Dont want no "Donovans"

We have been trying to promote the sport in Singapore in the past year. I have been posting text and photos in a few of the social forums to generate interest in the sport.

A lot of people say they want to try- yes there is a soldier spirit in everyone who wants to shoot the next guy. But there are a lot of misconceptions about the game the no.1 culprit of course is that "paintball is expensive".

Other fears people have is that it hurts- yes it hurts but its part of the game. The velocity of the paintball is capped at 300feet per second. That is for safety reasons- if you get hit you'll get a bruise but it shouldn't break your skin.

People are so caught up in getting hurt - hey when you shoot your opponent- it going to hurt them too. The trick is to not get hit. Once you start shooting at people- you'll get hooked and most of the time during a game your adrenaline will be pumping so much you wont feel the pain.

So back to my point- my point is that Singaporeans are closed mined and kiasi. After a year of promoting the sport- we only found a handful of new players. I realised how closed minded Singaporeans are. They will try wake boarding because it is "cool" but they are very closed minded about paintball - which is a disappointing revelation.

People who reply my postings will say "I want to try paintball" - but to actually get them to turn up on the day to play....its very disapointing. As they say in Singapore:- "all talk and no action".

So after this year is over- in 2008 I am going to stop actively promoting the sport and trying to get new players into the team. I think we have enough players to run with. I am looking for players who are commited to come out and play. In EvilChef, Calgar, Dragon Boi and Monkey- and possibly 1-2 other junior players - I think we have enough to carry the team in 5 man tournaments with reserves. We have always been short of 1-2 players in the last 2 MPOC tournaments but now I think we have just enough.

For me personally in 2008 the RedSevens are going to be exclusive- only serious players need to apply. I only ask that you commit your TIME and rock up to play. You don't have to buy anything and anyone guys/girls/any age can play. It is very open and very simple- just rock up. The team is going to focus on player development and playing tournaments.

We invest time and money into our new players - we give them gear and organise trips and paintballing sessions. So there is an minimum expectation we expect from new players which is to turn up.

I have had enough of these half ass people - I call them "Donovans" because we had a Donovan who turned up once and said he wanted to play seriously and etc etc and we never saw him again and he comes up with 101 excuses why he can't come.

So if you're a 'Donovan' - don't call me.