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Possibilities for Improvement
Generally I was very pleased with the field, its organizers and my gaming experience. There is always room for improvement though. Some of these IÂ’ve already mentioned, but IÂ’ll gather them again here.
The safety briefing needs to be a little more formal and repeated if new players join mid-game. ItÂ’s possible that I missed the safety briefing for people who came later in the day, so IÂ’ll give them a benefit of a doubt on this one.
Boundaries and definition of safe zone, field and chronoÂ’ing area needs to be a bit clearer. Basically, as it stands, you walk around the corner of a (admittedly quite tall) safety netting and youÂ’re in a live fire area. IÂ’m not sure how the field wants to handle this in future, but I think you may get some people tut-tutting this. I didnÂ’t feel it to be unsafe, as I could see where it was safe and where it was not, but a first time player might not.
I recommend an airsoft-specific chronograph, with the checked speed written on the admission wrist-band as a record with a sharpie.
Spawn point/locations need a clearer marker - flags, specially painted or otherwise marked objects, something. There was not infrequent mild confusion over where spawn points were. Part of that is working out where they should be based on the various game types, so a spawn marker that can be moved but is clearly identifiable would be very useful.
[edit - later addition] There is a fair range of consumables available, but may I suggest also carrying the following items: Sports drinks, chips, candy bars, kill rags. All of these things can be carried without adding a full pro shop, though you'd have to make sure the candy bars don't melt in the container.
Don’t get me wrong, I had a TONNE of fun in the trenches and foxholes, but I think a civil engineer or someone with military engineering experience should be consulted about the shape, depth and shoring of some of the trenches and foxholes. After a few heavy rains, I could see those becoming quite soaked and/or degraded. Maybe if someone can look at them – whether sandbagging or reinforcements required, and drainage. US Army Field Manuals (FMs) FM 5-15 and 5-103 have some great details on how to do that.
Reviewing my pictures, I realize now that I never really took a close look at the mesh/scrim that is in place to keep BBs from entering the staging/safe area. I have to presume they tested it thoroughly, but I might feel more comfortable if there were two layers. Maybe there is already. I can't recall. I never felt unsafe behind the mesh, but perhaps I should have taken a closer look.
I was informed that different staff other than Fred and Jesse were also going to be serving as Ref/Admins for the field after being trained by Jesse - please, Jesse or whoever is training them, make sure they know the rules, game types and boundaries/spawns inside and out, and are firm but fair with rules enforcement. They have to be as good as Jesse with safety as well. Good refs/admins can make or break a field.
Chris, first of all thank you very much for coming out for our opening day and for writing such a detailed review as it has helped us refine a few things mentioned above.
Since your review we've addressed a few things listed below:
1. Safety briefing. We now have 2 staff members working at the field and they have a safety briefing script which they recite multiple times throughout the day as new players arrive. The script includes everything from FPS rules, code of conduct, field rules and emergency procedure in the event of a serious injury.
2. Boundaries. We've since marked the entrance to the field with signage that read 'Eye Pro Required After this Point' and when you exit the field signage to remind players to put their barrel socks on and mags out. This week we will be marking the property line in the forest.
3. Chrono. The chrono we have can either be calibrated for airsoft or paintball. Ours is calibrated to airsoft as required.
4. Trenches. We're lucky to be on a sand and gravel soil structure so for the most parts the trenches should drain in heavy rain. Sand and gravel does tend to cave in as you mentioned but in the event of this happening we have an excavator and backhoe nearby that we can use to dig them out again. As for the depths we generally try to go 3' deep with about a foot or a foot and a half of dirt beside the trench giving you about 4' of coverage. Reason why we did not decide to go any deeper is due to cave ins which can severely injure someone.
5. Amenities. We now have a washroom right on site so theres no more need to drive to the washroom facilities at the campground.
We had a very successful weekend so we're looking to continue construction of the field mid June to expand the town and are working on a design for a FOB as a centre piece for the field.
Thanks again for the detailed review and feedback and hope to see you again soon!
Jesse
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