Maple
18 Apr 06, 06:19 PM
Welcome to the inaugural WAA open newsletter. The intention of this (and future) newsletter’s is to let you (the general airsoft community) know what is going on with the WAA. As always, I urge you to join the WAA and help us create a better airsoft environment in Wisconsin.
Recently, on March 25th, the annual WAA member’s meeting was held in Menomonee Falls. This meeting is held once a year to vote on topics such as committee chairmanship, executive council members and ideas or proposals that will be worked on by the WAA membership.
This year was an important year, as it was an all around election year. The following people were elected:
The executive council:
Brad Bowers – President
Mat Schmidt – Vice President
Jeff Holmes – Secretary/ Treasurer
The committee chairs:
Bob Kranker: Rules and Bylaws
Tony Agnelo – Certification
Tim Nielson – AEC
Matt Shoemaker – Grievance
Jeff Holmes – Peer
Mat Schmidt – Ombudsman
Several items other than elections were discussed at the meeting and voted upon. Although many of these items are still in the planning and research phase, they are rather exciting (in my opinion) and hopefully all of them can be fulfilled this year.
Some of the topics that were discussed were:
We are hoping to have a bbq sometime this summer. Several ideas are being passed around right now, so I can’t really be more specific. The idea is to invite all of you (non-members) out to meet with us (WAA members) and have some dogs or burgers. This would give all of us a great chance to have a Q&A session, shoot the breeze, etc. Like I said, it is still in the idea phase, so I am sure you all will here about it down the road.
Another topic that was discussed was revamping the forums to include other discussion threads. As most of you have seen already, I post a topic asking for ideas for new discussion topics. Recently, I submitted the ideas to the members and we should see the changes in the near future. If you have any additional ideas, shoot me a PM and we can discuss.
With the election of a new AEC chairperson (Timmay!) some changes may happen to the AEC format. As of right now, a proposal for changing the AEC is being looked at and we may see some changes to the program in the next few months.
Along those lines, we (the WAA) have heard your call for more frequent AEC’s and we will try to meet the challenge. With more fields on the verge of requiring AEC, we need to gear up the frequency so that more young and new players get the opportunity to get the AEC under their belt. Already this year 1 AEC was held and another is happening at the end of this month. With summer right around the corner, I am sure that another one will happen in the not too distant future. So if you haven’t had an AEC and need one or would just like to attend one, we look forward to seeing you out there.
As many of you know, insurance has been a big debate for a few years now. Working in the insurance industry, I understand all to well the importance of having you covered in the event of an accident. The WAA has been working on insurance for sometime, but the cost has been far too high ($10,000+) to cover all of the events in WI. Well, some good news has come down the pipeline. Recently we discovered that a well-written liability waiver (talking about the kind a lawyer has to draft) could cover you to a point in WI. This along with a much cheaper insurance plan will allow the WAA to sanction games.
With that said, I (nor my fellow WAA members) cannot promise WAA sanctioned events yet. We are working with a lawyer to hash out some items and we still have no definite word on the final cost of insurance. Since the money to pay for both the lawyer and the insurance come from membership dues, we will have to work smartly with what we have in our “war chest” to achieve this goal. (So for those of you who wonder where membership money goes to, now you know. Lawyers are expensive!)
Now onto some other topics.
As we all know (a little too well) airsoft is getting more and more attention from the media and police agencies. Unfortunately, most of this attention is not good. All too often, people are buying airsoft guns from mainstream retail outlets and are using them in an unsafe fashion. Whether playing in their yard, or bringing them to school or using them in a threatening manner, we are being looked at in an unkind light. I attribute this to a few things, often, airsoft guns are being sold to minors who do not know any better than to play in their yard. They do not know the law and do not know about proper safety when airsoft is involved.
We (and I mean all of us) have always advocated safety and responsibility first and fun second. The WAA is working on an informational pamphlet to distribute to airsoft retailers letting parents and children know how to use their new “toy” responsibly. Unfortunately, this will not stop all instances of kids playing in their yard, but if we can reduce the numbers by even a little, then the money was well spent on printing the pamphlets up.
