Same Site to get UKARA ??

[Hegs44]

Hi

Noobie and am keen to get my UKARA sorted asap.

I am lucky with where I live and have serveral sites within 30 mins drive and could easily do my three events in 3 weeks or less.

Can I get three stamps from 3 different airsoft sites and therefore comply with UKARA regs ?

 

Or do I have to do them all at the same site ?

 

Thanks

[proffrink]

Unfortunately the rules are you need to have a gap of more than 2 months between your first and last game.

 

Generally it's going to be easier to get them done at the same site, but if you present a 'stamped' UKARA form to another site they should let you complete it there instead as there's nothing in the UKARA terms to suggest the same site must be used those 3 times - just that they all be registered.

[jcheeseright]

Ukara is a database of site memberships, so you'll need to be a member of one site, if that one site is happy to accept stamps from other sites then you're all good but I expect they won't.

 

There's also a requirement that the games are done in not LESS than 2 months, so doing it in 3 weeks is not feasible.

[Hegs44]

All Received and Understood.

Blond moment when interpretting the words.

 

Thanks.

 

[Sitting Duck]

your ukara entry is "tied in" or "linked" so to speak with one particular site

(your regular site you might call it)

 

that is why usually 3 visits to 1 site is the norm.

it will be that 1 site that will back your ukara entry so to speak

(your entry is connected with your usual or regular site)

 

you will understand what I mean when you get ukara'd

[djben9]

All Received and Understood.

Blond moment when interpretting the words.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Dont worry when i first read it i got confused with the length for 3 games, people told me 'different ' things until i actually asked the marshall at UA. 1st game for me was 11th July so my 3rd has to be after 11th Sep, so by 3rd october i should have it!

 

After that i'll sort it out and pop between a few sites as i have been told by the boss sundays are a better day to shoot people

 

(a little annoying as the UA games are sat! )

[ak2m4]

Sorry to drag this up but wasn't there a push last year by another group similar to UKARA but player focused who were developing a system whereby player details / number of skirmishes could be registered by different sites, held on a central database - can't remember their name now.

[Baz JJ]

British Airsoft Club

[ak2m4]

That's the one. Nice alternative solution on the face of it, I like the fact that it's player driven but may be difficult to gain real traction due to the £6.99 a year fee for players. Also missing a few of the "other" retailers due to their vested interest in the UKARA.

 

Maybe a tiered pricing model would be better, basic membership free.

[Baz JJ]

When BAC launched they came up against howls of protest and abuse. Have a look at the old posts on the subject.

Whatever your thoughts and airsoft politics, I thought the chance to play at different sites and keep your defence intact was a good idea especially if you only play sporadically due to finance or family commitnents. I can understand why a lot of stakeholders in the industry wouldnt like this model though.

[jcheeseright]

BAC died pretty much immediately, one of the members of this forum signed up with a bunch of fake details and was approved immediately with no checks at all... completely discredited the entire scheme and about 90% of retailers refused to accept it afterwards.

[Jedi_Master]

On a tangent - has anyone joined or know anything about the UKAPU (UK Airsoft Players Union) http://ukapu.org.uk

 

From October 2015 the Chairman is Matt Furey-King. They appear to want to represent the airsoft community, but their website and forums look pretty dead and it seems there is a lack of interest for the UKAPU in general.

[ak2m4]

Been around for a few years, supposed to represent it's members legally etc, push for reform I think. Facebook site has recent news. They are asking to be funded by membership fees it seems which is always going to be a stumbling block for any alternative system.

 

Personally I would want to see any future system controlled by an independent body, not for profit, run by players / sites. Free membership. Not quite sure how feasible this would be (that's just my own view)...

[Sacarathe]

Its a nice idea, look up the announcement threads on the various airsoft forums, 17 by their own statement on arnies.

 

But atm I would expect UKARA serves our interests sufficiently purely by the selfish motivation of capitalism.

[jcheeseright]

UKAPU aren't an alternative system, you are required to be a member of UKARA in order to join UKAPU, it's more of an organised lobbying/interest group like an airsoft version of the NRA to allow airsofters a collective voice when any new legislation etc is discussed in parliament.

 

I'm a member, not because I want to take an active role in the running of UKAPU but so that their membership figures are healthier if/when it does come to the point where they need to start harassing MPs. More members = more potential voters!

[Jedi_Master]

So should we all be joining the UKAPA to boost its numbers and therefore have an active voice in how the hobby/sport is managed. It sounds a bit too much like a trade union where the ruling elite rake off profits from the members, like Arthur Scargill living in the Barbican luxury while the miners bled and starved.

 

The British Airsoft Club (BAC) sounds like a good idea, one represented body for all airsofters, but yet again no support or real affiliation from the sport.

[Esoterick]

The British Airsoft Club (BAC) sounds like a good idea, one represented body for all airsofters, but yet again no support or real affiliation from the sport.

 

The biggest issue they've demonstrated is not checking at all to see if a new member's details are legit. There was a lot of trying to pass to blame going around when they were called out on it, but the reality is any good system shouldn't allow people to blag their way into gaining membership.

 

I tend not to get hugely invested into it, partly because i'm not affiliated with a retailer. However the common criticism of UKARA is that they have appreciable control over which shops can and can't sell RIFs. In practice though it means that if I don't like the prices or choice of stock from an English retailer then I will just shop abroad. Amusingly using my UKARA number to get overseas orders into the country

[jcheeseright]

So should we all be joining the UKAPA to boost its numbers and therefore have an active voice in how the hobby/sport is managed. It sounds a bit too much like a trade union where the ruling elite rake off profits from the members, like Arthur Scargill living in the Barbican luxury while the miners bled and starved.

 

The British Airsoft Club (BAC) sounds like a good idea, one represented body for all airsofters, but yet again no support or real affiliation from the sport.

 

You joke, but the reason shooting sports still exist in this country at all is because of vocal lobbying groups. If there weren't that counter-point to the anti gun lobby then you wouldn't even be able to buy a bright orange water pistol. As for the UKAPU board raking in profits... I hardly think that's likely, I'd be very surprised if they have any money at all and lobbying parliament is certainly not cheap. In 2006 when the VCRA was implemented the only thing that saved the sport was a retailers association fighting for their livelihoods, the next time parliament wants to win a quick bit of public approval by 'being tough on guns' airsoft will need a vocal proponent to state our case, I believe that UKAPU is the only credible group at the moment and the more members they have, the louder their voice is.

 

As for BAC, it was a moneymaking scam invented by a retailer that didn't want to pay the fees to join UKARA, it's been proven a fallible system and has all but disappeared. If they were to be the voice of airsoft in the UK any lobbyist worth half their salt on the other side of the fence would have us looking like a bunch of unregulated sociopaths roaming the streets with RIFs we've been sold illegally by retailers who aren't in any way compliant with the law. The 'skirmisher's defence' would disappear pronto and we'd all have to start using two-tone guns.