If they hold one here in AZ, I might just show up. But travel expenses and lost pay due to days off in addition to the entry fee... that puts me into "I could buy a new AR-15 and case of ammo" territory
hmm..luckily I have already purchased those things. 
That's a lot of ammo, then.
But in any case, I think this might be one of those scenarios in which ignorance is bliss, and bliss is a heavier wallet.
I don't think anyone goes into airsoft with the expectation that it will be cheap hobby or that it will not consume significant amounts of time. Quite frankly if you are living paycheck to paycheck, airsoft may not be the hobby for you. For the rest of us who are lucky enough to attend these events, they are often some of the most memorable airsoft experiences you can have short of actually signing up for the military and asking for 0311 or 11B.
Hey, speak for yourself, I'm getting by on BB's, green gas, occasional repair parts, and the gas to drive to free games...
lol
Maybe its because I've been playing since 2005, but I definitely noticed a change in the type of people who play this game. Back then "cheapsofting" was frowned upon because it led to people skimping on eye protection, safe/legal places to play, and it just seemed to bring down the overall quality of the hobby. A lot of the games hosted by the longstanding teams in this state try to establish a modicum of decorum with the rules/requirements and it might seem like a hassle to the new guys now, but when I was new, that was all standard. I'm thankful for having spent my formative airsoft years with these kinds of people because I feel that I care about the hobby as a whole. Hell at the papago game, we were talking about incidents that endangered the game, like that one kid who thought it would be a good idea to go hiking in camo, gear, and with his airsoft gun, that drew a lot of unwanted attention and the last thing any of us wants is legislation to ban airsoft outright. Not to mention all the backyard airsoft games that seem to happen that we know or don't know about that could easily cause the same reaction. Look there's a reason why I said what I said, I didn't say it to be mean spirited in any way, but because of past incidents that almost got airsoft outlawed I am very protective of my pastime. I would gladly make the sacrifice in terms of money, time, and travel to keep airsoft legal.
I love how you're equating being a frugal player to being a "fuck the rules" cheapsofter who plays at public parks. I've got a good gun, I've got good gear, I play with established teams on established fields at games advertised on this forum. If I resist the urge to gear whore, there's really nothing that I NEED to buy on a regular basis except BB's and the occasional part if and when something breaks, and sometimes a $15-20 entrance fee to a field if there aren't any free games that weekend (or, more likely, I stay home instead). EDIT: Hell, you're on Saguaro, you've probably shot at me more than once if you attended the games at Old Hatfield.
Long story short, for the price entrance to a Lion Claws event, I could take a real-steel training course AND pay for ammo, without having to drive to California to do it. And I'd much rather have real trigger time than airsoft trigger time.