The second issue we face is that there will always be an element of people who buy airsoft guns not to play the sport, but to do reckless things with them. For example, recently a string of crimes, ranging from public display to assault, have happened involving people with airsoft guns. Unfortunately, there is little we can do about this. With the availability of cheap easy to get a hold of airsoft guns, people with bad intentions will be able to continue to do stupid things with them. We as a community need to be aware of not only our own actions with airsoft guns, but also aware of what others are doing with them. If you see somebody doing something foolish with one, speak up and try to correct the behavior. If you see them endangering others or breaking the law with one, call the police.
Along that topic, I was elected to create and chair the new WAA Ombudsman committee. This committee will act as a sort of public relations group to work not only within our airsoft community, but with the outside (non-airsoft) community to let them know that we as a group are trying to make airsoft safe and non-threatening to non-players. Currently, we are working on a packet to send out to police agencies across the state letting them know a little bit more about us and also offering our assistance to work with them on making the community in large safer from airsoft related crime. We are also looking to the future and hope to work with media outlets to promote the safe play of airsoft in WI. Although it is a newly formed committee, we are already working hard to achieve these initial goals. Look for more about the Ombudsman committee over the next few months.
Lastly, this is something akin to what I have been writing about in the last few paragraphs. We (the WAA forums users) must be aware that law enforcement and media persons are looking us at. Please be careful about what you say, do or post, as it could very well wind up in a news story. We must all work together to portray our sport as a safe, enjoyable and non-threatening activity. Remember, we may all know that you are joking around, but non-players may not. Making a funny video of you and your friends running around in your yard can potentially set the sport back. We must all step it up and show “outsiders” that we are safe and know how to handle ourselves.
Remember, airsoft guns are not toys. They are realistic looking weapons that can potentially be dangerous if not used in the proper fashion. Most “non-players” have little contact with the sport, other than the miss-use they read about in the newspaper. Let’s all show them that those stories are not what we are all about.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the first newsletter. If you have any questions or comments feel free to fire away or PM me. I look forward to serving not only the WAA members as the Vice President, but all of you in the airsoft community.
-mat
Recently, on March 25th, the annual WAA member’s meeting was held in Menomonee Falls. This meeting is held once a year to vote on topics such as committee chairmanship, executive council members and ideas or proposals that will be worked on by the WAA membership.
This year was an important year, as it was an all around election year. The following people were elected:
The executive council:
Brad Bowers – President
Mat Schmidt – Vice President
Jeff Holmes – Secretary/ Treasurer
The committee chairs:
Bob Kranker: Rules and Bylaws
Tony Agnelo – Certification
Tim Nielson – AEC
Matt Shoemaker – Grievance
Jeff Holmes – Peer
Mat Schmidt – Ombudsman
Several items other than elections were discussed at the meeting and voted upon. Although many of these items are still in the planning and research phase, they are rather exciting (in my opinion) and hopefully all of them can be fulfilled this year.
Some of the topics that were discussed were:
We are hoping to have a bbq sometime this summer. Several ideas are being passed around right now, so I can’t really be more specific. The idea is to invite all of you (non-members) out to meet with us (WAA members) and have some dogs or burgers. This would give all of us a great chance to have a Q&A session, shoot the breeze, etc. Like I said, it is still in the idea phase, so I am sure you all will here about it down the road.
Another topic that was discussed was revamping the forums to include other discussion threads. As most of you have seen already, I post a topic asking for ideas for new discussion topics. Recently, I submitted the ideas to the members and we should see the changes in the near future. If you have any additional ideas, shoot me a PM and we can discuss.
With the election of a new AEC chairperson (Timmay!) some changes may happen to the AEC format. As of right now, a proposal for changing the AEC is being looked at and we may see some changes to the program in the next few months.
