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Predictive Scheduling: What accountants, bookkeepers & consultants need to know – Deputy + Xero
At Deputy and Xero, we are committed to helping our customers increase their awareness of trustworthy resources that can help them keep track of pending changes and ensure they're complying with any new mandates that could affect their businesses.
Restaurant and retail employees work in a world where schedules are predictably unpredictable. For Americans who work traditional nine-to-five jobs, the life of a worker with a constantly-changing shift schedule can be difficult to fathom. It's common for employees to report for work and then be sent home early because business is slow, or have their shifts canceled with short notice, leaving employees wondering how they might pay their bills.
This has sparked a new trend in the world of shift workers. Many states and cities have now adopted predictive scheduling laws. These laws are meant to protect the work-life balance and financial stability of employees through fair and advanced scheduling practices. To date, the movement toward predictability involves only a handful of states, but it's expected to expand to other areas in the future. Will your business be prepared?
Frequently Asked Questions on Predictive Scheduling
1. What is Predictive Scheduling?
2. What are the main sections of the new Fair Workweek Laws?
3. When & where are these laws in effect?
4. Who does this law effect?
5. Does the law apply to employers that are not based in New York City?
6. Are workers who are hired by other companies to perform work at a retail business or fast food establishment covered by the law?
7. Who is considered a fast food employee?
8. What are the rights of employees in the fast food industry?
9. Who is considered a retail employee?
10. What are the rights of employees in the retail industry?
11. Which fast food employers does the law cover?
12. What is a fast food establishment?
13. Which retail employers does the law cover?
14. If a retail employer's total number of employees varies—sometimes more than 20 workers and sometimes fewer—is the employer required to follow the law?
15. How does this impact employers?
16. What can employers do?
17. Are your clients compliant?
18. Who enforces the Fair Workweek Law?
19. What happens if an employer violates the law?
20. What types of fines could covered employers pay for violating the law?
21. How can fast food and retail stores manage these more complex regulations?
- Advance Scheduling and Schedule Change Premiums: This section requires fast food employers to provide a written Good Faith Estimate of the days, times, locations, and total number of hours that a fast food worker can expect to work each week; 14 days' (2 weeks') notice of work schedules to fast food workers; and schedule change premiums when schedules are changed with less than 14 days' notice.
- Minimum Time between Shifts: This section requires that a fast food worker consent in writing before being scheduled to work or working two (2) shifts over two (2) calendar days when the first shift ends a day and there are less than 11 hours between shifts. These shifts, known as "clopenings," usually involve both closing and opening the establishment. The fast food employer must pay the fast food worker a $100 premium for working a clopening shift. Importantly, an employer is not required to pay an employee the additional $100 if that employee voluntarily consents or requests in writing to work the "clopening" shift.
- Access to Hours: This section requires fast food employers to offer any new shifts to existing workers at the location where shifts are available, followed by existing workers from other worksites before advertising new shifts externally or hiring a new employee. If existing workers do not accept open shifts, employers may then advertise for new workers.
- On-Call Scheduling: This section bans retail employers from scheduling on-call shifts and requires retail businesses to provide 72 hours' (3 days') advance notice of work schedules to retail workers.
- Contributions to Nonprofits: This section provides fast food employees the ability to make voluntary contributions to a nonprofit organization through payroll deductions. The employer must receive a registration letter from the nonprofit and written authorization from the employee.
On November 26, 2017, New York City's Fair Workweek Law went into effect. Oregon, Seattle, San Francisco, Emeryville (California) and New York City are the only cities that have Fair Workweek legislation live.
Many more cities and states are working on legislation or considering bills such as: California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island. Each law has its own particulars, so it's important that employers study the rules of their state or city.
- The Fair Workweek Law covers:
- Fast food employees working in New York City (Advance Scheduling and Schedule Change Premiums; Minimum Time between Shifts; Access to Hours)
- All employees working in New York City at a covered retail business (On-Call Scheduling)
- The law covers workers regardless of immigration status
- Does the law apply to employers that are not based in New York City?
Yes. The law applies to all employers that fit the definition of a retail or fast food employer and that employ workers in New York City. The employer can be based outside of New York City. For example, a national fast food or retail chain's establishments in New York City will be covered if they otherwise meet the requirements.
- Does the new law apply to all retailers?
No. The law applies to "retail businesses" which are defined as entities with 20 or more employees engaged primarily in the sale of consumer goods at one or more stores within New York City.
- Are workers who are hired by other companies to perform work at a retail business or fast food establishment covered by the law?
Yes. Even if workers are hired by a subcontractor, temp firm, or another third party to work at a retail business or fast food establishment, they are covered by the law as long as they meet the definition of a retail or fast food employee.
Fast Food Employees
- Who is considered a fast food employee?
Fast food employees are workers at fast food establishments in New York City who perform at least one of the following functions:
- Customer service
- Cooking
- Food or drink preparation
- Off-site delivery
- Security
- Stocking supplies or equipment
- Cleaning
- Routine maintenance
- What are the rights of employees in the fast food industry?
- Good Faith Estimate of Schedule: On or before workers' first day of work, employers must provide written schedules for the first two weeks of work with hours, dates, start and end times of shifts and written "Good Faith Estimates." Employers must provide an updated estimate if the estimate changes.
- Advanced Notice of Work Schedules: Employers must give workers their written work schedule at least 14 days before their first shift in the schedule.
- Priority to Work Newly Available Shifts: Before hiring a new employee when new shifts become available, employers must advertise shifts to existing workers in New York City first by: 1) posting information at the worksite where the shifts have become available and by directly providing the information to workers electronically, which may include text or email; 2) giving priority to work open shifts to workers at the worksite where shifts are available; 3) giving shifts to interested workers from other worksites only when no or not enough workers from the worksite accept. Employers can only hire new workers if no current New York City workers accept the shifts by the posted deadline.
- Consent Plus $100 for "Clopening" Shifts: Employers cannot schedule workers to work two shifts over two days when the first shift ends a day and when there are less than 11 hours between shifts (a "clopening") UNLESS workers consent in writing AND are paid a $100 premium to work the shift.
Retail Employees
- Who is considered a retail employee?
All employees of a retail employer are covered regardless of position or job title. There is no exception for supervisors or managers.
Exception: The law does not apply to any retail employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement in which the rights under the law are expressly waived and employee scheduling is addressed.
- What are the rights of employees in the retail industry?
- 72 Hours' Advance Notice of Work Schedule: Employers must give workers their written work schedule at least 72 hours before the start of the schedule in the way the employer usually contacts workers, which may include text and email. They must post the schedule at the workplace where all workers can see it. This schedule must include dates, shift start and end times, and location(s) of all shifts in the work schedule. If the schedule is changed, employers must update and repost the schedule and contact all affected workers.
- No On-call Shifts: Employers cannot require workers to be ready and available to work at any time the employer demands, regardless of whether workers actually work or report to work; or to "check in" within 72 hours of a scheduled shift to find out if they should report for the shift.
- No Shift Additions with Less than 72 Hours' Notice: If employers want to add time or shifts to employee schedules less than 72 hours before the change, workers have the right to accept or decline the change. If workers accept an additional shift, they must do so in writing.
- No Shift Cancellations with Less than 72 Hours' Notice: Employers cannot cancel a shift less than 72 hours before the start of the shift except under the following circumstances: threats to worker safety or employer property, public utility failure, shutdown of public transportation, fire, flood, or other natural disasters, or a government-declared state of emergency. However, workers may trade shifts voluntarily.
*Employers in these industries should check to see if they fall within the "retail" and "fast food" definitions under the new laws*:
Which fast food employers does the law cover?
- Fast food employers are employers who hire fast food employees to work at fast food establishments.
What is a fast food establishment?
- A fast food establishment is a business that is part of a chain, primarily serves food and beverages, offers limited service, and is one of 30 or more such establishments nationally (including both corporately owned locations and franchises). Fast food establishments located within other types of establishments, such as food courts in a mall or airport, may also be covered by the law.
Which retail employers does the law cover?
- Retail employers employ retail workers at retail businesses. A retail business primarily sells consumer goods to the public at one or more stores in New York City and employs 20 or more workers in New York City.
If a retail employer's total number of employees varies—sometimes more than 20 workers and sometimes fewer—is the employer required to follow the law?
- If the number of employees working for an employer changes, the employer should use the average number of employees who worked per week during the previous calendar year to determine if it is a covered employer. Employees include part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers.
- Higher turnover rate
- Poor customer service quality
- Employees who are overworked or do not have a work/life balance will not provide valuable customer service
- Lose money
- Turnover is costly
- The cost to replace a $10 per hour employee = $3,328
- With these predictive scheduling laws, turnover is reduced and employee's schedules are more consistent
- Potential Lawsuits
- Employers continue to violate the FLSA – and, most of the time, they do it unknowingly
Read this blog for real-life examples of lawsuits and how Deputy is helping our customers solve for these issues.
