Airsoft Forums UK

Trouble with any government/governing body is that they will make rules that some people won't like and we will have to pay for it. So we would be paying a site membership,governing body membership,game fee and ukapu membership(optional)?

In what ways do we get shafted?  Do you really think that waiting an extra couple of weeks before we can go out to play with our toy guns is a big issue and getting shafted?

Becoming a recognised sport would bring its own set of drawbacks and problems.

my dig wasnt just at having to wait a couple extra weeks that doesnt bother me what bothers me is the fact buisness have had to close because they havent had the funding cause airsoft isnt  a recognised sport,yes there would be drawbacks and problems just like every other sport but it also allows for extra funding from sports grants etc that can help smaller sites to improve which is the bigger picture im looking at not just cause i want to go play sooner

The ATR (Airsofft Trade) are attempting to set themselves up in charge as we speak. I would vote for UKAPU to represent me though

yeah i read that on fb bout 30 mins ago bud

we need someone in the ukapu to take it to bring it up in there next meet/agm what ever its called lol

Now, that is a valid point; however, claiming that we have been "shafted' is just inaccurate hyperbole.

A few sites have closed, mainly because they were underfunded or because the landowners decided that they would be better off using the land for other purposes.

Small business owners have had access to funding during COVID; that would include owners of sites that are registered businesses.

technicly we have been shafted as paintball can go ahead cause its a recognised sport tell me how we havent if paintball can but airsoft cant when its same rules etc pretty much

alot of them were turned down due to not being a recognised sport the goverment didnt give alot of the smaller buisnesses funding like they were suppose to bud

yes i agree with your points on being under funded but again thats where a governing body can step into help as can request for funding,where as alot of funding during the first lockdown never made it to certain places

I could be entirely wrong, but I imagine the fact you had those clowns in Basingstoke turning up at some woods to playing during this lockdown and got caught isn't insignificant in it. At least that's the conclusion I landed on as to why airsoft specifically was mentioned, because it's generally pretty rare airsoft gets singled out for anything outside of the things regarding RIFs.

If you've got any anger I'd be aiming it toward selfish dickheads that think they're above the restrictions alongside any ill feeling you have toward the government. But yeah, on the whole we have it pretty good over here versus others as far as airsoft goes... though it's certainly a unique one in that it could theorically just vanish at any point in time.

oh i know they probs have caused the goverment to include airsoft,but again thats just fuel for fire

no anger just disgusted at how airsoft gets bipassed cause its not classed as an elite sport but paintballing does,i agree our rules are alot better than alot of countrys but  like u said airsoft can just disapear here where as if we had a governing body it cant just disapear its more for protecting the future of the sport and getting it more recognised again which would bring even more people to the sport

i still think that have a governing body would outweigh any of the bad points

but this is my opnion and like assholes everyone has em not expecting people to agree etc  

as new as i am to airsoft id love to see airsoft get out there like other sports like skateboarding did in the early 2000's when it finaly got recognised as a legitimate sport again just my opinion

Ah, so you are back to us being shafted because we cannot go out to play for a couple of weeks.  That seems somewhat petty in the context of a global pandemic that has killed around 2.8 million people; the figure is probably a lot higher as some countries have, quite clearly, under reported.

I am disappointed that I cannot play next weekend (although the site that I was going to is still deciding whether they can go ahead!) but it is not the most significant event in my life over the last few months; I will be playing on the 18th, which is fine by me.

I suspect that the Basingstoke twats and a couple of other incidents have had a far greater impact than airsoft not being recognised as a sport.

Paintball is not formally recognised as a sport in the UK, so the "elite sport" or even just "sport" argument is moot.

What it does have is the UK Paintball Sports Federation, which promotes paintball and, in effect, acts as a governing body.