National Event

wormbyte wrote: »

TA Events will still be looking at possibly running a game in Ireland sometime this year.

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MagicIRL wrote: »

Im still rather new, TA is...?

Are you familiar with the term 'awesome' MagicIRL? Well, multiples of that.

Spike wrote: »

Check out http://www.hrta.ie/upcoming_events_19.html

Dude, that was July last year - epic games too (thanks again Shane). It's a bit away yet, but there are a few plots bubbling away for this summer as well I believe.

Blay I don't think thats really fair on Irish sites. We have a tiny market here vs the UK, we don't communicate with each other very well (boards is zero use as the vast majority don't read much or any of it) and the sites need to allow walk-ons so as not to alienate their regular customs who didn't hear about it/try to make ends meet due to the low turn out.

Now if punters were willing to prebook (with a non-refundable deposit so they don't bail) it would make all the difference in enticing the site operators to running these events not to mention keeping the sleeve chewers at bay


I for one am very excited about the possibility of TA Events running a weekend long game over here (Predator I assume), not just for the opportunity of a good game but because it'll prove to the native site operators that it is possible to run a weekend long milsim here.

I have to say from experience listening to you both that you both have valid points. Regarding the misconception out there that we do not have existing sites here in Ireland with the capacity to run such an event is misguided. There are Sites that could facilitate the scale of such an event.

Pre Booking IMO is a must for an event such as this as it relates true interest to the site owner prior to them investing large amounts of cash to secure the infrastructure required for the event for example extra insurance, camping facilities, external lighting, security&marchells etc.

One of the problems is many people may say "this is great" "it's exactly what we want" but when it comes to actually committing themselves to go they simply don't, others tend to sit on the fence so to speak and wait to see who are the people they know that are going and hence gage the caliber of the game and their involvement prior to it taking place and you cant blame them.
Unfortunately that's just the way things are here at the moment. I'd say run a one day large scale event to establish a good repore with the players and gain their trust in the sense that they would be then aware of your commitment to the standards of the game and they would be less hesitant in booking for a weekend event as it would not be as much of a gamble.

The reason TA Events and the likes of Berget are so popular is because they have been tried and tested and lads are guaranteed a good well structured gaming experience for their money every time.

It is possible to run a national event without it being milsim based with 'relatively' low hastle.

Got to get some key details square first;

1: How many players does your event take? 100-200? 500? It's a tradeoff between what you'd LIKE, and what you can realistically expect to get. Selecting a site must take this into account, its ok to be a little spread out, than reloading mags off your mate's vest becaues hes so close.

2:Insurance, catering concerns, toilet facilities for x number...

your local site's one portaloo may be grand for 40 airsofters each sunday, but 500 are going to make something hazmat would want to collect. Basically... your logitics...

How many people does your insurance cover? is the site for this game insured if its not a regular airsoft site?
How are you going to feed people? fend for yourself? burger van?

Game plans, scenarios, and teams are honestly one of the last and smallest concerns. Most can be fit to any site with a bit of tweaking over a cup of coffee.

Best aproach, start small. Not tiny, but 100... If its sucessful, run a second, with twice that number. it rolls on from there.

Ian is probably one of the best people here to ask about the specifics or organising a big event, these points are more general.

Not to pick on Red Fox here, but I'll use as example since 'reasonably priced' seems to be a strong point emphasised for success of an event.

What exactly, to most people's minds, is "reasonably priced"? Every event I've ever attended have been in the range of €50-120 (adjusting for GBP£); and that includes Berget tickets. For every event I've ever attended, the ticket have been reasonably priced considering what's on offer; 2-4 days of often continuous airsoft, access to military training facilities, etc.

So what is reasonable pricing? I see the comment used often for AEGs when someone is really referring to wanting to practically rob someone else blind for €20 on something worth in order of magnitudes more. I ask this because the effort of organising events costs money; usually a sum more than your average walk-on fee and to be faced with the above example attitude for AEGs would make me certainly think twice about going to the effort of organising something in Ireland.

€100+ assuming the following:

• its a full weekend (start by 11am Sat and not stop, as in 24hr, until 5 or 6pm on Sun or better yet Monday morning/afternoon if its a bank holiday weekend)
• no kiddies
• no hi-caps
• no sleeve chewers.

Oh yeah and no pallets!

Chuck the Buck wrote: »

€100+ assuming the following:

• its a full weekend (start by 11am Sat and not stop, as in 24hr, until 5 or 6pm on Sun or better yet Monday morning/afternoon if its a bank holiday weekend)
• no kiddies
• no hi-caps
• no sleeve chewers.

Oh yeah and no pallets!

By kiddies, 18 and under or 16 and under, would be fairly bad if it were over 18 for me (17)

AlternateID wrote: »

I know of no site in southern Ireland that is big enough or good enough for a big game. Would anyone care to give an example of a site they think could host such a game?

Predator.

I've been to two of their annual events (Red Hammer II & III respectively), with attendance in the triple digit figures for both.

Chuck the Buck wrote: »

Nap time goes without saying, what I was saying was more that it shouldn't stop for little johnny (be he 15 or 50) to go home at his bedtime or to get dinner, batteries, etc etc etc...