- Employers continue to violate the FLSA – and, most of the time, they do it unknowingly
- Provide Good Faith Estimates —be able to create work schedules ahead of time (14 days in advance for fast food employees; three days in advance for retail employees)
- Maintain compliance records for three years
- Stop "clopenings" — employees must have 11 hours off between shifts.
- Eliminate "on-call" work, or minimum payment for on-call shifts
- Be able to submit availability & time-off requests
- Provide an itemized list of premiums or bonus payments on pay-stubs
- Display posters of these new regulations physically inside the business in English and any other primary language spoken by the workers (Download official notices here.)
Accountants | Bookkeepers | Consultants
The Fair Workweek Law presents significant burdens to the scheduling and recordkeeping requirements of fast food and retail employers.
Here are some ways you can keep your clients compliant:
- Documentation
- Clients in the fast food and retail industries must retain electronic records documenting their compliance with the requirements of the Fair Workweek Law.
- These records must be kept for up to three (3) years
- Fast food and retail employers must retain records that show:
Fast Food Retail Workers' hours worked each week Workers' hours worked each week Workers' shifts worked, including date, time, and location Workers' shifts worked, including date, time, and location Good faith estimates of work hours provided to workers Workers' written consent to schedule changes when required Workers' written consent to work clopenings and to schedule changes when required Each written schedule provided to workers Each written schedule provided to workers All premium payments to workers, including dates and amounts, and where noted (pay stub, other written form)
- Automate Time Tracking to Simplify Payroll
- Use automated timekeeping: using it is one of the easiest ways to minimize compliance risk for businesses
- Stay compliant: the Department of Labor mandates employers comply with FLSA guidelines
- Avoid wage and hour lawsuits
- A FLSA prosecution means you'll be paying back wages, penalties, and your own legal fees, as well as paying your employees' legal fees.
- Help your clients create better processes and save time and money
- Educate
- Pay attention: ignorance of the law can lead to major lawsuits
- Train and educate management about new notices and scheduling requirements
- Download the Littler Compliance Toolkit to get started with creating a compliance plan
Consequences of Violations
Violations of wage and hour laws are one of the largest risks employers face.
- The Office of Labor Policy & Standards (OLPS) within the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) enforces the Fair Workweek Law. Workers can contact OLPS to:
- File a complaint.
- Find out more about the Fair Workweek Law and other workplace laws.
- Get a referral for other resources to protect and enforce their rights under the Fair Workweek Law.
- Retail or fast food workers may be entitled to damages, additional payments, and other relief to remedy the harm done to them and any failure by an employer to comply with the law.
- Under the new laws, fast food employers must provide an estimate in writing that sets forth the number of hours that the employee will be working per week for the duration of their employment.
- If this work schedule changes, the employer must provide at least 14 days' notice. The law also specifies that employers must pay a premium ranging from $10 to $20 for each change to the work schedule made by the employer within 7-14 days' notice.
- If the employer makes changes to the employee's work schedule with less than 7 days' notice, they must pay a premium ranging from $15 to $45. If the changes are made with less than 24 hours' notice, the employer must be paid a premium of $75.
- Fast food and retail employers may also be subject to the following fines:
- $500 for a first violation
- up to $750 for a second violation within a two-year period
- up to $1,000 for subsequent violations within a two-year period
So, how can fast food and retail stores manage these more complex regulations without obstructing the workflow? The most efficient way is to partner with a workforce management software platform that is up-to-date and stays in compliance with new predictive scheduling laws no matter what state you're in.
Deputy handles complex compliance laws that other workforce management software cannot.
With Deputy you can:
- Allow for shift swapping
- Send and document the Fair Work Estimate
- Enforce meal and rest breaks
- Avoid scheduling slip-ups, such as back-to-back shifts or accidentally scheduling an employee into overtime
- Use a smart timeclock to capture an employee's digital consent
- Detect schedule changes automatically, and apply appropriate premiums
- Alert managers in real time of schedule errors that conflict with the Fair Workweek Laws
- Save schedules automatically for easy, long-term record-keeping
The post Predictive Scheduling: What accountants, bookkeepers & consultants need to know – Deputy + Xero appeared first on Deputy.


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I just watched Clueless for the first time since I was a teenager and I was pleasantly surprised to see that (at least for me) it has stood the test of time – there are obviously a few things about it that have dated, but I still loved it, if for nothing else than for how young Paul Rudd is in it!
But it got me thinking about whether the books I loved as much as I loved Clueless have similarly stood the test of time. I'm not talking about the classics – Pride and Prejudice delights me as much now as it did the first time I read it, but that's not really a surprise, they call them classics for a reason.
I'm talking about the books I read as a teen that were new then – the ones that haven't been branded as 'classics', and may never be. I'm talking about Bridge to Terabithia, The Lake at the End of the World, Tomorrow When the War Began (and pretty much everything John Marsden wrote), Looking for Alibrandi, Just as Long as We're Together (and pretty much everything Judy Blume wrote, except for Forever – Judy Blume's 'adult' book, that we used to whisper about because it had, wait for it, sex in it. I was too young to read it when it came out and somehow I never got around to it). And I was about to add The Baby Sitters Club to this list, but then I realised that they don't really count cos I know they're still awesome.
When I progressed past Judy Blume and Paula Danziger, I was obsessed with The Bronze Horseman. Actually obsessed. I'm pretty sure that when I finished reading it the first time, I went straight back to page 1 and started it all over again. I read it numerous times – back in those heady days when my TBR pile didn't make me nervous and I felt like I had time to read books more than once. I thought there was no greater love than the one Tatiana and Alexander had for each other, which is fairly tragic given how it panned out for them (in the first book only – I try to block out the fact that there were two, frankly horrific, sequels to this absolutely perfect book).
But what would happen if I went back and read all of these books now? Would I be able to recreate the perfect moments I had with them 10, 15 (ok, 25) years ago? And is it silly to expect the books that moved me in my youth to have the same effect on me as an adult? It's not like I've matured that much – I'm still reading YA and loving it. But are actual young adults looking at me like I'm some sort of sad sack trying to relive my long-lost youth. I'm not that old am I? I mean, Johnathan Taylor Thomas is still a babe right? ;o)
Categories: Book life

subset: commoncrawl


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Personally, I've actually found Twitter amazing for business. I've gotten a full-fee speaking engagement and my latest joint venture project as a result of Twitter. Still, this is pretty funny:
The Twouble with Twitter
4/2/2009 by
Investing, Raising Capital, Sales Training, and Recruiting with Social Media
Blogs, social network sites, social software---and how to use all of these tools to become dramatically more successful


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Verbatim 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive
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In any considered B2B SaaS purchase, the product demo is often a key part of the sales process. A product demo is a valuable tool for getting new customers interested in your SaaS product. It's also a tool to establish your credibility and industry knowledge.
However, in a large number of cases, potentially lucrative demos quickly turn into a sinkhole of wasted opportunity, not to mention waste of effort and resources.
Let's try to understand how to prepare for a good SaaS product demo.
However, in a large number of cases, potentially lucrative demos quickly turn into a sinkhole of wasted opportunity, not to mention waste of effort and resources.
Let's try to understand how to prepare for a good SaaS product demo.
Goals of the demo
A product demo is never about showcasing the long list of features of your product.
It's more about,
- Understanding the prospect's pain points.
- Showcasing how your product is a good fit to solve that pain.
- Leaving your prospect believing that your product is a great solution to their pain.
- Establishing confidence with the prospect about your team.
- Showcasing your product as a stable and matured solution.
Failure Reasons
Most of the demos fail because:
1. Failure to understand what prospect's pain points are.
Many times we enter a demo meeting without doing much of background work. We are too focused on our product features and we fail to understand the pain points of a prospect. This easily gets a prospect confused and disinterested in the product.
2. The demo is too complicated.
In an attempt to showcase lots of features we end up making the demo overly complicated. Showcasing features that are of no use to a prospect is just a waste of time for him. Also, if the product requires many complicated steps, the prospect might become hesitant to incorporate it in their business processes.
Try to make the demo as simple as possible while focusing on the features that are required to solve the problem.
3. Using overly technical or overly simple language.
The language of the demo has to be customized as per the audience. If, its a tech-savvy group of prospects, it's important to be forthright with technical specifications. If, the audience does not have much technical knowledge, it's important to dial-back on the technical jargon, and discuss the product in terms they can relate to.
4. Poor product stability while demo
Any time during a demo you say "Oh, just wait a moment" or "It's never done this before" you've lost it. It immediately raises a doubt about your credibility. No business wants to invest in a product that is unproven or unstable.
Make sure your demo does not have failure paths. No software is perfect and surely your product can have error paths, but you should prepare your demo script keeping in mind not to cross those failure paths.
5. Not taking the next step
A product demo is a tool. It's a means to an end, not the end itself. Going into a demo, you should have a plan on where you expect to move the sales cycle next. Don't just thank the prospect for their time, go all the way to the sale.
Keeping above points in mind, we can deliver a better and fruitful product demo.
Please do leave your feedback in the comments section.
Please do leave your feedback in the comments section.


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I have done a good amount of programming (logical type, solving math problems and such, almost no GUI at all). I have programmed in turing -> java -> C and most recently matlab. I want to make a program with a GUI now that will work as a database. When programming in C, I used Jen's File Editor. I don't know what I need to download and what API (not sure if thats the corrent terminology, but I mean add on for GUI) to work with GUI. Any help will be great appreciated.
Thanks a lot guys!


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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Is scenario in trouble now, too?
PSP Chicago: Wrap-up
As far as this wrap-up goes it's really just an assortment of odds & ends I haven't commented on already. Like the UWL tie-in. I know they were there somewhere. I was invited to drop by prior to the event. It didn't happen 'cus I'm busy (and single-minded) at events but it would have liked to--except I never once thought about it after our event got started. All I heard post facto sounded like an Old Skool nostalgia tour with lots of high profile players from the past and resurrected team names meeting once again to do battle under the branches. Which is actually kinda awesome but maybe doesn't bode so well for the future of the UWL? How many regular teams attended?
Opinions have differed regarding the league's efforts to pull this event off. That's partly what the The (Tuesday) Monday Poll is all about. That and the general public perception. Most of the divide falls into two camps; the PSP did all it could with a bad situation versus maybe they shouldn't have put themselves in the situation to begin with. There's also a few who seem to think the league could have done more, somehow been better prepared to deal with the weather. When I lived in Phoenix there was a big housing boom. Surprisingly for those unfamiliar with the desert one of the things builders were required to plan for was flooding. (There's a monsoon season, Phoenix is in a valley, and the normally rock hard dry ground is unable to soak up lots of water with the result of occasional flash floods.) The flood standards were described in terms of their likelihood; the twenty year flood, the fifty year flood up to the 100 year flood with each describing a scale of flooding. The 20 year flood was one that was statistically likely within any 20 year period--and so on. Builders competed, in part, on the level of flood security they offered. In terms of dealing with the weather the real question for the PSP is what is a reasonable level of preparation for the unexpected?
The league also introduced some new stuff at Chicago that has been in the works for a while; the new scoreboards, pit scoreboards and so-called Easy buttons for conceding a point. There were a few kinks in the rollout but by and large it worked as intended. My only "complaint" is that spectators can't see the blue numbers from the grandstand very well at all. Otherwise it seemed sturdier and better suited for outdoor use than the old equipment.
And now for the shuttle system. It worked but only just. I'm left wondering if the league planned on using that Balmoral parking lot the whole time, rain or shine, because I don't know where all those cars would have gone on Badlandz property. I also wonder if some of the delays Friday and Saturday had as much to do with the the inability to get players on site in a timely fashion as anything else. And if the shuttle was always part of the plan why we weren't told about in advance with the suggestion that extra time be allotted to the process of getting to your matches on time.
At the end of the day I also think this venue poses a problematic question for the future: What is the tourney baseline today? What is the minimum acceptable venue for a major league event? Everybody understands the current climate but realistically the majority of participants are everyday paintball enthusiasts who aren't so driven they will do anything and accept anything in order to compete. They are competitors but they are also customers and most of them have much cheaper options available to them at the local and regional level.
Which brings me to perhaps an even more vexing question: With the decline in Race 2-2 participation what can the PSP realistically do? (Or, how long can they keep doing Phoenix?)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The (Tuesday) Monday Poll
This week's question is: How would you rate the PSP Chicago Badlandz event? You will be given numeric options one thru ten. One is hurricane Ike wiping out the NPPL Houston event and ten is your favorite WC or the first Huntington Beach. And if you'd like to expand on your vote you know where to comment.
Monday Poll in Review
Last week I gave you the 12 teams in the pro division and asked which six would play on Sunday. When the final votes were tallied the choices were; the Red Legion, Damage, Impact, Infamous, Dynasty & Aftershock which turned out to be 5 correct. The lone mistake was putting Dynasty in the top 6 instead of Aftermath and it wasn't so much a mistake as a surprise really. Based on past performance it wasn't unreasonable to favor Dynasty over Aftermath but as the cliche goes--that's why they play the games--and congrats to Aftermath for making a big splash in the deep end of the pool.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
PSP Chicago: Sunday
Before our next match there is (another) rain delay with about a half hour downpour. The schedule is set back but not badly and the field becomes muddier and spotty with puddles.
Next up is the semi-final versus the Russians. The condition of the field is affecting some of what teams can and cannot do OTB. Saturday the Legion spanked us and we expect them to employ a similar strategy. One we're better prepared for this time. As before the early points are combat with the first point resulting in everybody eliminated and no point scored. After that things got ugly as the penalties piled up. By the end each team received three majors. We came off our first two down only 2-4 and then it was the Russians turn. We began to turn the tide and pressed to score as quickly as possible and despite another late penalty we reeled off 5 straight points for the win and a trip to the finals.
We watch to see who we'll play; Impact or Infamous. It turns out to be Infamous. We talk about unfinished business from Phoenix. We review what Infamous has been doing throughout the tourney and talked about how to counter them. We talked about the penalties--how we were confident the only thing that would beat us was penalties, so let's knock it off, play smart, play aggressive & make it happen. It's our third finals in the last 3 events. We want this one, badly. (Heck, I want all of them but I'm a greedy bastard.)
Once again it was not to be but it is not as tough a blow as Phoenix was. (My son insists I didn't answer my phone for 72 hours after Phoenix--but then I didn't have anything to say. Am I taking this too seriously? Probably.) The difference is this time despite everything the team refused to give up, refused to lose whatever the score, refused to give in to circumstances no matter how impossible. So while there is always room for improvement I am hopeful we have learned that even if we lose we will not be beaten.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
PSP Chicago: Saturday
Field conditions continue to be poor as it rained hard again over night. Pro field matches were delayed 45 minutes while divisional play was delayed as much as a couple hours and ultimately pushing some divisional play over to Sunday. The pits are as thick and sticky as peanut butter spread inches deep. The mud in the corner of the field by the Home side entry is worse. Nobody is running the corner and it's more fatiguing to get out of the pit than it is to play a point. Where the snake was slick on Friday it's churned up & slow now. Field conditions are influencing play and turning most points into tiny wars. In a sense it's the essence of primal paintball and demands heart, will and determination.
In today's match with the Legion early on it was the slugfest I expected with a few drawn out technical points and the teams tied at 2. At that point the Legion kept the pressure on and we didn't handle it well once the score turned against us. Credit the Russians as the well-oiled, well-prepared team they are and for their immaculate execution. We wanted the bye into the semis but we didn't get it. Other than that the only match between us that will matter in the final standings is the one we get to play tomorrow if we get past Shock.
In our last match and the last match of the day we played Shock. The winner earned the higher seed and the last of the teams thru to Sunday would be determined. The match was close early but got on top, maintained our focus and tried to up our intensity, and pushed hard to close them out. It was a solid win against the crowd favorite home town team and a tough loss for the Shock kids but just like our match with the Russians the one that will matter when the record of this event is written is the one Sunday morning.
The tournament starts tomorrow.
Friday, June 25, 2010
PSP Chicago: Friday
In our first match we played X-Factor and things did not go as planned. Was this the match I came to Chicago worried about? I don't think so. X-Factor is a solid team that seldom gives anything away and we also had an (unacceptable) number of penalties to overcome (including two majors.) So while it wasn't pretty we did what we needed to do and eeked out a win. We also need to realize that while we used to be underdogs we're not sneaking up on anybody anymore. And nobody is immune from the so-called upset. Take a look at the rest of Friday's scores. Every event offers up a few surprises and the mark of the best teams is consistency.
We played Vicious in our second game after having an opportunity to scout them in their first match against Entourage. Vicious does a good job of executing their game plan and they commit to their effort as a team. Today it wasn't enough as we took advantage of a couple of patterns we saw and dialled up our intensity determined not to repeat our earlier effort.
In our half by the end of the day our two wins were matched by the Legion's two wins while both Shock and Vicious went 1 and 1 (with Shock holding a substantial edge in point differential.) Tomorrow we play the Legion and then Shock and the odds are nothing will be settled until the score is final in the last match of the day. Good luck or hard luck, today didn't decide anything. It just made the road to Sunday either easier or harder.
Tomorrow is the qualifier; winners go on, losers go home. The tournament begins on Sunday.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
PSP Chicago: Thursday
I talked to a few of the PSP staff over the course of the day and I almost felt sorry for them. (Almost, but I'm maintaining a journalistic distance.) They were uniformly worn down & worn out by the daily repeated efforts to make the venue playable. We were booted off the pro field this afternoon--something about an email last night to stay off?--as there was still work to be done even as the other fields were hosting matches. And those fields weren't pretty, they were uniformly muddy and beat up and the tournament is just getting started. The pro field still needed the pits and the scoreboard set-up and there was an effort being made to even out some churned earth and drain off some water.
Parking is problematic as well with little viable parking on site and the overflow redirected to a Balmont Park lot on higher, dryer ground. Shuttles are shifting peeps from the lot to the venue--slowly--and in the early morning tomorrow it could put every schedule behind. But again, it is what it is.
While conditions are less than ideal there is no point in complaining. The league has done the best they could. Rennick & the Badlandz staff also worked prior to the PSP's arrival to prepare the venue and it won't matter. People will complain during the event and continue to complain about it afterwards, too. And in one sense they are entitled but it won't help anybody win. Complaining never does and right now it's time to play ball. And excuses are for losers. Time enough after it's all over to look back and evaluate the results.
We registered, spent some time on the field (we weren't supposed to) and waited for a Facefull photog as the magazine has scheduleda future feature of some sort on the team. As the day dribbled away it turned out the Facefull guy was running late (too) and we decided to reschedule and get out of the heat. The next two days will be long ones. Two matches a day for the players but 6 or 8 matches for me as our prelim opponents and other likely opponents need to be scouted and charted. Rain or shine I spend my time under an umbrella in the grandstands.
For those of you who wonder what Old Skool competition was like--there were times when it looked very much like this. Tomorrow, match reports & results.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Promotion of Competitive Paintball as a Commodity, Part 3A
Today's post sets the groundwork for how the major leagues might improve their promotional efforts. To begin I have a few questions. What is it the leagues are promoting now? Isn't their primary effort aimed at promoting themselves? And if it is, is that wrong? Or a mistake? A missed opportunity or a misplaced priority? The reason I ask is because I want to start with a clean slate. No automatic assumptions. No beginning where the leagues left off. It's important to question everything initially. And it's important to come to some baseline conclusions. Before we decide how the leagues might go about their promotions we need to have a firm grasp on what and why.
My view is the leagues have mostly been promoting themselves. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with that as it is a necessary part of the process--but it's only a part--particularly if the Big Picture goal is to raise awareness and interest in competitive paintball as sport. Of course you've got to survive before you thrive but it's unclear to me at this stage if any of the leagues have a conception of how to move past (the oftentimes mediocre) self-promotion that is what passes for promotion at present.
So what else should the leagues be promoting? Do I really have to ask that question? (I hope not.) Even so, in a sense, it depends. If the leagues are content to be the temporary arbiters of format and the means by which the rest of us currently have an opportunity to compete then they don't really need to do anything else--except wait to die when something (and somebody) else comes along to replace them. If they intend to be in this for the longer haul they will have to both adjust and expand their thinking about just how they go about staying relevant in the world of competitive paintball.
The fact is the best way the leagues can promote themselves is to promote the sport and there is potentially so much more to be done than simply try and convince more tourney players to play your events than those who play the other leagues events. It is both helpful and hopeful that the U.S. leagues (at a minimum) are aware and concerned about some current deficiencies but so far there is little sign they have any ideas for dealing with today's problems much less the vision to imagine tomorrow possibilities. (This is, btw, purely from a promotional standpoint and not aimed at the nuts & bolts of actual operation and/or ongoing survivability. That's another topic.)
The way forward for the leagues is to promote competitive paintball as sport. And the target audience isn't limited to other paintball players.
Next time, in Part 3B, I'll highlight some specific ways the leagues can begin to promote not only themselves but the game we play. (And, no, it won't take another month. I hope.)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Major League Paintball Weekly Update
No report from the not so Grand Tour on the weekend's Lviv event yet but scores are available at pblivescores.com. You'll need to register but it's relatively harmless and not terribly time consuming. From the quick look I took it appears first round pro leaders the Carpathian Bears missed this one. Could it be without their Russian Legion players they didn't bother to show?
Cut off for registration for Campaign Cup is tomorrow so today's numbers are likely to be close to the final total. The open divisions have a total of 41 teams registered with 14 in D2, 13 in D3 & 14 in M5. Right now D2 is down a third from Malaga & Bitberg. D3 is also down a bit but M5 is up a couple. No great surprise as 12 of the 14 teams registered are UK-based (and we all know most of the Brits will go for the lowest div they can squeeze into--excepting of course all those UK ballers who are also VFTD regulars. Hey! Where'd y'all go?)
There is an interesting video on YouTube showing Joy Division competing recently in Sweden with some GI Milsim logos on their jerseys. Of more interest however are the guns some of them appear to be using. Watch it here and see what you think.
Word has also come in recently that a well known industry personality will soon be leaving Paintball for, hopefully, greener pastures in the very near future.
Looks like the team list mentioned last week posted at the NPPL website may have been a link to an old team list page as it's no longer available in any form. Registration for the DC Challenge is open and it will be interesting to see if the special features planned for DC build some East Coast team interest beyond the Chicago turnout. Unfortunately the timing is poor, especially for those of us committed to both the NPPL & the PSP. Scheduled for consecutive weekends one event will certainly undercut the other to some degree and the NPPL event makes final prep for the PSP event very difficult despite the fact it's summer.
Nothing much new on the PSP front. The Chitown event hosted by Badlandz is this coming weekend. We're flying in a day early as it turns out because we needed to confirm our travel plans well before the league announced our playing schedule--which doesn't begin until Friday. I know it was tough trying to calculate necessary fields, likely turnout, collapsing semi-pro bracket and all the rest but wasted days cost everybody time & money. 154 teams will be competing in what early weather reports suggest might be a wet & muddy event. We'll see, and if our hotel's internet connection is willing I'll have daily reports to post.
Social Media & Paintball
It seems Paintball discovered social media about a day late and a dollar short, as per usual, but is desperately making up for lost ground--and I don't know about you--but it's beginning to piss me off. Okay, I lied again. (I lied the first time about all those foam fingers but that doesn't mean I don't still have one, a finger, available for you.) It's not beginning to, it's been pissing me off for awhile now but I wanted to be the kinder, gentler VFTD and show some paintball solidarity but .. but ... I've had enough.
If the idea of social media is easy-peasey interactive communication networked via shared interests, friendships, etc. the reality is Paintball is using it like a bludgeon to beat me senseless with their (mostly) commercial messages or like a home invader intruding through every portal to inundate me (and you) with time-wasting rubbish. Knock it off--or at least dial it down a notch or two.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Trench Warfare: Pre-Chicago PSP
I'm less focused on what the Legion is doing (I'm satisfied with our counters and more importantly our basic scheme) and more intent on our frame of mind as a team and I am pushing the guys harder than usual, being less understanding and more demanding. I also have in mind ways to follow-up on lessons learned this weekend as we meet to prepare for matches and do our usual post-match assessments and talk thru the next opponent.
I am concerned about one aspect of the field layout. The enormous wide open lanes on both sides of the field. A clumsy 8 year old who doesn't know one end of a paintball gun from the other can shoot these lanes and when teams are on and the paint is good--unlike practice--some teams will be very surprised at their sudden inability to do much of anything on this field.
We have to be prepared to play a game we don't want to and we have to be committed to making it work. At least one match somewhere over the course of the event will require us to grind out an ugly win and that is the match I have tried to prepare us for this weekend.
I'm going to try and post regularly throughout the event on the process and matches as they unfold and follow-up next week by breaking down the field and how we played it.
The Monday Poll
The poll will only be open until approximately the start of the first game on Friday so don't delay--get your votes in today. Or at least before the poll closes. And if you want to go on the record with your picks you can go here.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
In the trenches: Pre-Chicago PSP
The PSP released Pro game schedules yesterday (or maybe the day before.) (See how out of touch I've been?) With the collapse of the semi-pro bracket and subsequent inclusion of Entourage & Aftermath the Pro bracket is up to 12 teams for Chicago. And we get 4 prelim games (again!) after getting only 3 in Phoenix. Thanks, PSP. (Though I gotta admit I find it a bit perverse to be grateful to get back what was arbitrarily taken away--but even so.) However--there's always an however, isn't there?--as a result it turns out we play the Legion in the prelims so it made for an interesting day of practice what with each team getting our last pre-event reps in and at the same time not wanting to give away too much.
We've got a ten player roster but CJ tore up an ACL prior to Phoenix. (He might be ready by World Cup.) And Jason Edwards, who injured some ribs working out this past week, is unable to practice and his availability for Chicago is uncertain. He'll be there and he will want to play but given the doctor's report I'm pessimistic. And Carthy missed practice today for a wedding so we ran with seven. That meant guys had to play out of position some points with everybody playing back-to-backs or three in a row. But it was a good thing. When a match is tight and the points are going back and forth and there is little discernible difference between the competing teams--it doesn't come down to tactics, famous names, popularity or past successes--it comes down to who wants it more, who can will themselves to compete despite the fatigue, pressure and expectations, who can execute.
The Legion coaches usually aren't too concerned about "giving away the game plan." They are interested in their players executing the game plan and you can see the fine-tuning as they make adjustments as the points unfold. The other thing they do is chart their opponents looking for patterns they can use in game-planning. Mostly they want to determine the lanes they will shoot for a given opponent and otherwise they are confident if they can get a good "read" that will help them OTB and prepare their players pre-match for tendencies to consider as the points play out they can (and will) out execute everyone. And history has demonstrated it's hard to argue with the way they do things.
I confess I'm not adverse to trying to make things a bit more difficult to discern. In this situation I have a variety of things I'm trying to accomplish and limiting what the Legion can feel confident about when it comes to what to expect from us is one of them. I'm also interested at this stage in our mental preparation more than I am in our execution but it's always valuable to prepare against the best. (With the shake-up in Florida paintball we've been scrimmaging TK--a very solid team--but it was easy to see in the first few points against the Legion this morning that we needed to dial up our intensity and it could have been a rude awakening to show up in Chicago only to realize we weren't where we needed to be.)
If any of y'all find this kinda stuff interesting drop a comment or ask a question and I'll post on tomorrow's practice as well.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tipping Point
As I'm enjoying the format discussion instead of adding comments I'm going to focus on a couple of items of interest and see about extending the dialogue with some additional related posts. This will, once again, delay the regularly scheduled posts including the series posts you may or may not have given up any hope of ever seeing. I haven't forgotten them--I've gone high tech with Post-It notes. So as long as the adhesive lasts I'll have colorful reminders decorating my computer.
While I'm all for talking new formats and debating ways to "fix" or "improve" the existing game but no change occurs in isolation and every change needs to be examined with respect to the other parameters of the game. The idea of a "tipping point" suggests there is a harmony or balance in the status quo (otherwise it would be in a state of constant flux) and the tipping point is reached when some aspect of the existing balance or harmony shifts sufficiently to change the status quo. Fo purposes of this post and in a game application the Tipping Point is reached when a change, any change or series of changes sufficiently alters the nature of the game so that the game itself becomes something different. I bring it up because one tangent in the comments is discussing the various virtues of Hopperball and/or other measures of limited paint. (Of course the current game also uses limited paint but what the restrictionista mean is even less paint. And along with the cost savings being promoted less paint will mean more movement--both of which are viewed as good things.
Since VFTD long ago pointed out the correlation between ROF (volume of paint) and the potential for movement I have no objection to the concept. Same goes for cost savings. (Who would oppose making the game more affordable?) But--
It's more complex than that. The current relationship between ROF & movement as the game is played now is a function of field dimensions (and field dimensions are tied to effective marker range, more or less.) Imagine a field three times the current xball dimensions with everything else being the same. In the game on phase movement isn't inhibited at all and that doesn't change (much) until the proximity between players closes to ranges within our current field size. And now you may have the issue of bunker relationships--did we begin with the same number on a larger field?--how close together or far apart are they? Too far apart on the same dimensions we currently play and we've altered (again) the balance between ROF and movement.
Once upon a time (I think I've used this illustration before but I like it so you're getting it again) at team practice we decided to play 5 on 5 on a speedball field with pump guns instead of our regular markers because, you guessed it, we wanted to limit our paint usage, save some money, focus on accurate shooting and so on. However, our best laid plans didn't survive the second game as the team that lost the first game realized a couple of things and thought they could take advantage. The first thing they realized was that OTB everyone took up primary positions that covered lanes but also restricted visibility. The other thing they realized was that the dimensions of the field in play meant that a pump's ROF was too slow to control movement. (Given they were old field rentals.) With the next game on one team broke out normally--given they way they were thinking about playing the game--and the other team simply ran them down using speed to counter the pumps ROF and the other team's conception of the type of game they were playing. Once it became clear that the size of the field created an insurmountable imbalance between pump guns versus foot speed the plan for practice fell apart.
The rather long-winded point is twofold; sometimes there's no telling exactly where the tipping point is until you experience the result and when you start making changes in the parameters of the game they cannot be made in isolation without risking running full speed ahead into the nearest tipping point--and who knows how many unintended consequences. By all means let's keep the dialogue going but maybe try to keep the Big Picture clearly in sight during the process. (Of course, the notion of new formats at a minimum implies new, or at least different games from the one(s) we play now.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Major League Paintball on Suicide Watch
In the Millennium Series registrations for Campaign continue to trickle in for the event scheduled for the weekend of July 4 which leaves less than two weeks for interested teams to get registered and paid. To date there are 27 open division teams registered; 8 in D2, 10 in D3 and 9 in M5. 14 of the 27 are UK-based teams (as I'm assuming the two U.S. flagged teams are likely made up of American military personnel--though it's just a guess.) Those aren't encouraging numbers but pre-Bitberg the open registrations were also soft until the closing week.
News on the mysterious Millennium Asia affair from a few weeks ago has gone very quiet as no official statements have been made by any of the involved parties although apparently PALS had promised a comment, however principles from PALS and Skirmish (Malaysia) were seen in a heated conversation at last week's MPOC event.
Early NPPL registrations for DC can be found on the website and while there appears to be some duplications (and repeats of/from Chitown?) this would represent some pretty positive numbers given the event isn't until August.
The real news though regarding the DC Challenge is that the NPPL is bringing back some sort of All Star game--no clue on exactly how that's gonna work except it's East vs. West and voters are restricted to recipients of the NPPL newsletter--and if that wasn't enough (and who says it isn't?)--the league is planning on establishing "the world's first sanctioned" Hall of Fame complete with an initial round of inductees, though again, I'm a little sketchy on the details. And, who exactly, is responsible for sanctioning this Hall of Fame? Don't get me wrong, I like the idea, somebody has to start the ball rolling but...are they gonna wheel out Bob Gurnsey (again?) to cut the tape and declare this Hall of Fame official? (Was that too cynical?)
Looks like PSP Chicago is set around 154 total teams. Race 2-X teams total 93 of the 154. Last year Chicago had 95 Race 2-X so those numbers are comparable despite the fact there were over 110 Race 2-X teams registered at one point. This year Race 2-2 numbers topped out at 61 while last year there were 125 Race 2-2 teams. Much has been made of the Badlandz throwback location and diminished prizes as possible reasons for the drop in Race 2-2 teams but it's hard to be certain. VFTD has also wondered if the affiliates are impacting big league turnouts in the lower divisions--as it appears was the case in Phoenix--but otherwise Midwest affiliate turnouts aren't even suggestive much less conclusive. Truth is nobody really knows if it's mostly the economic climate, the collapse of the competitive grassroots, no prizes, the Badlandz or some of all the above and, of course, it's the Year of the Rat.
The PSP has updated their website and it's a big improvement--How could it not be?--with new features including banner ads for the league sponsors along with at least the promise of greater future content. The event begins next Thursday though the Pros don't begin play until Friday.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Format of the Future?
Are you drawing a blank? Hit the title for a link to the official Formula 5 website for more info--or just keep reading. I stumbled across this on the P8ntballer forum and was intrigued. In part because I've been, now and again, noodling over possibilities for the Holy Grail of tourney paintball, the spectator friendly format. Which isn't to say I'm dissatisfied with the current situation--though in a perfect world I'd rather play "real" xball, but then I'm not footing our paint bill so I grit my teeth and accept certain compromises. (Except 3 damn prelim matches an event! Never! A line has to be drawn somewhere or eventually we'll be paying our entry and flipping a coin to see who won. But I digress...)
I do tend to think however that future changes or competitive alternatives are more likely than not. And as an example Formula 5 has some good things going for it. Played on an airball field larger than the current standard the center of the field has two buttons, one for each team, that set a clock ticking. Pressing your button begins to accumulate time for your side, scoring one point every six seconds until your opponent can reach his button and turn the clock in his favor. That's the focal point and the results are immediately visible on the scoreboard as the two team's scores either get closer or further apart. You also score a point every time an opponent is eliminated or exits the field (having been removed as the result of a penalty or to refill air and/or paint. The other big feature is that players re-spawn (thus also attracting the scenario crowd. Or not.) Fresh players enter as others exit so long as no more than 5 live players are on the field at any one time. The game action is non-stop as there is a constant battle over control of the clock.
That's it in a nutshell. Sound good? Bad? Crazy? Not sure? If you want to know more check the title link and/or P8ntballer for more details.
And, as I said it's a good way to begin a discussion on future formats--do we need them? Want them? Or is 7-man or Race 2 the final frontier for competitive paintball? Later this week I'll see if I can keep the conversation going with Bacaball 1.0.
Monday Poll in Review
When current or former Millennium Series players were asked if, given a choice, they would play PSP Europe or the MS the overwhelming majority chose (95% to 5%)--no great surprise--the PSP. However, the result was not the sort the PSP (or anyone else) ought to assume is an implied promise or even an invitation. The poll was really no more than a referendum on the MS and a reflection of the general dissatisfaction of the player base with the way the league has been operating lately. Chances are the numbers would have been similar if the option had been the MS vs. Another Pan-European league more like the PSP. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. It wasn't very many years ago when everyone held up the MS as the standard of excellence. Have they gotten worse? Or the PSP that much better? What if better (by anyone and everyones' definition) really does cost more?
