Irish Airsoft Vs. The Recession

Rogue-Trooper

On a day when all we've heard from the media is the doom and gloom of the recession and the fall-out from yesterday's budget fiasco, it is genuinely heart-warming to hear that not one, but TWO new sites are opening this week. It might be an otherwise bleak day for our economy but it's a great week for Irish airsoft. That there is a growing demand for these sites and room for many more is testament to the size of our growing community.
May our sport continue to go from strength to strength in the face of fiscal adversity and I'd just like to say best of luck to both Red Barn Airsoft and Grey Wolf Airsoft and wish them every success. I'd also like to congratulate and thank our existing sites and retailers for their continued support and enthusiasm for Irish airsoft. I know that there are profits involved (ocassionally!) but there is a passion and dedication there that is worthy of recognition. These guys have put their money where their mouths are so I guess it's our duty to support them by getting out this weekend and go skirmishing. I don't think that's too much to ask now is it?!

AirsoftEire.com

Nice post. We still have several people signing up every single day, so the word is definitely getting out there. Great to see a sport continue to grow despite the financial downturn. They should knock the budget and recession off the front pages and give airsoft some coverage.

Steve

Bernie Mac

Extremely well said

Rogue-Trooper

AirsoftEire.com wrote: »

They should knock the budget and recession off the front pages and give airsoft some coverage.

Steve

Now THERE'S an idea!!

zero19

Times are hard but everyones still spending, thats good thankfully! Even if its the likes of me who can only afford a can of gas now and then lol

TheDoc

*reflects on the €200 euro he has spent on a storm case*

Theres a recession?

zero19

Rub it in then! Lol

Beast ASI

Greywolf airsoft? lol?

Fallschirmjager

certainly hope the govt is aware of this. jobs jobs jobs will get us what we want. It would be interesting to see what approx the jobs/VAT/tax returns are from our industry. I suspect its a lot bigger then people think.

Sod'o swords

Three sites actually.

Don't forget our friends from the SE.

OzCam

I know this is very little comfort to anyone who has to travel for hours to play, but I wonder if we have too many sites opening at the moment.

With proper insurance costing several tens of thousands of euro a year, all the development costs, the ongoing expenses, and the earning power of potential customers dropping by the hour, I can't see all our sites surviving. I hope I'm wrong, but I just can't see it.

I'm sure Red Barn and Greywolf and all the other new operators are going to run fine operations. But TBH I'm going to want to see an insurance certificate when I visit a site for the first time from now on. And I'm still aware of only 4 or 5 sites with proper SHAWW Safety Statements, without which any insurance you do have is significantly weakened.

Please prove me wrong, guys.

Gizmodeon

I think if you dont have money for airsoft gear
sell some stuff, and upgrade!
I'm selling off some stuff, and gonna get some stuff fixed too
theres ways to work around having no money, and I will do it get back into airsoft!

and to the recession I blow a big rasberry
Once I get my company up and running, I'll be living and breathing airsoft again

Rogue-Trooper

OzCam wrote: »

I know this is very little comfort to anyone who has to travel for hours to play, but I wonder if we have too many sites opening at the moment.

With proper insurance costing several tens of thousands of euro a year, all the development costs, the ongoing expenses, and the earning power of potential customers dropping by the hour, I can't see all our sites surviving. I hope I'm wrong, but I just can't see it.

I guess time will tell, but we live in hope

zero19

With the large influx of sites i hope it encourages site owners to up their game and improve their sites, only the strong survive after all!

Gatling

zero19 wrote: »

With the large influx of sites i hope it encourages site owners to up their game and improve their sites, only the strong survive after all!

one thg has me wondering why we have sites opening on top of each other,

HRTA the original in my top 2 sites here

10 mins away Fingal from HRTA

now 5mins redbarn away from HRTA

is there no other land available other than close to HRTA or is there an idea set up close to another to get there business sounds controversial and maybe it is but you dont get sites opening beside each other in any other country and being thats there is a recession on why try take business from another established site,
surely Airsoft before profit , or are we at profit profit,profit then the soprt,

has anyone thought of doing a reduced price for those unemployed at skirmish sites being there has been a fair few lads in the sport laid off or due to be laid off ,

zero19

Very good point there gatling, it does seem a bit odd. I'm glad the first site in kildare is in the works, more sites in areas which have none is certainly the way to go. As for unemployment? I'm one of the many unemployed and i'd certainly welcome a small fee reduction for a skirmish, or a free tokyo marui MEU, or a job...lol

mobprop667

we at SEACOM, the site of the southeast airsoft club are a fully insured, large, and challenging site here in the southeast. the site is located 30 minutes from wexford town, 1 1/2 hours from dublin, 30 minutes from waterford.

we are a fully legal site with insurance and land that have exclusive access to, with the blessing of coillte.

we are opening on monday 13th of april for everyone that wants to come down. walkons are happily welcomed.
you must however be over 16.

we wish the best of luck to the 2 other sites opening this week, and look forward to seeing the sport grow across the country.
As the vice chairman of the Southeast Airsofter's Club, i welcome everyone to our new site, and i look forward to checking out the other new sites that are opening this week. rock on guys!

