A nod to good sportsmanship

[Tarnish]

I wanted to say thanks to a player at Combat South Woodland yesterday for some great sportsmanship he displayed but I didn't see him again before I left the site.

 

Towards the end of the second part of the multi-objective game myself and my mate Pete were hidden in the bracken at the edge of the speedball field. There was a massive surge of red team players heading away from the spawn point towards the village and we were stuck in position awaiting our moment to move or shoot. There was quite a gathering of the opposition within twenty metres of our location which was a very tempting target but there were also a number of players continuing to walk toward the village and thereby getting quite close to us so we held our fire. (That and the fact that Pete's M14 was hooked up on some undergrowth and he couldn't move it without making a shed load of noise!)

 

Anyway it was only a matter of time before someone got too close to us. As it transpired it was a guy wearing a beret with an SAS badge on it who nearly walked right over me. I had my L85 pointing at him and called "Bang!" when he was about a metre and a half away from me. The look of surprise on his face as he jumped was fantastic as was his big grin immediately after that. What was priceless however was his mate who was a distance behind us calling him over to be told “I can’t I’ve been hit” to which his mate exclaimed “F… Off!! Where from?!” in the most incredulous way.

 

This is where kudos is due to the guy I’d called out as we were expecting a rain of BBs on our position soon after that but nothing came of it, his mate wasn’t told we were there which was a great display of the “dead men don’t talk” rule.

[Lone_Bullet]

I wanted to say thanks to a player at Combat South Woodland yesterday for some great sportsmanship he displayed but I didn't see him again before I left the site.

 

Towards the end of the second part of the multi-objective game myself and my mate Pete were hidden in the bracken at the edge of the speedball field. There was a massive surge of red team players heading away from the spawn point towards the village and we were stuck in position awaiting our moment to move or shoot. There was quite a gathering of the opposition within twenty metres of our location which was a very tempting target but there were also a number of players continuing to walk toward the village and thereby getting quite close to us so we held our fire. (That and the fact that Pete's M14 was hooked up on some undergrowth and he couldn't move it without making a shed load of noise!)

 

Anyway it was only a matter of time before someone got too close to us. As it transpired it was a guy wearing a beret with an SAS badge on it who nearly walked right over me. I had my L85 pointing at him and called "Bang!" when he was about a metre and a half away from me. The look of surprise on his face as he jumped was fantastic as was his big grin immediately after that. What was priceless however was his mate who was a distance behind us calling him over to be told "I can't I've been hit" to which his mate exclaimed "F… Off!! Where from?!" in the most incredulous way.

 

This is where kudos is due to the guy I'd called out as we were expecting a rain of BBs on our position soon after that but nothing came of it, his mate wasn't told we were there which was a great display of the "dead men don't talk" rule.

 

These stories and fellow airsofters justify all the money we spend on the sport, doesn't it?

It's exactly what makes the sport great.

[Kiki-Jiki]

That's great. One of those moments that we play airsoft for. With all the negative attention brough from games (hit-calling, bang rules, overkilling, etc...) it's good to hear some really positive reactions like this. If only more people would honor the sport as it deserves (such as this), the world would be a better place...

[FireKnife]

Ah positivity in airsoft, seldom heard of but great when it is there.

 

'FireKnife'

[shmook]

fortunately, my site is like this 95% of the time. we have a great bunch of regulars, and the walk-ons are generally top class too.

 

things like this are always good to hear though

 

edit: spellz

[conger]

If your reading this 'dead man walking', fair play to you. nice one.

 

Without getting all mushy here, we do need to hear more of these stories. Thanks Tarnish

 

Good hunting

 

 

[Gerkahn]

I had a similar moment on sunday, sat in a gulley with my m14, covered head to toe in ghillie suit i sat listening to footsteps crunching through the leaf debris approaching me, i shifted my position to face the noise and less than two feet away a boonie and spas 12 player emerged from the undergrowth.

 

in a scene reminiscent of jurassic parks 'clever girl' i bang killed him as he paused to look the other way. I prepared for a possible retaliation pistol at the ready.