Any change would also be a change to the established order with much of the industry, particularly in Europe, tied to the MS in a variety of ways. How simple would a move away from the established order really be? How many teams are tied by ownership, affiliation & sponsorship to elements of the MS that would fight to resist any new league incursion? It's easy to express general unhappiness. Another thing altogether to do anything about it. Nor have we given any consideration to larger economic factors that at present are, and will continue to, make high level competitive play difficult for many. Bottom line, if the Euro teams want different or better they need to stop waiting for somebody else to act.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
MS London 2010 Layout
Friday, June 11, 2010
Commemerating the first paintball game ever played
But it's more than that. Along the way they also discovered that it's possible we can have the state place an historic commemorative marker on the roadside near the site of that first game--like the photo mock-up. That's right, we can. The paintball community. If it's something you want to be a part of go here for more information. Or, if you're too much the lazy slacker but want to contribute go here to donate. You can even be a Facebook friend and keep track of the progress being made by going here.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
More on Edge & Edging
One thing paintball seems to lack is a generally accepted lexicon of terms for ways to describe the game. Sure, we've got plenty of names for things associated with the game. many of which are more or less universally recognizable, but even so there's also lots of regional idiom at work. For example, if you're from one part of the country you say bucket while the nest guy, from someplace else, says pail. Happens in paintball, too. And then there are ideas and concepts about playing the game. Are there even words for most of them? I don't know. All I can tell you is what I mean when I use certain terms.
That's where edge & edging come in. Let's start with what the "edge" is. It is the imaginary line that separates the visible from the not visible in a straight line-of-sight. Imagine two players dueling, each in stand-up cans. If they are snap-shooting at each other they are using the edge for cover and only crossing the edge when they offer a minimal profile while shooting before ducking back behind cover. In that situation neither player has control of the edge. In a gun battle the players are using ROF and volume of paint in the air to force one player or the other back behind the can, "off the edge," in order to control that edge. See the Secrets of the Red Legion post for the related topic of lane control.
Edging is two related things. It's using an edge to maximize your security while attempting to eliminate your opponent and/or force them off their edge. For example, I use the term mostly when talking about the breakout. When I ask a player to "edge" Home OTB I'm requesting two things. First I want them to use the X by shooting a blind stream of paint over the angled X-side and maintain that attempt as the player moves away from the board moving wither forward or laterally (and usually some of both.) As the player clears the edge (and can see exactly where their paint is going) hopefully it is already sufficiently on target that no adjustment is necessary. The initial "edge" was the line-of-sight where Home was first visible to the moving shooter. But as the shooter continues moving so does the edge. Effective edging gains the shooter an advantage that leaves the opponent no recourse except to continue to seek cover or break cover in a desperate attempt to gain edge control. Edging also includes a situation where one players gains edge control and continues to roll his gun while making a move that alters the edge line to the shooting player's advantage; ie: widening the angle in an effort to expose and/or eliminate the opponent.
So "edging" is both the effort to push an opponent "off the edge" and actively moving the "edge" in an effort to gain advantage or elimination.
I hope that helps and if there are any further questions don't hesitate to ask.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Watching so you don't have to
Here's the thing. It wasn't horrible. It even had some good qualities. It integrated some paintball education in bite-sized, easy to swallow nuggets. It provided enough basic information without being deadly boring to give non-ballers a framework for watching. It had big name stars like Matty (the voice of paintball) Marshall, Ollie, Pony and Florida's own Rocky Cagnoni behind the microphone(s) and in front of the cameras. It even had Patrick "Monkey with a Gun" Sporher doing his best to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. (The production didn't have the resources the PSP used to make the hopefully-only-on-hiatus webcast.) The problem wasn't the production values (slim as they were), it wasn't the talent, it wasn't lack of expertise, it wasn't a failure to put the pieces together. Good, smart, creative people did their best with the available resources. The problem was it was a paintball show and despite the best efforts of all those creative people presentations of tourney ball have yet to capture the intensity, grit & action of the game. The fundamental weakness remains the struggle to put the play of the game into a suspenseful and recognizable narrative that tells the story of a match, point by point. Even so, if you're a fan of past paintball programming this will not disappoint. It just doesn't advance the ball any (not that it was supposed to.)
Here's a suggestion for next time. One I don't think will add great expense but might help improve the game vibe. The sounds of the game. Loud. Let's hear some blazin' guns. Players screaming info across the field. Refs shouting for eliminated players to leave the field. Coaches on the sideline. I know, it's there now but it's mostly background noise. Not a part of the play of the gun.
End result: the show is a worthwhile primer of tourney ball for those already interested but inexperienced--and even then, the sooner they get on a field and play the game the better. Oh, and congrats to Drexel. NCPA A division champs for 2010. And runners-up Long Beach State who did it the hard way.
Playing the Dead Zone(s)
In illustration 1 (red) we see the zones that are safe from a Home shooter. (All shooters positions are marked with a dot in the appropriate color.) This allows players coming off the board in the first seconds of a breakout to hesitate or delay in order to shoot an additional lane. The lane options are inside out (wide for a runner), cross field, or outside in (edging). Edging employs one of the blocking bunkers to provide an element of the unexpected as the shooter clears the edge in order to lane the chosen target. OTB that's usually Home and is frequently done in conjunction with a wide runner to neutralize (suppress) the effectiveness of the Home shooter.
In illustration 2 (green) the DZs have shifted. The green shooters are in DZs relative to a Home shooter but not necessarily to anyone else. It is important to understand both sides of the DZ coin. Not only who can't see a particular DZ but who can as well as what new lanes and new DZs are in play as all the players on the field are taking their primaries.
In illustration 3 (blue) the shooters are wide. While it is basically correct to say that areas you can't see can't see you need to keep in mind a couple of related factors; how edging works and the proximity of the blocking bunkers. The edging principle focuses on the boundary between what can be seen and what can't and depending on how close the critical blocking bunker is to one player or another that boundary tends to a) get a bit fuzzy and b) can offer opportunities for blind shots. For example, the checkered area emanating from the snake brick reflects two things; the brick is a low bunker which makes it possible to shoot the corner cake either coming off an edge or blind into the deeper area away from the brick. The same applies to the blue area between the widest snake-side pin and the TCK that feeds the snake. Level changes and bunker position can modify effectiveness of a DZ.
In illustration 4 (all colors) any place where all three colors overlap represent DZs that are blind to all the positions illustrated. To expand on the primary utility of the DZ it can be; 1) a secondary laning position when you need to find more effective ways to put paint on your opponent with reduced risk, 2) offers all the benefits of playing behind your gun with dramatically reduced risk when shooting specific lanes or zones whether attempting to contain movement or suppress shooters, 3) gives the experienced player time to read & react to how any given breakout is unfolding and aggressively push the play.
Next time you walk a new field spend some time with your teammates identifying the DZs you think you can play and make a specific effort in practice to try them out and get comfortable playing them and before you know it you're playing a whole new game.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Major League Paintball on Suicide Watch
Beginning with the MS let me suggest that no one take this week's Monday Poll too seriously. While rumors have been floated regarding a PSP move to Euroland VFTD doesn't believe there is any real chance it will actually happen. The poll should be viewed more as a referendum of opinion on the MS than anything else and is unlikely to tell us anything we don't already know.
There is nothing new on the short-lived brouhaha of a new MS-supported Asian league although I'm hoping to hear more soon.
For the moment put this one in the category of gossip. Not quite rumor but... Euro sources have claimed that there are an undisclosed number of CPL teams that have not yet paid an entry fee this year. If true, it would further undermine the standing of the league. Unfortunately no numbers were forthcoming though some have suggested it may be as many as half. Some of the names are known but VFTD received this info on the condition no names would be included. It is important not to assume such conditional info is necessarily accurate or true or to fail to take into account who could benefit from spreading false gossip. As a rule VFTD judges the quality of the info received in part from the source(s) themselves and in part from the ability to confirm details with other sources. When the subject is as sensitive as this one it is especially difficult however I've included this item because I think there is something to it.
The unlocked divisions have a total of 17 registered teams including 7 UK teams. It remains relatively early days and if Bitberg was indicative the numbers of registered teams will jump as the event date gets close.
Staying in Euroland the not so Grand Tour scheduled for Lviv Ukraine saw registration climb to 22 teams this week with the event less than 2 weeks away. The organizers have put a Saturday night party together at a local nightclub and posted a color vehicle border pass to be placed in the window of any car, bus or van transporting players to the event. From here it all seems rather mysterious and Cold War but I imagine it's just routine and the pass is a convenience to facilitate the border crossing.
The NPPL returns to Pev's the weekend of August 8-10. Unfortunately for some pro teams that is the weekend before the PSP's MAO and will complicate preparation for both events for the teams that play both leagues. No specific information is available yet but VFTD expects the NPPL to try and have a field layout confirmed and released the end of June, first part of July. Word is last year's event was well received locally so there is an expectation of bigger and better this time around. To date only general information has been released. No team count or early registration numbers are available.
PSP Chicago is rapidly approaching as is the final date to register and pay entry fees. Race 2-X registrations have fluctuated in the last week trending down around 10 total teams as crunch time gets closer. There are always more teams registered than eventually enter but the past tendency has been to see both late registrations and entries. I don't recall seeing teams remove themselves from the list of registered teams but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Currently Race 2-X total registrations stand at 99 and there will be at least a couple more appearing prior to the deadline. Race 2-2 has held steady the last week. VFTD isn't going to hazard a guess on final results based on past history because I'm not sure past results apply anymore. The official deadline is this coming Friday. We'll all find out soon enough.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The Monday Poll
Here's the question: If the PSP began running a Europe-based series which would you play?
