Ground Zero National Weekender 2012 Day 3 Report

OptimusPrime

05 Sep 2012

It was 0600H sharp, Sunday, when I heard Danny, exclaimed about someone's snoring. Well, it wasn't me, so it had to be Masterchief who was still sleeping like a log. I got out of the tent, and it was a marvelous morning, dry and no rain expected for the whole day. The sun was already out, though still a few people still out of their tents. Danny bitched about last night about some people who were noisy near their van at already past midnight. I never got bothered by any noise last night as I had a good night's sleep. The rest of the Swiss Invaders came out of their tents already awake too.

Masterchief also woke up and together we boiled water for the morning's coffee and had the rest help us finish the rest of the coffee packs we brought --- cappuccino in the morning which we're glad the Swiss liked. And just like yesterday, the Swiss Invaders went to the Snack Bar for their breakfast whilst I and Masterchief opened some sardines and eggs for ours. Masterchief is a good cook and he did serve breakfast well.

Past 0800H more people were now awake, and those who were still up for final game started putting their gear together again. The Others were motivated to gear up as they had a lead to protect and determined to win this year's Weekender. As for us, it will be back to work to document the event. I had to pack all my camping and airsoft stuff to be ready to move out at around 1300H as we had some personal commitments to attend to. Since it's the last long weekend, everyone wanted to make the most out of it.

I went to Fire Base Charlie as it was the staging area for The Others for the last day. It was almost devoid of people with the exception of Spud and some Marshals. They had to move everybody out as a Nuke Strike was called on the base, which I can still remember, was called for by Delta.

When a nuke strike hits the base, no player can use the base for two minutes. After two minutes were up, The Others players started trickling back to the base and for me it was a signal to move to other areas and find more action.

It wasn't long to find action as some Deltas were moving along the road going to Fire Base Charlie and a group of The Others coming down to meet them. I slowly moved going to The Burrows where there was a heavy firefight between Bravos and Deltas. The Bravos were actually putting pressure on Deltas at the Burrows as a good number of Bravos made their way and outnumbering some Deltas who were blocking their way. The Bravos were comfortably controlling The Nest, just like they did morning of Saturday.

But the real action were the areas The Prison Camp, The Trenches, The Village, and The Fort where all the groups were converging as they tried to get as many points as they can before the game ended. At the Trenches there were two Deltas who were valiantly holding off anyone who tried to get into the area and doing it well. But I guess they didn't last that long as there was a bigger group of Bravos approaching their position just right behind me. The Others were busy moving their way back to The Village, which seemed to be their favourite area as it was the area where they gathered the most number of points in the previous day. As I took photos, I then realised that I was back at Fire Base Charlie which is now under siege by Deltas and firefights were happening South and East of it. The nearby regen point became a point for Deltas to immediately rush towards The Others base after regen and when they get hit again, back to the regen point, and rush back again. That was nice trick as they didn't have to walk far to attack The Others who skirted them as they pushed towards The Village.

Getting to The Village, I saw the Swiss Invaders and some The Others already occupying it but they were being hit hard by The Bravos who were converging from Northeast and East. I was walking along a narrow path when a steady stream of BBs hit my back. Good thing that I was wearing my camera vest which has back protection too. But then to my chest was a load "Thwack!" which was painful enough for me to scream and found out that a Bravo shot at me close range. Oh well, too many itchy trigger fingers in this area so I moved to find a safer area for me to cover. At The Fort, Bravos were there and comfortable with a support weapon that was covering the approach. I moved further to see the Battletec Group moving up the road going towards The Fort and The Village, and I expected a huge firefight would erupt when they got to the top. The Battletec were busy that morning, clearing The Stag Camp and mounting an attack on the Deltas at the Fuel Dumps.

It was around 1230H that I had to retreat back to the safe zone and to our tent. Most of our stuff were already in the car and we just need to fold away the tent so we can get back home. I had a commitment to take some kids out later in the day, or else they would not forgive me for the rest of the year.

The Others have been a much organised group this year. Spud had at its disposal several tight-knit groups which he sent out to do some of the important missions. Unit 13, Battle Tec and the Swiss Invaders were utilised well as they went on to accomplish the objectives. If I forgot to mention the names of other strike groups, my apologies. In a way, it was a convincing win for The Others as they pulled off a surprise this year.

I checked the Zeroin forums to read the feedback from the players. It was unanimous that this Weekender is the best for them. There were lesser problems about players not calling their hits and most have conducted themselves as fine gentlemen and ladies. The staff were superb as there were relatively few complaints in the dead and safe zones.

All had a good time and they all agree that this will be the most memorable weekender for the time being. It might be hard feat to better this one next year, but there will always be "a first" everytime the Weekender is held. As for The Others repeating their win next year, it remains to be seen, and we would try again for the win. But I'm sure the Deltas will be itching for revenge.

The final scores of Ground Zero National Weekender 2012: