Any true aficionado of the written word must have that inspiration to put one’s thoughts down eloquently on paper. In this day and age having entered the electronic era popular media has gone paperless and can now be found primarily on the internet. There is truth in the saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword”, a person that can write and express themselves well can accomplish much in a single article and perhaps even inspire others given the right choice of words. It is my hope that the readership for The Catshack Reports are able to sense our inspiration and sincere passion for paintball through the various writings found here … maybe even become as excited and passionate about paintball as we are, today I have inspiration to write.
The Catshack recently traveled to a local field to cover a local tournament event set to take place. Unfortunately the iffy weather combined with some teams bowing out at the last minute led to the tournament’s cancellation and a new date set. Disappointed the media coverage for the day was already at an end, preparations began to pack up and leave early quite empty handed.
Just prior to departure however I was made aware that some local speedball teams were set to appear to do some practicing alongside a D3 team from the USA in preparation for an upcoming speedball tournament to take place in this region in a couple of weeks. Better still, this same D3 team had a number of members of some well known pro teams appear to compete alongside them. A little ray of sunshine glimmered on the horizon as perhaps the day wasn’t over as early as I had first anticipated.
What a great opportunity to salvage an otherwise uneventful day and get some pro paintball players on camera doing what they do best. Leaving the camera equipment aside for the moment, myself representing the Catshack and properly attired in my professional looking jersey clearly displaying “The Catshack Reports Paintball News” did approach their team manager to request access to film. In his defense I suppose, he did make it clear that he was not aware of The Catshack Reports as media, nor does he apparently pay much attention to the internet. His response was a very clear “No”, despite some discussion of Catshack accomplishments as a paintball news site and some of the upcoming events we are all set to cover. (Apparently we are good enough to have full access to both the upcoming NPPL and PSP)
Suffice it to say I am adamant 
that no one can honestly say that our little publication hasn’t earned some amount of legitimacy. The staff here hold good solid credentials having interviewed and covered tons of paintball related people, products and events. We have written for both FaceFull and X3 Paintball Magazine and our photography skills are often showcased on paintballphotography.com courtesy of Gary Baum himself. I am also confident had this gentleman asked his people, someone present could have easily vouched for the legitimacy of The Catshack Reports as a paintball news source.
To get straight to the point … what the! … this is paintball people, and a lesser known D3 team no less? Media and coverage of the game is just so important now more than ever. Speedball and interest in that side of the sport has clearly waned over the last couple of years. To turn away media coverage for whatever reason does a great disservice to the sport, team sponsors and the paintball community itself. I am not saying open the floodgates and allow photographers and journalists to run amok during games and practices. In closing conversations the team manager assured me we would have ample opportunity for coverage at another time. My thoughts?… no, this was an opportunity missed sir, not by me but rather by a D3 team that could have gotten some decent exposure in the media for both their team and its sponsors. At the end of the day The Catshack Reports Paintball News respected the request for no media and departed the field.
Elitism has no place in paintball brothers and sisters, set it aside and allow the media to do what we do best. In a sense paintball and media should hold close a very symbiotic relationship, both compliment each other and neither can survive without the other.
