or cheating situation on the field, and the situation isn't being dealt with by refs or the players themselves. Frustration starts to set it. Frustration from being taken advantage of, frustration from lack of support from refs, and frustration from their game being played by others that may or may not have the same standards. So once this happens, the seasoned player takes matters in their own hands and rectifies the situation on their own terms via overshooting, verbal abuse, and even worse physical altercations. This creates a breakdown in the game. Not only do you have newer players breaking rules, but also veteran players causing trouble as well. Thus enters the SOP for dealing with extreme rulebreakers.
Here is the SOP:
1. Get a physical description of the rulebreaker, those he is close to, and area seen in.
2. Remove yourself from the situation to cool off and calm your mind. If you can talk without raising your voice, your not ready to deal with the situation.
3. Report the violator to the refs and field staff and stage a meeting with the violator to find out what the full story is.
So lets go over why this is so effective. First, the SOP is for really bad situations and should be seen as a extinguisher to hot spots on the field. Refs need a description of the players involved in the situation so a description is the best thing you can give them. If you can get the number from the players id card without a altercation, thats would be the best. The second best would be, whats he wearing, his mask, gun, jersey, pants, height, weight, etc.
Secondly, if the situation is real bad and your in the middle of it, chances are more involvement from yourself will just cause trouble or verbal abuse. Take a breather,,if you don't want to leave the scene of the crime, at least step far aside where you can still view the environment but not effect it. If this isn't feasible, walk away further. Try as you can to have the situation dealt with in the area it happened.
Thirdly and most important, after confronting a ref or refs and field staff about the incident, ask to assist them in confronting the player about the situation. The reason being is because you can present to him your side of the situation, and, you can hear his side as well. It might be a learning situation for you too. This is where attitude affects things because perception is not always reality. Many time other variables are in play, and that person you thought was a wiper was actually being helped by a field medic. That person you thought was playing on, was actually receiving bounces from your paintballs. So really it's gong to be a learning experience for one of the parties involved.
This is a far better approach than to use your marker as a "spanker" or your tung as a sword. It also may help yourself stay level headed and add to the fun, than to create a storm.
Charles "Mothman" Cole
www.thescenarioplayer.com
The average career of a paintballer is three years. They get in, they learn what they can, they decide on a direction to take their game and then after their 3rd or 4rth year they quit the sport or game. Some players think after playing for 2 years that they have seen it all and know all there is to know about paintball. This attitude closes a door to learning more, and being open to others viewpoints of the game. A level headed player should always be open to learning more. Also, by seasoned players leaving the sport, the new players are left with very few "voices of reason" as to team work, ethics, marker maintenance, tactics and game play.
So players start to develop a sense that they are masters in paintball. When these so called Masters are on the field, they develop another attitude that they recognize cheating and rulebreaking situations. So lets say they encounter a supposed rulebreaking or cheating situation on the field, and the situation isn't being dealt with by refs or the players themselves. Frustration starts to set it. Frustration from being taken advantage of, frustration from lack of support from refs, and frustration from their game being played by others that may or may not have the same standards. So once this happens, the seasoned player takes matters in their own hands and rectifies the situation on their own terms via overshooting, verbal abuse, and even worse physical altercations. This creates a breakdown in the game. Not only do you have newer players breaking rules, but also veteran players causing trouble as well. Thus enters the SOP for dealing with extreme rulebreakers.
Here is the SOP:
1. Get a physical description of the rulebreaker, those he is close to, and area seen in.
2. Remove yourself from the situation to cool off and calm your mind. If you can talk without raising your voice, your not ready to deal with the situation.
3. Report the violator to the refs and field staff and stage a meeting with the violator to find out what the full story is.
So lets go over why this is so effective. First, the SOP is for really bad situations and should be seen as a extinguisher to hot spots on the field. Refs need a description of the players involved in the situation so a description is the best thing you can give them. If you can get the number from the players id card without a altercation, thats would be the best. The second best would be, whats he wearing, his mask, gun, jersey, pants, height, weight, etc.
Secondly, if the situation is real bad and your in the middle of it, chances are more involvement from yourself will just cause trouble or verbal abuse. Take a breather,,if you don't want to leave the scene of the crime, at least step far aside where you can still view the environment but not effect it. If this isn't feasible, walk away further. Try as you can to have the situation dealt with in the area it happened.
Thirdly and most important, after confronting a ref or refs and field staff about the incident, ask to assist them in confronting the player about the situation. The reason being is because you can present to him your side of the situation, and, you can hear his side as well. It might be a learning situation for you too. This is where attitude affects things because perception is not always reality. Many time other variables are in play, and that person you thought was a wiper was actually being helped by a field medic. That person you thought was playing on, was actually receiving bounces from your paintballs. So really it's gong to be a learning experience for one of the parties involved.
This is a far better approach than to use your marker as a "spanker" or your tung as a sword. It also may help yourself stay level headed and add to the fun, than to create a storm.
Charles "Mothman" Cole
www.thescenarioplayer.com
Total Comments 4
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This is one of the best pieces of reading material… I’ve read in a long time.. “Good Job !!!!!” With your permission I would love to copy and paste this on my team web site as a guideline for my newly formed 15 man team ……Thanks and keep up the great work….P.S. Please PM with your answer on posting on my web Site Thanks Your Friend “ Sarge of the”real” 501 Rangers
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A bit of confusion on my part - "If you can talk without raising your voice, your not ready to deal with the situation." I would think that if you can talk without raising your voice then you are ready to deal with the situation. Typo maybe?
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Very true Bond Chick. My sentence structure could use some work, but I think you got the idea.
BTW, I actually tried this SOP this weekend and it worked like a charm. A guy was confused about the other sides reinsert point location. He was claiming players were getting hit, walking back a few steps and reinserting back into the game. We got the description of the players, where they were at and found out they were doing right. The players respawn was right there. No cheatie, cheatie. |
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Situations like this is always for someone who is an "official", I've seen fistfights breakout over less!
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Recent Blog Entries by Mothman
- Why taking team and group photo's at paintball gatherings is so important. (11-20-2008)
- Scenario Downtime:Time to get your team in order (10-28-2008)
- What it takes to be a leader of a Scenario Paintball team (10-08-2008)
- AAR's: Evaluations for your team at scenario games. (09-24-2008)
- SOP for extreme rulebreakers on the Scenario/woodsball field. (09-17-2008)
