NPPL to Revamp Referee Program and Hold Open Meeting in San Diego

The National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) is pleased to announce a new focus on training and selecting of Referees as well as a reinvigorated process to incorporate thoughts and ideas from teams, players, sponsors and industry personnel into the direction of the NPPL.

“We’ve had a whirlwind of a year at the NPPL. We’ve accomplished so much that we set out to do, including investing in high quality turf, launching the successful free hosted live webcast, producing the Xtreme Paintball television series on Fox Sports Net, merging in PB2X Magazine, and bringing on new outside industry sponsors like the US Marines, Mad Croc and more” explained NPPL President Shawn Walker. “We’re now dedicating more of our resources for the paintball aspect of the events, especially the referee program. Players have voiced concerns and it’s important for the league to respond and take action.” Pre-San Diego Event Referee Training The full program will be launched in 2008 but some immediate changes are being made before this month’s San Diego Event including an intense referee training workshop at Raza Park in Escondido, California this weekend. The Center Court and Field 2 referee crews for the San Diego event will be at the field Saturday and Sunday working with NPPL teams on a variety of training exercises. Dave Zinkham, NPPL Ultimate Ref, will be on site running the session. Referee Program Advisors The NPPL has also enlisted the help of current and prior Professional Paintball players to help train and shape the new program. Ron Kilbourne, Tom Cole, Rich Telford, Chuck Hendsch and many others will be instrumental in building the new Referee program for 2008 as well as giving input and help to get the referees ready for San Diego. Walker pointed out that “this is a small but meaningful first step. The most important thing teams should know is we are working hard to improve and taking all input seriously.” Open Meeting at San Diego Also happening in San Diego, the NPPL is hosting an open meeting to allow anyone involved in the league to give input and feedback to NPPL representatives. This will be a great forum to discuss both positives and negatives from 2007 and prepare for a great 2008 season. Everyone is invited to the Open Meeting which will begin at noon on Thursday November 29th at the Town & Country Resort & Convention Center located at 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA 92108. To RSVP for this meeting please email your name, company and/or team name and phone number to Travis Runyan at travis@nppl.com by Wednesday, November 28th. The 2007 NPPL Commander’s Cup will take place outside of Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California November 30 – December 2, 2007. For more information about the event and the NPPL, visit www.nppl.com or call 888-834-4774.