 

The brilliant part being as he smiled, turned and walked back to respawn with his team asking what was happening

 

"cant say, im dead" i heard him call, we want more players like this in our sport, not the ones blatantly calling out last seen location and directing fire.

[Chimpy]

Good sportsmanship is what makes Airsoft work. Thankfully in my experience at least it happens more often than not. The up close sneaky kill is a great example of where it's required by both parties firstly for taking the bang kill and secondly for not giving away the position of the person doing it!

[FireKnife]

I must admit the best is when, indoors, both players fire and hit each other within the same second or two and instead of bickering on who is out and who shot first they both walk away to the dead zone.

 

Twice i have been involved in one of these and both times my opponent and me walked off laughing to the dead zone.

 

'FireKnife'

[thewallhitme]

great times. sadly they dont all end like that. i wont spoil this thread with that story. ill add to it with my own.

 

had a really great spot this saturday. but i couldent move from it. it was just too dense. a guy came crawling in from my right, leading his team. i wispered bang so the rest of them wouldent hear and he just said "fair one" and crawled back out and went off without a word! top notch.

 

also stumbled across someone waiting in ambush for some others on my team. im 80% sure i got my rifle on him first and said surrender, but he got his pistol out before i could be sure, so we had a bit of a stand off like "wtf now?". neither of us shot, we just called it a stalemate and went to respawn, which i appreciate more than being able to claim a "bang kill".

[Pyrodex]

It was my first game at CSW on Sunday the 16th (i usually play at UCAP) and yes i saw some very good play, people taking single round hits from some distance away etc (the one that stands out was probably from 60+ yards away- i was aiming at about twice the guy i was shooting at's height to get the range anyway, so some distance.. he was looking away from me, and after 2 ranging shots the 3rd hit, and he turned around looking for me (i was prone in a ditch so he didnt see me) shrugged, raised a hand and walked off.. which was nice. i also saw some shocking teflon warriors, one guy behind a bush 20 feet away didnt think 2x 200 round co2 moscarts fired at his position was worth taking as a hit..

good site though, some great terrain /buildings and yes i'll agree with the OP some cracking players, they just need to sort out a small minority of the others..

i was the guy with the AIMS AK and M79, i will be back..

[Azubi]

I had a guy take a hit I am not sure I even landed. He wasn't sure, I wasn't sure and the marshal watching the engagement wasn't sure but he took it and I couldn't have asked for any fairer than that as he definately got me as I put a couple of shots in his direction.

[Tarnish]

I did think it was a particuarly good day at CSW on the 16th, there was one character I can think of who did have a very high opinion of himself but in the main most bods there were very pleasent. The main problem I found was those brown BBs, it was really hard to see my own fall of shot. I had to resort to the real world method of lowering my aim to hit in front of my intended target so I could see the strikes on the ground a number of times.

[Gorf]

...had a really great spot this saturday. but i couldent move from it. it was just too dense. a guy came crawling in from my right, leading his team. i wispered bang so the rest of them wouldent hear and he just said "fair one" and crawled back out and went off without a word! top notch...

 

Yeah, but to be fair, in "real life" it would not have panned out like that. You'd have either had to knife him or wait 'til they'd passed or open up on full auto and try to get them all by surprise on a limited mag of rounds.

 

Still - after my own experiences of sportsmanship (admittedly with paintball) it's really good to see a thread like this. Well done to Tarnish for the OP.

[Wargasm]

What an inspiring thread! Its been to long since I was in the field and having read to many "AIRSOFT IS DOOOOOOMED" threads. All these stories remind me why I play airsoft!

Kudos....

[sigseals]

haha i was there at CSW on that day as well. I know both the guys you're talking about! The guy with the SAS badge is a great guy, plays fair. Without mentioning names am i right in thinking the chap who thinks quite highly of himself was wearing full islamic clothing at the start of the day? i was the guy with the sig 552 with silencer and aimpoint! Had a great day that and oh yeah the grenade launching incident was priceless! Without getting too far off topic is anyone coming to the evening game on wednesday?

[Shriven]

Unfortunately I can't quote an entire thread.

