EVENT REPORT
AIRSOFT SURGEON CHAMPIONSHIP 2020
didn’t actually fully
complete until just a
couple of days before
we had to get it to
the NEC. On more
than one occasion we
wondered if we would
make it!
But make it we did
and having completed
the pre-match shoot
on Thursday (a
“pre-match shoot”
is usually held before
all big events and
is where the match
officials compete
against each other,
whilst looking for any
issues and problems
that could arise), the
stage was set for the
arrival of the shooters
on Friday.
The Match
Shooters were not
allowed into the
NEC until 7am and
by 9am all but a few
had arrived and been
registered. The entry
fee also allowed
them full access to
all three days of the
Shooting Show – not
that they would have
too much time in
the first two days
of the match. With
over 100 shooters
and twenty stages to
complete, we hoped
that there would be
some “down time”
on Sunday for them
to explore the other
halls.
There was,
however, another
element that many
shooters may not have
experienced before…
public spectators!
We all know that
if anything is to grow
it needs to be fed
and, in that respect,
neither skirmishing
nor Action Air is any
different. In the very
early part of our
planning we decided
to include provision
for spectators to come
34
MARCH 2020
and watch and, with the huge amount of
space we had, the stages were laid out
to accommodate a wide walkway where
spectators could see the action from in
safety.
The idea was that being at a “shooting
show”, visitors would at least have some
perception of what it was all about – and
probably not part of the “guns are bad,
guns kill people” lobby! If we could get
them to come and look, maybe we could
also get them interested in Action Air, or
airsoft in general but, in particular, we
wanted to prove that our sport isn’t just
“shooting plastic BBs from toy guns”! To
aid in that, we enlisted the help of the Neil
and Rob from Attack Sense Targets, who
set up a superb, multi-target range where
anyone could have a go – all for free.
NUPROL kindly sponsored the gas and BBs,
along with Raven and Vorsk pistols.
As I mentioned earlier, the stages had
been designed by Tim Wyborn and his
sons and they had done an amazing job
of creating a variety of different challenges
– some simple, some difficult but all good
fun to shoot. Some involved opening doors
or having to shoot one target to activate
another so you could then shoot that too.
One even had a “wobbly walkway” that
you had to stand on, while yet another
was called “The Rollercoaster” and yes,
you had to shoot from a moving carriage
on a track! All, though, had one thing in
common… To be successful you would
need to plan how you were going to
complete the stage and then execute that
plan up against the clock – and a hundred
plus other competitors – while being
watched by members of the public. No
pressure then!
As Friday progressed it soon became
apparent that shooters were enjoying
the challenges and spectators were
appreciating what they were watching,
with spontaneous rounds of applause
breaking out around the stages. From
my point of view, I was really chuffed
to see everyone having a good, albeit
competitive, time – and that is something
else I have noticed over the years that I
have been involved. It might sound a bit
of a cliché but there really is a “family”
atmosphere about the whole thing and
when someone has a problem, other
competitors don’t consider it “one less
person to worry about”, they offer help,
advice and even use of their own gun,
to make sure the other competitor can
continue. I know this also happens in
airsoft but I have never seen (as I have
in quite a few Safe Zones), little groups
huddled together, not talking to anyone
else or even acknowledging their presence.
It just somehow seems more “open” and