Kevin

Rogue-Trooper

Gatling wrote: »

has anyone thought of doing a reduced price for those unemployed at skirmish sites being there has been a fair few lads in the sport laid off or due to be laid off ,

zero19 wrote: »

I'm one of the many unemployed and i'd certainly welcome a small fee reduction for a skirmish, or a free tokyo marui MEU, or a job...lol

That's a valid point there guys. I'm sure the sites are feeling the pressure with rising overheads and falling numbers, but on a quiet day wouldn't you rather have an extra 10 people only paying €15 (for example) to be there than not come at all? That would be an extra €150 you might not have otherwise taken in for that day and would keep the players happy.

I am self-employed and have been suffering greatly as a result of the economic downturn, only working one day a week on average since Christmas. I have the stress and worry of a wife & 2 kids to feed (being the only bread-winner in the house) and like everyone else am feeling a little overwhelmed by the negative media coverage and general air of doom & gloom that prevails at the moment.The reason I felt compelled / inspired to post this thread was the fact that I recognised a glimmer of light when I saw the announcement of the 2 new sites and it genuinely did cheer me up. It's great to see growth of any kind at the moment but especially growth in our community and our sport. I say community because I think some people forget that that's what we are. We have just come through a difficult period for airsoft in this country, from legal and political assaults to our own in-fighting. What I'm trying to say is that we should look upon this growth as an omen for the good times ahead in the sport, put any differences aside and work together.
Irish airsoft, as a sport and an industry and community, should be a beacon of hope and an example and inspiration for all Irish people at this time. I wonder is there some way for the IAA to use this in a positive way to promote the sport in the public eye and maybe help erode some of the stigma attached to it?!

Anyway, sorry if this comes across as being a bit preachy or rambling but it's just falling out of me like a stream of consciousness!
Also, I'm not moaning about my situation, I'm just trying to put it into the context of where I was coming from when I posted the thread!

mobprop667

rogue trooper....i feel your pain. i work in the film business and it is tricky even in good times. the recession has made everything difficult. it is great to see airsoft grwing despite this. hell, we are even having a free bbq for everyone at the opening this monday as well as a draw for free kit. so, for the price of a walkon for the day, you get fed for free and you may win a pistol, or AEG. our land is rented, and it costs money to maintain as well as insure. if we gave a discount to everyone who says that they are out of work, we couldnt keep the site open. we are not operating for profit. all money goes back into the site. you can take my word as vice chairman on that. there is no way to give unemployment discounts as it is too hard to enforce. would we have to ask for p45s? i had to sell 3/4 of my kit so i could keep playing.

those of us that have clubs or are hosting events at our sites are not ignoring the plight of our fellow airsofters, but in order to maintain a quality SAFE fun INSURED site, we have to cover our overhead. on days where we have had test skirmishes with walkons, i have lent out safety gear, clothing, AEGs, bbs, etc, all in an effort to keep the sport going here in the southeast.

I am currently unemployed. i paid a membership fee in january to enable me to use our site for a year. i am fortunate in that respect. in order to be able to skirmish, i have cut costs in other areas of my life. i dont go to the pub as much, i gave up smoking, i sold a lot of kit.

believe me, we want to see as many people as we can at our site. not for the money, but because it kicks ass to aee dozens of people in one skirmish. we do it for the sport.

Rogue-Trooper

mobprop667 wrote: »

rogue trooper....i feel your pain. i work in the film business and it is tricky even in good times. the recession has made everything difficult. it is great to see airsoft grwing despite this. hell, we are even having a free bbq for everyone at the opening this monday as well as a draw for free kit. so, for the price of a walkon for the day, you get fed for free and you may win a pistol, or AEG. our land is rented, and it costs money to maintain as well as insure. if we gave a discount to everyone who says that they are out of work, we couldnt keep the site open. we are not operating for profit. all money goes back into the site. you can take my word as vice chairman on that. there is no way to give unemployment discounts as it is too hard to enforce. would we have to ask for p45s? i had to sell 3/4 of my kit so i could keep playing.

those of us that have clubs or are hosting events at our sites are not ignoring the plight of our fellow airsofters, but in order to maintain a quality SAFE fun INSURED site, we have to cover our overhead. on days where we have had test skirmishes with walkons, i have lent out safety gear, clothing, AEGs, bbs, etc, all in an effort to keep the sport going here in the southeast.

I am currently unemployed. i paid a membership fee in january to enable me to use our site for a year. i am fortunate in that respect. in order to be able to skirmish, i have cut costs in other areas of my life. i dont go to the pub as much, i gave up smoking, i sold a lot of kit.

believe me, we want to see as many people as we can at our site. not for the money, but because it kicks ass to aee dozens of people in one skirmish. we do it for the sport.