 

But, if I could, I'd put

 

THIS

 

Underneath the quote. Seriously, it's *suitcase* like that that makes the airsoft world go round It's always bloody nice to hear a " Nice shot mate!" when you gat someone, even if it does hurt them!

[spetsnazdave87]

Have to say, saw a fantastic shot at LAC Kirton Lynsey yesterday...was standing up straight on top of a hill, not thinking anyone was in range to possibly hit me (KL is a very open quarry site and you can see most folk coming), when a single shot pinged off the top of the head of the guy sitting next to me behind cover. Much good natured swearing in disbelief as we medicked him, and I got in cover very sharpish

[greg]

I travel to & play all over the place, so get to see a huge variety of styles of play.

 

It is fair to say that there is nothing like being congratulated for 'good shooting', or being thanked for taking a hit, that might have been 'a bit dodgy'.

 

I've even had dead folk silently take their hit & then, quietly, move to one side to allow a shot at their team mates.

 

In turn I've done the same. In one circumstance, I told my mates my gun had jammed, rather than shouting hit & alerting them to the guy that had just hit me from a bush 2 feet away, with a virtually silent gun. After he'd taken out all 3 of us (2 seconds later ), we took the time to congratulate him on his sneakiness. We didn't tell a sole & avoided that area for the rest of the day, allowing him to capitalise on his stunning tactics.

 

It would have been all to easy to re-spawn & hose his bush down until he came out fuming. But somehow it didn't seem right.

 

I think there are too many players obsessed with 'winning'. If they focused on 'playing', I'm sure they would have more fun.

 

Good play breads good play:

 

I'm not a fan of the bang rule but on Sat was at a site that had it. I walked into a corner with two enemy & stated that they were enemy & therefore dead. They turned & shot me. I explained that was a little out of order & left for the safe zone. Within seconds they caught me up, appologised & said I should play on, while they returned.

 

Innitially I was dissapointed in them but their redemption was great.

 

It would have been nicer if they hadn't turned & shot me but at least they got the message.

 

I find that the longer someone stays with airsoft the more they start to understand the concept of 'honest play', as opposed to 'my teams the greatest 'cos we won'.

 

 

Greg.

 

[camotyger]

I think there are too many players obsessed with 'winning'. If they focused on 'playing', I'm sure they would have more fun.

 

 

I find that the longer someone stays with airsoft the more they start to understand the concept of 'honest play', as opposed to 'my teams the greatest 'cos we won'.

 

 

Greg.

 

Well said, the other day at a local game, I was asked if I wasn't calling my hits in order to win. I stated that I enjoy playing airsoft, not winning. If I wanted to win I would go play football or some other sport in my spare time or pick up amateur boxing again. So they said how do we know your not lieing, well in my infinite wisdom, I tore off my shirt and said if you can find a single red mark on me then you guys won the last round. And since mosy of my local players use lovely clones with very high fps I was bound to have a mark on me(I dont wear a PC/vest, and I live in Florida, and it was 98*F so i only had a camo shirt not a full bdu top) needless to say no mark.

 

But that's not my nod to sportsmanship, there was a group of 4 reds in line formation walking down a back path, I suck up on them from the rear, and since I was out of ammo, I pulled out my knife (cold steel training rubber knife) and killed the guy in the back. He said nothing and just raised his had and stood still. Now i have done a similar kill once b4, and the player instantly yelled "Im down, god dam knifer!" Then came pain... so the fact that this gent stayed quiet as a dead man should was a great show of how a player should act.

[Tarnish]

haha i was there at CSW on that day as well. I know both the guys you're talking about! The guy with the SAS badge is a great guy, plays fair. Without mentioning names am i right in thinking the chap who thinks quite highly of himself was wearing full islamic clothing at the start of the day? .....

 

Nice one, feel free to pass on my thanks to him when you next see him.

 

Regards the guy with the inflated ego no it wasn't the one in the dishdash at the start of the day. I did have an encounter with him after he'd lost that clobber, I was over in the pine forest looking towards to village and he'd got himself behind the large fallen tree and it was a case of who got bored first. It was him, he broke cover running straight towards me so I stitched him from head to toe, he took it well enough mind.