Obviously the details are uncertain but let's assume, just for fun, that a Euro PSP would be as much like the current league and series as possible. That might mean slightly higher prices but also bigger prizes. Along with a legit player classification system, an actual rule book and generally consistent officiating.
If you haven't played a Millennium event please don't vote. If you know some peeps who aren't VFTD regulars but should participate in this poll please take a moment to encourage them to do so. The more votes the better. I can't guarantee that your vote will make a difference but with your lives entrusted to Brussels y'all should be used to that. Come on and vote. Let's see what happens.
Monday Poll in Review
The poll question was: How old were you when you joined your first competition paintball team? And the optional answers included both an age range and a time reference spanning the 1980s thru the present. I confess to being surprised by the results--at least given my expectations. I expected fewer kids as a relative percentage in the early years and that expectation was nearly reversed but the numbers were never close. No doubt the poll itself served as a filter of potential responders (abusing Heisenberg and all that) in that it's appeal is limited but in a paintball context less so than a blog dedicated to gardening. More likely some percent of Old Skool types just aren't into paintball anymore, particularly competitive paintball, which may (or may not) have skewed the numbers. Or, the numbers are what they are, and serve as a reasonably accurate reflection of reality--because of their consistency.
60% of all votes were in the under 21 age category (including votes for under 18). And maintaining that trend it's interesting to look at the 25 & under numbers versus the 26 & older within the offered time frames. In the 1980s 77% of respondents were under. In the 1990s it was 88% who were under. The 25 & under continue to dominate between 2000-2005 with 70% and between 2006 & 2010 with the smallest margin at 68%. I had expected the over/under numbers to skew older, at least percentage-wise, in the game's early days and show a movement toward youth the closer the voters came to joining a team in recent years.
Do the poll results suggest the conventional wisdom has been wrong all along? I don't think so but maybe, just maybe, the differences aren't as starkly drawn as many seem to think.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Does Small Ball Still Have A Future? (or) Rise of the Evolt
For the VFTD record on small ball type "50 caliber" into the search box and you will get a good selection of past posts going all the way back to the original post from May 15, 2009, 'The Ultimate Paintball Conspiracy.'
With a vocal element of the paintball community suspicious months before the official release and a firestorm of competing claims and "scientific evidence" as samples of 50 cal became available the mood of the marketplace did not (and does not) appear to be particularly receptive to small ball. Add industry resistance from companies like Tippmann and what we know of real world pricing where 50 cal paint is available and it's easy to conclude the whole effort is a likely bust. But that could be a very premature assessment.
VFTD is on the record as suggesting the only market that matters is the recreational rental market. If small ball can make real inroads there the Caliber War will be on. But that too seems unlikely when a company like Tippmann won't play ball and the current economic environment isn't encouraging when it comes to refitting rental markers and carrying additional inventory for two sizes of paintballs. But even so...
Take a look at this. Do you remember what it is? It was called the Evolt. It used an 18 volt battery to generate an air pulse that fired a paintball without an air tank. A production model was never released. Probably because it was bulky and slow.
But imagine a streamlined, up-dated version of the Evolt. One that no longer has to propel a 68 caliber paintball. One that has taken advantage of advances in battery technology. One that only needs to be able to shoot a projectile a fraction of 68 caliber paintball's weight and mass. One that can be delivered to the marketplace at a price point that suits the rental market. Would a rental gun that needs no airfills grab the attention of the rental market? Would it be enough to overcome resistance to the small ball?
I don't know but we may find out sooner rather than later. Is it a hoax? Could it possibly be real? I'm told it's release may only be months away.
I know how this sounds but I'm told the Evolt project was never shelved and that the development work continued. And between the marker's potential and the significant weight & mass savings of the small ball that the combo is a reality and coming soon. If so, will it change everything or prove to be only a niche oddity?
Enlistments for the Week
VFTD welcomes our most recent recruits; Keegan Wong, Jumbu., Jay Hill and aparson. Thank you one and all.
Fight the Power
Thursday, June 3, 2010
NPPL Chicago Wrap-up
What about the Dogs Silver? As one of three D1 teams they got tossed into the pro prelim mix and got trampled. Without complaint--they were right next to us in the pits--they made the best of it and focused on learning and by the time the event was finished on Monday they were the D1 winners. There's a lesson in there somewhere.
Initially the venue was a bit of a disappointment because you can't see any of the cool custom rec fields and because it's way out in Children of the Corn country. Once there everything was easily accessible with plenty of parking. (Seems the CPX folks don't normally charge for parking but thought $5 wasn't unreasonable (as an auxiliary parking lot was part of the preparation)--until the scenario kids cried foul--after which it was announced parking fees would be donated to the fund of money raised for paintball co-founder Bob Gurnsey who is battling cancer. The tourney fields were next to the parking lots as were the vendors--though there were other paved lots for the park further away. The daily drive was 20 minutes plus from a league recommended hotel and Joliet is a few minutes further down the highway than the old PSP Bollingbrook venue. Neither of which was a big deal unless you were planning on spending time in the big city.
It seems however that there is accessibility and then there's accessibility because the word on site was that the vendors weren't getting the volume of traffic they'd hoped for (expected?) from the scenario crowd in part because of the distance from the main park entrance. (The vendors were set-up right by the NPPL fields.) Apparently it was too far to walk or maybe they were counting on a CPX transport to deliver them to an insertion point. At least that was the word I heard and that was consistent with the way it looked to me. I don't know who was there primarily for LL3 and who was there sponsoring the NPPL but the big DYE rig & tent was there for LL3 for sure. The other bigger players were Valken, Empire & Tippmann. There were also quite a few smaller companies repping the event too like Trade Your Gun and First Call. It also looked like Ninja ponied up a few bucks to get a banner and have one end of the grandstand field named for them; as in Dynasty heads for the Ninja end of the field only to get rained out. I'm not picking and choosing who to mention--I just don't pay that much attention.
I liked the idea of the scenario game/tournament tie-in and it was a nice perk that the pro players got to play on Saturday if they wanted to--and I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves but beyond that there didn't seem to be much interaction between the two groups. Don't know that I expected anything different--didn't really think about it--but if I were to pick a group that seemed more resistant to mingling with the other I'd pick the scenario crowd. But the truth is how much do the two sides really have in common other than the tools of the game?
Okay, it's time to talk gun rules for a second. Look, I'm not going to get into specifics because there's no point in pointing fingers or arguing over who did what intentionally or mistakenly or whatever. What matters is that the rules work and are consistent. And they aren't. In the NPPL they weren't before and they still aren't. For whatever reason the NPPL guys can't seem to give up on their uncapped semi-auto and in an attempt to not be overly harsh in enforcing gun rules on the lower divisions where intent is viewed as less likely--rules are still rules. So it would seem the real intent is to cut the lower divisions some slack, not give the pros carte blanche but at the end of the day the enforcement remains subjective and haphazard and under those circumstances there will be no satisfactory outcome. At a minimum the league ought to at least consider capped "semi-auto" so they have a standard to judge against.
Next stop DC.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Major League Paintball on Suicide Watch
Having released the Campaign layout and getting the scores and results up to date on their website the league is back in wait and see mode for open division registrations for London the weekend of July 4th.
It also seems as if there may be more to the curious announcement commented on briefly last week tying the MS to a new league in Asia. A press release from the new league was denied within hours and the presser pulled but some follow-up from VFTD contacts in Euroland indicate there may be more to this than has reached the paintballing public. It seems there was some sort of contingent deal as long as certain conditions were met and the Asian side jumped the gun. As time permits further inquiries will be made.
It also recently occurred to VFTD that no word was coming from Euroland regarding televising this year's Millennium action. Despite the approach taken in the 2010 sponsorship package that offered space on tent flaps and cardboard trash cans--visible to cameras that might, just might, pan across the venue to segue into the next high voltage match. To say nothing of branded field opportunities etc. Far as I can tell there is no Mill TV this year.
The NPPL Chicago event occurred last weekend and I will have more on the event itself in separate upcoming posts. Until then I have a question and a comment. The question is--Does anybody know what the dealio was with the more or less topless painted chicks? Was that a NPPL thing, a CPX thing, a Living Legends event thing? Granted, the grandstand wasn't filled with 12 year olds but it struck me as inconsistent with the notion of being "family-friendly." (Not that I complained to management you understand.) Without knowing anything about the bottom line for this event it is clear to me, and has been thru 2 or 3 versions of the NPPL, that every not HB event suffers by comparison particularly when you're selling an experience and not a competition.