I appreciate where you are coming from there - I did acknowledge that the overheads must be putting the sites under pressure. I realise that it would be difficult to police a policy of reductions for those that are badly-off let alone the financial impact of it on the site! I did also in my original post give kudos to sites like yourselves that put effort into the sport and not just for profit.
I feel your pain too! At this stage airsoft is about all I get out to do but to be honest I'm happy with that as it's all I want to do anyway! Fair play to you for looking after people on your site. Hopefully I'll get down there someday to check it out - I've heard only good things from there.:)

Spetzcong

Rogue-Trooper wrote: »

I appreciate where you are coming from there - I did acknowledge that the overheads must be putting the sites under pressure. I realise that it would be difficult to police a policy of reductions for those that are badly-off let alone the financial impact of it on the site! I did also in my original post give kudos to sites like yourselves that put effort into the sport and not just for profit.
I feel your pain too! At this stage airsoft is about all I get out to do but to be honest I'm happy with that as it's all I want to do anyway! Fair play to you for looking after people on your site. Hopefully I'll get down there someday to check it out - I've heard only good things from there.:)

I'm on the dole, to be honest I reckon airsofting is a pretty cheap day out as it is. €25 for a full day, I reckon subtracting an hour for lunch that works out at around 7 hours of game time, that seems pretty reasonable for €25. I certainly can't think of many other activities that you'd get that kinda value for.

Hivemind187

Spetzcong wrote: »

I'm on the dole, to be honest I reckon airsofting is a pretty cheap day out as it is. €25 for a full day, I reckon subtracting an hour for lunch that works out at around 7 hours of game time, that seems pretty reasonable for €25. I certainly can't think of many other activities that you'd get that kinda value for.

I've got to agree. I've been out of work since June last year. A night in the pub would usually run at least 40-50 quid once you factor in the drinks, inevitable kebab/chipper run and potential taxi fare.

A days airsofting usually runs about 25 + travel + BB's depending on your usage. Its a longer day out and it doesnt give you quite the same hangover as drinking.

Gatling

ive been off work 2 years and still get to skirmish regularly ,
but with rent and a baby in 2 weeks ive ruled out any aegs this year ,id rather skirmish than waste cash on drink

Rogue-Trooper

Spetzcong wrote: »

I certainly can't think of many other activities that you'd get that kinda value for.

I fully agree. I was just picking up on zero19's point about a possible reduction.

Hivemind187 wrote: »

Its a longer day out and it doesnt give you quite the same hangover as drinking.

You're singin' my tune Ronan, although sometimes my body IS racked with pain the day after a long skirmish! Deffo beats a hangover though!

Gatling wrote: »

id rather skirmish than waste cash on drink

Amen to that - I've forgotten what drink tastes like at this stage! :pac:
(By the way, I'm sure there's a molle pouch available that could accomodate a baby on your tac vest!!;))

mobprop667

Rogue-Trooper wrote: »

I fully agree. I was just picking up on zero19's point about a possible reduction.



You're singin' my tune Ronan, although sometimes my body IS racked with pain the day after a long skirmish! Deffo beats a hangover though!



Amen to that - I've forgotten what drink tastes like at this stage! :pac:
(By the way, I'm sure there's a molle pouch available that could accomodate a baby on your tac vest!!;))

just cut little leg holes in your hydration pack. that should hold the littleone for the first few months. utility puches will hold nappies, etc, and m4 mag puches will easily hols 1 bottle each! as a dad of a 1 yr old, i have thought long and hard about that stuff!!!:D

Gatling

mobprop667 wrote: »

just cut little leg holes in your hydration pack. that should hold the littleone for the first few months. utility puches will hold nappies, etc, and m4 mag puches will easily hols 1 bottle each! as a dad of a 1 yr old, i have thought long and hard about that stuff!!!:D

one word HARDBOILED poster

OzCam

Hivemind187 wrote: »

A days airsofting usually runs about 25 + travel + BB's depending on your usage. Its a longer day out and it doesnt give you quite the same hangover as drinking.

And it's better for you. Giving up smoking is better again.

Gizmo: welcome back, we've missed you.

Mob and R-T: the only problem is finding baby-sized goggles. I'm sure Dex can run something up if you talk nicely to him.

iceage

This guy could play on my team any time! :cool:

Gucci neoprene neck protector....sorted.

gerrowadat

As soon as the kid can walk, get them some of this : https://www.epropper.com/categoryattribute/17

It's even ACU so you're not going to have trouble finding them.

fasterkayote_

we love airsoft so much that our motto is "theres no recession in airsoft".
as previously mentioned here were forming a all systema airsoft team and so far 2 has added and 3 ptws on the way to the Republic.