Most excellent post!I am relatively new to FT and as such have little to offer in specifics of "the game", but i can offer some observations from the short time that i have participated in it...
A common theme in this (and many other threads) is the growing of the sport. As I read the suggestions for growing the participation a old saying comes to mind: "figure out whether you have been shot, stabbed, snake-bit, or powderburned." I plan to participate in this sport for as long as I can safely handle a gun, and that decision has almost nothing to do with the rules or format of the game, nor the difficulty factor. I think all the ideas offered above have merit, but may not be addressing some other more relevant issues. I have been "hooked" by the people first and foremost ... match directors like Ron R., Ben S., Rex J. and fellow competitors like Dan, Cole, Bobby, Jeff C, Billy D, Dave C. and so many more. They made me feel welcomed and mitigated my feelings of being a Noob. They were people that I could relate to and related to me.
Bear with me as I relate a (imo) relevant anecdote: I was at my local range practicing and struck up a conversation with another shooter about airgun advancements and the cost of my Alpha Wolf. He said he could relate as his son was into paintball in a big way and that was very expensive. He said to his son, "I could go out and buy 3 good hunting rifles for what i paid for your paintball set up!", to which the son replied "Yeah, but you can't shoot your friends with them."
Young people, old people, men, women, we all want a reference group that we can relate to and interact on a common basis with. That is the "hook" for me. The competition, the challenge, the difficulty, the rules, these all take a very distant third (second is getting new toys) to being around like-minded, friendly, and generous people. While the young man mentioned in the anecdote above may have enjoyed hunting with his Dad, it sounds like he preferred hanging out with and "shooting his friends".
All this to say that while re-imagining or "re-designing" FT may be a valid and a worthwhile endeavor, it may not be addressing the "3 R's" of group participation growth: recruit, retain, return. The re-design goal of primarily to make it easier to knock a target down will make the sport easier. It will not necessarily grow participation. If the goal is to grow participation, perhaps some thought into what makes people participate in any given activity is in order.
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) and Jerry C.(
) into field target, they decided to set up a table at a huge paintball event, on the DELUSION of recruiting young people into field target.
Having (then) already been actively recruiting FT newbies for over a decade, I told them they would be wasting their time trying to recruit young people.
Nary a single paintballer would engage them in conversation.
I’m up at 4 leave at 5 driving 3 hours - ok we love field target so!