Final registration and payment deadline is (an early) June 11th for the PSP Chicago event at Badlandz. That is 13 days prior to the start of the event. As usual I imagine a few teams will be allowed to squeak in past the deadline but I'm also guessing the league may have pushed the deadline back a bit in order to help them pin down the logistics more precisely. Or maybe not. In the past the logistics have been planned on the basis of projected numbers but given the location it may be the league can avoid unnecessary efforts with more lead time built in. There are currently 107 Race 2-X teams registered and it looks like a couple of Phoenix's semi-pro participants will drop down to D1 while as many as 3 others may bump up to pro. Perhaps not an ideal solution--what will happen at World Cup?--but if the numbers aren't there the PSP almost certainly don't want to risk damaging D1 turnout by pushing legit Semi-pro teams and players down even if there is some resistance to pulling them up into the pro bracket. And does this mean pro will be back to a four game prelim? 3 games sucks and there's no good reason not to if the schedule will work, right? (And it will easily with the extra day in Chicago.) Race 2-2 team registrations is up to 68 for a total of 175 teams registered. Seems unlikely that the league will break the 200 barrier but the Race 2-X numbers are solid and a few more Race 2-2 teams should make for a successful event.
The (late) Monday Poll
This one's gonna be tricky so please read carefully before voting. Don't let the question fool you. How old were you when you joined your first team? That's only the beginning. The poll will give you 16 possible answers but I'm not trying to get your exact age. I'm trying to get an age range and (A BIG AND) a time frame. For example, one age group option is: Under 21. Now here comes the tricky part--the Under 21 option will be repeated 4 times because it also includes different time frames. Under 21, The 1980s means you joined your first competitive team when you were under 21 in the decade of the 1980s. And if you were under 21 but joined your first team in 2002 there's a different answer that will fit your specific situation. Got it? I'm curious to see if any demographic patterns will emerge related to when you (and all the other respondents) began competing.
Rock the vote. VFTD will fight for your right to par-tay!
Monday Poll in Review
Last week's turnout was way down but the voting criterion was also narrow; past MLP event players who haven't played an MLP event this year. I was looking for the reasons why and to see what the numbers suggest. (As always none of VFTD's polls are scientific and should not be considered statistically relevant but they're still interesting.) Three numbers stood out. 30% indicated events were too expensive. Of course "too expensive" is relative--what is too expensive today may not have been last year--particularly in the case of players who have shelled out in the past to compete at the major league level. It's no great surprise money is tighter or that "too expensive" was the top vote getter but 30% is a significant percentage. 34% quit playing competitive paintball (with a third quitting paintball altogether.) That also means two-thirds are choosing a different brand of paintball participation but in either case there is a degree of burnout involved when it comes to the competitive game. That suggests nearly two-thirds of all voters are either burned out or can't afford MLP competition. And given the other choices available the remaining vote casters find themselves in one sort of team limbo or another--and I think most of us know what that's like. Teams break up, players move on, it's hard to find like-minded teammates and the struggle ends up not being about competing but about organizing an opportunity to compete consistently.
While the numbers look bad keep in mind it was a tiny sample and the nature of the question pre-determined the negative turn the results would take because it was about why players aren't playing. I don't know that there were any surprises but I do think the burnout numbers merit looking into further. It's not a new phenomenon in paintball--I remember articles about it in the magazines back in the 90s when paintball was kinder & gentler--but if the nature of the game is turning players away who had previously chosen competitive paintball and made a commitment that's a problem. The next question might be: How much of a problem?
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
If I'm back from Chicago it must be Tuesday
Second, I'd like to thank Rodney, the Entourage kids and their entourage for their generosity and kind words last night after the event at the restaurant and hotel. And for keeping some of my boys company while they all took turns making nuisances of themselves and generally having a good time. And here's hoping that little video starring J-Rab finds a spot on the internet.
More soon.


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Défense Conseil International (DCI), the reference operator of the French Ministry of Defence for the transfer of military know-how to international partners, is currently preparing 16 Saudi cadets – two classes of eight trainees – at its International Academic and Aeronautical Training Centre (CIF-AA). They will subsequently attend French military academies, where they will follow the same training that French officer cadets.
This preparation and the training in French military schools are part of the defence cooperation between the two countries. At the CIF-AA and in partnership with the French Air Force Academy, DCI offers a 2-year academic and military preparation based on the excellence of the competences of the French Air Force. The two years of training comprises French language classes, plus military and sports training.
Jean-Michel Palagos, CEO of DCI, underlines: "I am proud that DCI is offering, via the CIF-AA, a comprehensive, international selection of academic training courses in line with the expectations of countries friendly with France, and Saudi Arabia in particular. The success of these training courses demonstrates the recognition of the high level of excellence of French military know-how which our Saudi partners are seeking to acquire by enrolling their student officers for these courses for the second time."
At the end of this preparatory period, foreign student officers have two options:
- Enter the Saint-Cyr Military Academy
- Follow the French Air Force Academy's undergraduate programme, under a partnership between the French Air Force Academy and Aix-Marseille University, via the CLEA (Air Force Academy Bachelor programme, in French) or the CIEA (Air Force Academy International Programme, in English).
The CIEA developed in 2015 according with the wish of the deputy chief of staff of the French Air Force and. The programme, which is identical to the CLEA, is entirely in English and leads to a Bachelor degree. Its objective is to train in English classes comprising French and foreign student officers.


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text:
Your Profile page shows your display name, the department you are in, the services in use, and helps teammates get to know you.
Navigating to and Editing your Profile:
- To navigate to your own profile, click on your name in the top right corner.
- Click Profile from your wall page that displays.
- To navigate to another user's profile, search their name, and then click Profile.
- You can add and edit information about yourself in your profile.
- In the "About Me" field, add information you'd like to share with other users.
- To change any of the information, click the Edit icon at the top right corner of each section.
- Edit your information in your Basic Profile, including your department, birthday, hire date, etc. if you have permission to do so.
- It is recommended that you enter your e-mail address in Contact Details. If you forget your password, you can reset it using this e-mail address, if your administrator has enabled this feature.
Changing Your Profile Picture:
You can upload a image to be displayed as your Profile Picture. To add or change your profile picture:
- Hover over your profile image and click Change Profile Picture.
- Click Delete to remove the current Profile Picture, if any.
- Click Browse to select a picture from your computer and upload.
- The following file formats can be used for the profile picture:
- gif
- jpeg
- png
- bmp
- Click Save.
Changing Your Time Zone and Language:
Your personal time zone can be separate from the system time zone. To change your personal time zone and language:
- Click the Edit icon at the top right corner of the Basic Profile section.
- Click the drop-down for the Time Zone field.
- Select the desired time zone from the list.
- Click the drop-down for the Language field.
- Select your language from the list.
- Click Save.


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Eastbourne Lifeguards Back in Action at the Beach
2 May 2017
Eastbourne lifeguards will be back in action at the beach this week, to look after the safety of tourists and locals alike, between May 1 and September 30.
With Eastbourne beach boasting the highest possible rating of 'excellent' with some of the cleanest waters in the UK, and recommended in the Good Beach Guide, it has become one of the top holiday destinations.
The main beach resort provides the safest bathing with lifeguards, first aid point, a kid's wristband scheme and swimming only zones, not to mention a sandpit for children to play in as well!
Patrolling the 'Safe Bathing' zone, between the Pier and the lifeguard station, situated just east of the Wish Tower, the lifeguards are trained in rescue methods and life support. The lifeguard's station and the seafront office, at the bandstand, both offer defibrillators, accessible to the public 24 hours a day. In addition, the lifeguard's station offers sun lounger and parasol hire, advice on sea and weather conditions and a free suncream dispenser to help keep visitors safe from harmful UV rays.
Assistant Seafront and Lifeguard Manager, Benjamin Hall said: 'We're looking forward to the coming months and expect some fantastic weather, however, we urge people to look after themselves, particularly in the sun, or in the water.
"To help keep safe, it is important to remember to always swim between the red and yellow flags patrolled by lifeguards and be aware a red flag means strictly no swimming. If it is sunny, remember SLIP (on a shirt) SLAP (on a hat) SLOP (on suncream) and find some shade between 11.00am and 3.00pm."
As part of an initiative to help keep children safe, Kidzsafe wristbands are back! Kidzsafe are free, waterproof wristbands for children, with the name and number of the parents or guardian written on. These wristbands are a great way of getting in contact with parents or guardian of a lost child and are available to pick up from either the lifeguards station or the Seafront Office.
Also returning this year are Tyro lifeguard courses! These informative courses, designed for 8 -14 year olds, offer a range of safety skills and basic first aid and are a great way for youngsters to keep safe whilst having fun this summer!
Ranging from basic first aid and beach rescue skills, to radio communications, and even paddleboard training, it has something for all levels. Courses run throughout the summer holidays in July and August, with morning and afternoon courses available from £15.
Lifeguards are on duty during term-time and week days between 10.30am – 4.30pm and 10.30 – 6.00pm at weekends and during the school holidays.
For those who fancy a different way of enjoying the sights of Eastbourne, or those feeling more adventurous, Eastbourne Kayak and Surf hire is a great way of exploring the Eastbourne coastline, with a range of single or double kayaks, and even stand-up paddle boards available to hire.
For more information, to book the lifeguard course, or to hire beach huts or any other equipment, visit www.visiteastbourne.com/seafront or call the Seafront Office on 01323 410611.