NPPL interview with Rich, Frank, Bart and Chuck & Alex – Part 1 of 2

Today we are proud to present an interview with the NPPL board of directors. A few weeks back we opened our interview up to you, our faithful readers, to let us know what questions you would like answered. However, due to time constraints of the webcast we didn’t have a chance to ask all the questions that we had prepared. With that in mind, several members of the NPPL board made themselves available to an exclusive interview with ProPaintball.com. Read on as Chuck Hendsch, Frank Connell, Rich Telford Bart Yacimec, and Alex Fraige bring the paintball community up to speed regarding the latest from the NPPL.

ProPaintball: How has & is the NPPL marketing to players at the local level to recruit competing teams?

Frank Connell: We have offered entries to our feeder systems to use as prizes to generate teams interested in winning a $2000 prize (NPPL Entry).

ProPaintball: Has there been any outreach efforts utilizing the 15 NPPL pro paintball teams playing at 15 different paintball parks to build 7-man paintball? If not, why not?

Rich Telford: Yes, we started this last season. All of the pro teams that play around the country went to their local fields and talked to potential teams. Some teams had better results then others depending on their position in paintball as well as how much they play. Our team is a great example since we play in Modesto, Davis, Sacramento and San Diego, plus we also ref the RPL. Because of this we talked to a ton of teams. Overall some teams did a great job and some teams kind of slacked off but it’s like that with anything.

ProPaintball: In 2008 the NPPL steering committee voted to modify the 7-man format to include point-based play in the 2009 season. Not in the semi and final matches, but throughout the entire event. With several team members & owners of the “new” NPPL on that committee, why are we still playing an out-dated format? What is holding the NPPL back from evolving to meet the needs of paintball players?

Rich Telford: This is something that we are working on though its tough because you can’t make everyone happy. Some teams like things the way they are and don’t want things to change. I think the only thing holding us back is figuring out a format that will make most of the teams, refs, and vendors happy. If you have a perfect solution then I’m all ears.

ProPaintball: Rumors have been circulating in regards to Tom Fore and his team DC Arsenal. What sort of position will Tom hold in the league in 2010? Will the Arsenal pro team be competing in 2010? Will he remain an active member within the ownership committee?

Bart Yachimec: Tom is currently a NPPL team owner and is on the NPPL Board as a Director. Right now it appears that he may be putting a team into the professional division for 2010, though I’ve also heard rumors that he may be doing a tie-in with the Naughty Dogs.

ProPaintball: What prompted the decision to leave the APPA database system?

Frank Connell: I hate to be the one answering this question. There were a number of minor issues the NPPL had with the APPA, and while the APPA does a great job, it was decided that it was in the best interest of the NPPL and our players to go back to handling player rankings, ID cards, and registration ourselves.

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This concludes part 1 of our 2 part interview series with the NPPL board of directors. Stay tuned for part 2, which includes a few words on sand bagging, Shawn Walker, and a capped rate of fire. Part 2 is scheduled for release tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin in Los Angeles at justin@propaintball.com.

March 15, 2010
Filed Under: Interviews, NPPL
Tagged: NPPL