Along those lines, we (the WAA) have heard your call for more frequent AEC’s and we will try to meet the challenge. With more fields on the verge of requiring AEC, we need to gear up the frequency so that more young and new players get the opportunity to get the AEC under their belt. Already this year 1 AEC was held and another is happening at the end of this month. With summer right around the corner, I am sure that another one will happen in the not too distant future. So if you haven’t had an AEC and need one or would just like to attend one, we look forward to seeing you out there.
As many of you know, insurance has been a big debate for a few years now. Working in the insurance industry, I understand all to well the importance of having you covered in the event of an accident. The WAA has been working on insurance for sometime, but the cost has been far too high ($10,000+) to cover all of the events in WI. Well, some good news has come down the pipeline. Recently we discovered that a well-written liability waiver (talking about the kind a lawyer has to draft) could cover you to a point in WI. This along with a much cheaper insurance plan will allow the WAA to sanction games.
With that said, I (nor my fellow WAA members) cannot promise WAA sanctioned events yet. We are working with a lawyer to hash out some items and we still have no definite word on the final cost of insurance. Since the money to pay for both the lawyer and the insurance come from membership dues, we will have to work smartly with what we have in our “war chest” to achieve this goal. (So for those of you who wonder where membership money goes to, now you know. Lawyers are expensive!)
Now onto some other topics.
As we all know (a little too well) airsoft is getting more and more attention from the media and police agencies. Unfortunately, most of this attention is not good. All too often, people are buying airsoft guns from mainstream retail outlets and are using them in an unsafe fashion. Whether playing in their yard, or bringing them to school or using them in a threatening manner, we are being looked at in an unkind light. I attribute this to a few things, often, airsoft guns are being sold to minors who do not know any better than to play in their yard. They do not know the law and do not know about proper safety when airsoft is involved.
We (and I mean all of us) have always advocated safety and responsibility first and fun second. The WAA is working on an informational pamphlet to distribute to airsoft retailers letting parents and children know how to use their new “toy” responsibly. Unfortunately, this will not stop all instances of kids playing in their yard, but if we can reduce the numbers by even a little, then the money was well spent on printing the pamphlets up.
The second issue we face is that there will always be an element of people who buy airsoft guns not to play the sport, but to do reckless things with them. For example, recently a string of crimes, ranging from public display to assault, have happened involving people with airsoft guns. Unfortunately, there is little we can do about this. With the availability of cheap easy to get a hold of airsoft guns, people with bad intentions will be able to continue to do stupid things with them. We as a community need to be aware of not only our own actions with airsoft guns, but also aware of what others are doing with them. If you see somebody doing something foolish with one, speak up and try to correct the behavior. If you see them endangering others or breaking the law with one, call the police.
Along that topic, I was elected to create and chair the new WAA Ombudsman committee. This committee will act as a sort of public relations group to work not only within our airsoft community, but with the outside (non-airsoft) community to let them know that we as a group are trying to make airsoft safe and non-threatening to non-players. Currently, we are working on a packet to send out to police agencies across the state letting them know a little bit more about us and also offering our assistance to work with them on making the community in large safer from airsoft related crime. We are also looking to the future and hope to work with media outlets to promote the safe play of airsoft in WI. Although it is a newly formed committee, we are already working hard to achieve these initial goals. Look for more about the Ombudsman committee over the next few months.
Lastly, this is something akin to what I have been writing about in the last few paragraphs. We (the WAA forums users) must be aware that law enforcement and media persons are looking us at. Please be careful about what you say, do or post, as it could very well wind up in a news story. We must all work together to portray our sport as a safe, enjoyable and non-threatening activity. Remember, we may all know that you are joking around, but non-players may not. Making a funny video of you and your friends running around in your yard can potentially set the sport back. We must all step it up and show “outsiders” that we are safe and know how to handle ourselves.
Remember, airsoft guns are not toys. They are realistic looking weapons that can potentially be dangerous if not used in the proper fashion. Most “non-players” have little contact with the sport, other than the miss-use they read about in the newspaper. Let’s all show them that those stories are not what we are all about.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the first newsletter. If you have any questions or comments feel free to fire away or PM me. I look forward to serving not only the WAA members as the Vice President, but all of you in the airsoft community.
-mat