Performing well on-field at a large event comes down to a lot of factors. But before you start dissecting game plans, motivating your teammates and thinking about 1st place, you have to get there in the first place!
There are a lot of costs you don't necessarily consider when first weighing up playing a tournament abroad. With my recent experience in planning / booking everything for the CPS in Rome for the team, I figured I would share what I learned for those who may do so in the future. Prices displayed here are for the team of 7 going to the CPS Rome event, of course this will change for different leagues in different places. For example, the millennium series has higher entrance fees and we will be driving to the Belgium / Paris events instead of flying. Some costs such as entry, paint, cars and accommodation can be reduced with more players splitting the bill.
Event Entry: €720 (£85/player) per event (€2,160 for 3 events)
Depending on the tournament or the division you are looking to play, you may be required to put up the entry for the year in advance to secure your spot in a locked division. Money saving: When it came to the CPS, there was a 30% discount if you signed up to the first 3 events and paid in advance. For the Semi Pro division this was €1,800 +VAT. Don't forget the VAT!: It is important to keep the VAT in mind when looking at entry costs as it's not always obvious.
Paint: €35 / case ~€700-800 total or €100-125 / player.
I was approached by Emboscada paintball, an Empire dealer who was supplying Evil at the event. Fortunately I didn't have to pay any deposits, just had an agreement that we will shoot the paint when we're there. You will find that paint usually has to be paid for at the event, or if you're lucky can be settled after with an invoice.
I've heard a few times that a team will on average shoot somewhere around a case per point played. We're playing race-4 and so if we play 3 preliminaries and get skunked 4-0 we'd have shot a minimum of 12 cases. If we make it to Sunday and play 3 more games that's 6 games which could all be 7 point matches which is 42 cases in the worst case scenario (I'm not sorry). In reality I would expect to shoot around 20-25 cases.
Travel: Flights: £135 / player
I used a flight comparison website, we were late to book as we had only decided late January that we were going to commit to the CPS so to keep the costs down we have had to fly from Gatwick very early on Thursday 6th and return very late on Monday 10th. The flights are with different airlines to get the cheapest combination. I definitely recommend booking flights as early as you can to save on cost. The other pain is getting everyone's passport information after the flights have been booked. Money saving: We have decided to go with 4 hold bags between the 6 of us flying to save on paying for baggage. Of course we will still have cabin baggage which is often ample for casual clothing and washbags.
Travel: Hire car: £355 (£51/player)
We were thinking of just going and using taxi's but I was tipped off by the CPS organizers that it is certainly cheaper to hire a car. I have used AVIS hire cars to get a 7 seater people carrier which will hopefully have enough room for kit bags - if not there will be some kit bags on laps! We have the car from the airport so we shouldn't be stuck at all when we're there. Extra costs: Be aware that these companies may add on an extra charge if your driver is between the minimum age of 21 and 25 as a young driver surcharge. Don't forget you will also have to pay for fuel whilst there!
Travel: Airport parking: £37/car (2 cars)
It's easy to forget that you need to think about the journey before and after the flights - if you're lucky enough to book flights at a local airport at a decent price then you could benefit from loved ones or taxi's getting you to and from the terminal. Unfortunately we don't have that luxury this time round and so have had to arrange for airport parking.
Accommodation: €220
You often have a few choices when it comes to local accommodation. Check out the different prices and weigh up the pros and cons, not forgetting that you will have to travel between your bed and the venue each morning and evening. Some events have local camping, a good money saver but not always supportive of a good night's sleep. Travel hotels are common, try and squeeze as many as you can to save the money. The CPS were very helpful in providing options of hotels but also a camping village with mobile homes / static caravans, which we decided to go for. We got a 6 man static caravan with a +1 on the sofa which brought the bill down to around £31.50 per person! Money saving: Often the tournament organizer will do the research for you and give you some options, if you're lucky they may have also struck a deal with the accommodation. We got a discount deal through the CPS at the holiday village making it very cheap for us.
ID cards: €35
Most major league tournaments require that players have an ID card to participate - bear in mind if you're bringing pit crew they may also need to obtain one. Money saving: You can often prepay online to pick up your ID card at the event so do so where possible.
On-site training: €50 /player
Some tournaments will offer a valuable opportunity to train at the venue during the days leading up to the event. Whilst field layouts may be standardised you don't know the angles until you play the field as it's set up. The CPS got in touch with us as there was another team, Helsinki Cyclone, looking to scrim on the Thursday for an hour. Entry was €30/player and paint is €20/case.
That's about all you can plan for before you touch down. But be aware that whilst there you will need to feed yourselves in the evenings as well as at the event plus water to keep the team hydrated. You can do this cheaply by getting food from nearby shops and whipping up some food to take with you instead of paying over the odds for on-site food.
Send any suggestions to luke9williams1@gmail.com or message me on facebook if there are any costs I haven't factored in.
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