Hi Canada!
First off, I'm really glad to see an active airsoft presence in Canada. I think it's great! For some reason, I was under the impression that airsoft guns weren't allowed? No idea where I got that from.
My name is David and I'm the director of the
ACA (Association of Competitive Airsoft). I usually don't do this, but I think I'll start jumping into discussions and trying to clarify what it is we're trying to accomplish.
Yes, our games are fast paced and 100% action. There is little down time and players are exhausted after a match-up. What we've tried to do (and from what players and spectators tell us, have been successful at) is create a game environment that forces teams to work together and complete objectives as a team. Tactics play a large part of the ACA and I believe any MilSim player can appreciate that. With the class system, players are forced to carry a certain amount of MidCap magazines. Larger carrying classes have longer respawn times, some classes have objective completing capabilities, etc. Each team is able to select what kind of "team load out" they will be bringing onto the field.
There is a lot more to it than most people think. 70% of our teams that participate are huge MilSim teams. They attend long ops and travel far to participate in them. Like it was stated before, this isn't for everyone. MilSim ops can be long and engagements can be few and far between. That's just the nature of MilSim. We tried to create an environment that focuses on those engagements against another team.
Now, the main point that I want to stress is that the ACA is 100% supportive of the airsoft community. I've been on an airsoft team for about 3-4 years now (
RAINBOW airsoft) out here in California. All I want to do is see the sport grow and thrive while keeping it's very nature in tact. That's why we implemented mid-caps, classes and objective based games into our system. I won't lie, modern FPS games have inspired some aspects of the format, but who doesn't like playing video games?
Get off that couch and play it for real!
Airsoft is a game of honor and respect. We 100% disagree with giving prizes or money away for winning teams. Winning teams are awarded with unique patches and reputation. We obviously handle no-calling with swift and team-wide action. With the ACA Reputation system, teams with great reputation will be rewarded at the end of the season just as much as the team who actually won. This means that teams who may not perform very well but have great sportsmanship will be rewarded. Teams with poor sportsmanship will be ejected from the ACA community. After all, it's just a game. Have fun.
The ACA will eventually be branching out. Our goal is to be a large world-wide team ranking system for airsoft. Ranking is based on a myriad of factors. In fact, winning games/events is a very small part of the ranking system. Ranking will be scaled on how active your team is in the community (attending pick up games, milsim events, etc.). The more active your team is, the higher you rank. We want to encourage players to get out into the community and play the game. This whole system will also really help new players who are looking for a solid team in their area to play with and encourages them to really get involved.
I digress... as far as our league goes, it's not for everyone, but we are in no way "ruining airsoft". I really don't understand all of the animosity we get from the MilSim community for trying to do something good for the sport. In fact, the ACA is really looking forward to hosting a few true MilSim games of our own in the future. Long ops that really stay true to the game.
If you guys have any questions at all, please feel free to post them here. I'll try to check back often to answer them as soon as possible.
Thanks guys and hope to see you on the field!
-David