 

The character I was thinking of was about 17 I'd guess, tall & slim, short cropped blonde hair wearing DPM shirt and trousers, his gob seemed to be on permanent "send" and he really didn't like it when my mate and I zapped him and two of his oppos towards the end of the day, deciding he was going to shoot his rifle one handed in our general direction as he walked off after being hit.

 

Fortunately that was but a minor isolated incident in an otherwise enjoyable day.

[Marlowe]

The only places I have ever seen everyone showing good sportsmanship is at the Morning After games (1-3, hosted by Spectre Wargames) and at the Cold War series of film-sim games (hosted by Gunman Airsoft).

 

At both sites everyone got into the spirit of the game (be it general good-spirited larking about or good-spirited involvement in a live simulated experience) and everyone took their hits. When unsure if a hit was made, players took it.

 

This is the key to good airsofting for me.

 

Sadly, at any large skirmish or regular open skirmish day, this doesn't happen. Some sites allow home teams and regular players amazing amounts of leeway ('he didn't mean to'), which intensifies the cliquey atmosphere of some venues and dissuades new blood who turn up for a day to get a taster.

 

I have four or five people (some of my own mates, others who are boyfriends / mates of my sister) who are curious about airsoft and want to try it out, but I'm sad to say that I'm so jaded by my experience of public skirmish days that I'm reluctant to take them along to any, even though now, in South and West Yorkshire, there are several new sites all of which I am sure am excellent. It also means that sadly I am very reluctant to participate in non-event days, as, due to being a teaching professional my private time is ludicrously limited and I am very hesitant to risk wasting it at sites where I fear the airsoft experience generally will boil down to two middle-aged men shouting at one another over hit-taking / acting responsibly.

 

Sorry if these seems like a somewhat more cynical perception of the game; it's certainly not always the case - the first two venues I have found to be exceptions to the rule, though I recognise it will always depend upon the calibre and attitude of those attending to make the game experience a pleasant one.

[Sharamik]

You are going to get good eggs and bad eggs in any public game, Marlowe. Seems you've experienced more of the latter, which is a shame. The regulars at my local site (including myself, natch) are not given 'leeway' to bend the rules, we are expected to set a good example and are held to a higher standard than the noobs, which is the way it should be.

 

As to the topic, I once did a long flanking move to get behind the enemy lines and was picking them off from behind cover when I was myself outflanked: I heard a whistle from behind me and turned around to see a guy 3 feet away with his gun trained on me. I said "well played, sir" and walked back to the respawn.

 

I was once hiding in a barrel and tossing grenades out into the large group of enemies standing casually nearby. One managed to cotton on to what i was doing and snuck up on the barrel and poked his gun through the hole where i was hiding. Rather than being an idiot and blind firing in there he just said "I think that will do, don't you?"

[Jon L]

I have to agree with Sharamik any regular at any site should be providing a good example for any new players to follow, its the best way of getting the honour aspect of airsoft across to them without trying to bang in into their heads like a dull school lesson. This is something i felt has been lacking at one of the sites me and my mates play at uni, as there is a group of regulars that constantly cheat, whilst whining about new players taking their hits or using game areas out of limits. When its their first game or first time to the site. Hence we have not been there since. Saying that i love my local site as all the regulars are more than willing to go out of their way to help new players, whether it be directions to the next objective or even performing repairs in the safezone for them.

[RWJP]

I know exactly what Marlowe means in reagrds to leeway... Both of my local sites do this, although one to more of an extent than others. Me, and various memebrs of my team have had numerous arguments with a site owner who really couldn't give less of a damn what the "home team" does...

 

But on the otherhand, you do get good sportsmen at the same time...I was hiding in a hedge with an L96 and an empty pistol (no gas XD) as a large group of enemies were heading my way. Most of them walked staright past, but one last guy hung around. I managed to knife kill him (with a dud pistol), which he took graciously, and then ducked back into my cover.

 

A moment or two later one of his team mates called back to him, telling him to hurry up, and he said "Can't mate, i'll see you back at the safezone."

 

It would have been easy for him to point me out to the others, but he didn't.

 

It's moments like that, that make me go back to a site again.