I've been to several events (including the aforementioned Predator 'Red Hammer' series) where games did end for the evening; allowing people to socialise, drink, and generally have fun. And those events are as much memorable for off-the-field moments as on the field. 24-hour events have their appeal, but don't discount weekender events for the sake of it.

sliabh wrote: »

Danin, how big is your site and what were you planning to charge for the event that you had to cancel?

Just to emphasise this for people who aren't aware, a big event was tried, and got almost zero interest. ALMOST ZERO. There's a lot of mouth about how people want stuff, but the number who are willing to pony up their money, time and effort is tiny.

Chuck the Buck wrote: »

Nap time goes without saying

Psh, lightweights.

FingalAirsoft wrote: »

How many players would you like to see at a National Event?

Depends on the size of the site. I wouldn't want something that resembles the battle of the somme. There shouldn't be so many players that people are tripping over one another. But urban will be different to rural. 100 or so would allow 3-4 good sized factions.

FingalAirsoft wrote: »

What age range? (Now before you say strictly over 18, Why?)

I would be more worried about the commitment. If a player is well equipped (no tracksuits and runners) and has the right level of engagement (knows what the game is, what to expect, has read the rules, and won't wander off mid way because their parents have come to collect them) then younger players are okay.

FingalAirsoft wrote: »

What price point would you be willing to pay?

If I felt the site was good, the people organising the event had the experience and reputation to assure me it was good, and there was obvious interest in Ireland, then I would happily pay €50 per day.

FingalAirsoft wrote: »

Which is better: 1 full 24hr game or one weekender event with some down time?

I would angle for a 36 hour one. Start Saturday morning, run to Sunday afternoon.

FingalAirsoft wrote: »

How far would you travel for this event?

From Austria, but that is just me :-) If I was in Ireland, I would be willing to go 4-5 hours by car.

FingalAirsoft wrote: »

Urban or woodland?

Can we have both? I have seen games organised in Belgium where they take over a holiday village in a forest. So you have urban and rural:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=67926437&postcount=4

markomongo wrote: »

Bellurgan Park, 'Borderlands' Airsoft, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

200 acres of natural mixed woodland on uneven terrain, (with the option to expand onto the 390 acre property to include fields and small tree forts), lake, tracks, foot bridges, village, prison, outposts and more.
Development continues.

Some nice plans for 2011...

Is this site open, insured and so on? Village, prison real buildings?

sliabh wrote: »

Danin, how big is your site and what were you planning to charge for the event that you had to cancel?

Just to put you straight it wasn't me organising that event it was another lad but it was to take place on the same estate as our site. The estate itself is well over a thousand acres with a lake, abandoned buildings, natural woodland with paths, a small quarry and other landmarks.
the lad in question had organised and payed for a professionally designed website with forums and online booking for members similar to TA events. He also got posters printed and issued all around Ireland.
He had a fully outdoor lit and facilitated campsite with security sorted with an added facility for charging batteries etc. He had organised a retailers zone for retailers to take part and also a mess hall with hot food available.
At the end of the event he had also included a barbecue for players to enjoy on th last night with vouchers for food and 2 beers all included in the price.

and unfortunately eventually with a heavy heart he had to cancel due to lack of interest and a vast lost of his own money.

Our site is around 55 acres of natural woodland if not a bit bigger with paths through it. We ran the first part of "The Black Ace Chronicles" and I have to say for a one day event it went considerably well with players from Dublin, Galway, Longford and Sligo but again even with a price set at €25 from around 10am to I think around 7pm it didnt get the numbers the site could have coped with.

there were no break players informed their squad leader when they wanted to drop out to eat.

Honestly if people want a 24 hour or weekend battlesim event or a milsim event they need to take a leap of faith and start attending some of the one day events already taking place because they are out there and ask people that attend them some of them are great. By doing this you'll give the Site Owners a more positive reason to invest in a weekend event.

It can be done but I think the owness is on the players more so than the site owners to make it happen.

AlternateID wrote: »

Was that the "Command & Conquer: The Integration Limerick" event?

no it was called the Vostrovian Conflict I think and it was going to be held in Sligo. That poor lad had also taken out the back page of the Take Aim magazine as an advert and bought huge military tents and he had also organised the military vehicle club to come down and use some of their troop transports and other vehicles for players it would have been awesome and sad thing is and i know this for a fact because he showed me he had more of a response from across the water than here in Ireland.

the Chairman of the IAA had been up and was brought around some of the site and he thought it looked great.

Danin wrote: »

no it was called the Vostrovian Conflict I think and it was going to be held in Sligo. That poor lad had also taken out the back page of the Take Aim magazine as an advert and bought huge military tents and he had also organised the military vehicle club to come down and use some of their troop transports and other vehicles for players it would have been awesome and sad thing is and i know this for a fact because he showed me he had more of a response from across the water than here in Ireland.

Just having a look at the old thread you can see it simply wasn't promoted well. Even the game rules on the site still have the wrong fps limits.

If you had posted this in his thread last year a lot more people would of taken an interest.

Danin wrote:

The estate itself is well over a thousand acres with a lake, abandoned buildings, natural woodland with paths, a small quarry and other landmarks.

He had a fully outdoor lit and facilitated campsite with security sorted with an added facility for charging batteries etc. He had organised a retailers zone for retailers to take part and also a mess hall with hot food available.
At the end of the event he had also included a barbecue for players to enjoy on th last night with vouchers for food and 2 beers all included in the price.

Your last two posts have made that event sound a lot more interesting then anything on the 3 pages in the original thread.