NXL Europe: They want YOUR input.

Barry Fuggle (Left), Tom Cole (Center), Steve Baldwin (Right)

High-level tournament paintball is about to go through another big shake-up in Europe, which can always give players cause for concern and it is very easy to fall into the trap of only seeing the negatives - the doom and the gloom. But I genuinely think this new-dawn for European tournament paintball will be a good thing for teams and players.


I’ve been friends with Tom Cole (President of the NXL) for many, many years - ever since his time captaining Bad Company and working for Kingman (Spyder). Over the years we’ve chatted openly about paintball and the good, the bad and the ugly it can often bring. Tom has always been open to my ideas and likewise I have always listened to his often very insightful views of paintball, both past and present. Not only is Tom someone in the industry that I trust, but I also consider him a friend.

Since the NXL announced that they are coming to Europe (and a little before that) Tom and I have been chatting about what the NXL can bring to the table to rejuvenate the European high-level tournament scene. He had some ideas that I didn’t think would sit well with a lot of the European teams and equally some ideas that I thought they would love, so this was a great starting place.

We recently had one of our chats and he’s keen to listen and make contact with as many teams, players, managers and potential sponsors as possible. Tom wants to understand what makes Europe different. What is it that we want out of a tournament series. Whether we like the limited paint format or not. What venues/countries we’d like to play in and which ones to avoid. And much more. The more we talked the more I felt that Tom and the NXL really want to connect with the players, which can only be a good thing if you ask me. Since the announcement was made I’ve spoken to numerous players and managers who all have concerns, and rightly so. Change can be a scary thing. But Tom wants everyone to know that he’s here to listen. He isn’t going to promise he will action all of your suggestions, but I know him pretty well and he genuinely does listen, so if something makes sense and will help them make things better, and it is possible, he will try to action it.

I’m all for helping make things better, so I said I’d get involved by simply encouraging the players, owners, managers and vendors to speak to Tom directly and give him suggestions of how to make NXL Europe the best circuit ever. This is YOU by the way.

So if you are thinking of playing the NXL Europe circuit next year and have concerns, ideas or suggestions to help them to make it work simply email Tom directly: tom@xball.com

If you don’t feel you can speak to Tom directly, for whatever reason, you can just email me and I will pass your thoughts over to Tom anonymously – if they’re great ideas I’ll just say they are mine ;-). Fire away: ledz@planeteclipse.com

Tom is saying “TALK TO ME” so take this opportunity and tell him your ideas, your fears, your goals. Why you didn’t play the Millennium and what will make you consider playing, or not playing, the NXL Europe series.

This is your chance to have your say. So take it!

Ledz