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The Irish Airsoft Association is the National Governing Body for the sport of Airsoft in Ireland. We have been working with government agencies such as the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, An Garda Síochána, Customs and the national sports administration authorities to safeguard and advance the sport of Airsoft in Ireland. We are also the primary point of contact for national press agencies, newspaper, TV and radio when it comes to Airsoft.
Our mission is:
- To safeguard and advance the sport of Airsoft through responsible self-governance and representation, as well as engagement with the relevant authorities.
- To provide safety and peace of mind to players and parents of players by promoting our affiliated retailers and venues, who have voluntarily signed up to a code of ethics and conduct.
- To improve and maintain the profile of Airsoft in Irish society through engagement with the media and special interest groups.
We are a volunteer-run, non-profit organisation. Our operations are open to scrutiny by members and non-members alike. You can read the minutes of all our meetings in the “Meeting minutes and notes” section of our website, which you can find in the menu at the top of the page. We are also regular airsoft players, and will usually use Twitter to let you know where we are playing so you can talk to us in person. See our Twitter feed to the left or at http://www.twitter.com/irishairsoft
Click here to find an Irish Airsoft Association approved venue close to you.
Click here to find an Irish Airsoft Association approved equipment supplier.
We rely on the support of our individual members to continue running. We urge anyone who is interested in the sport of Airsoft to become a member. It costs just €10, and you can join at http://signup.irishairsoft.ie/
IAA Update
Since taking their positions, the IAA committee have had a busy time. Here is a roundup on whats been going on.
In November, we assisted Take Aim magazine in running the much anticipated Take Aim Cup at Irelands newest airsoft site, Moyvalley Adventure Zone. The site is amazing and promises to be a huge attraction to airsofters everywhere, particularly the cqb area. The competition was won by Kosa in a hotly contested battle in the final on the Sunday evening.
We also filled the remaining positions on the committee that hadn’t been filled at the agm.
Enrico Pobre has been appointed the to position of treasurer. Enrico is a past president of FRAG and is one of the most respected members of the philipino airsoft community.
Declan Duffy has been appointed to the position of secretary. Declan was very active with IASRA prior to this and held the position of chairman. Declan has a wealth of experience and ability to bring to the table and he will be a huge asset to the IAA.
In December we saw a lot of queries regarding the upcoming personal importation ban of RIFs, due to the fact that the original suggested implementation date was Jan 1 2010. This date came and went with no ban implemented. We are currently in contact with the DoJ, and as soon as we get further information, we will pass it on to you.
We also operated a mass sign-up day in conjunction with MIA and we got an extra 50 members who patiently queued and signed up. This was an interesting experience as it allowed us to meet and talk with prospective members before they signed up. We hope to do something similar again in the future.
Around this time we also found out that PJT Insurance had ceased trading. This was a concern as the previous committee had negotiated preferential insurance rates for affiliates through PJT. We contacted all affiliates and advised them of the situation and also how to check that their insurance policies were still valid. The good news is that no affiliated sites were operating uninsured.
We are currently negotiating with two seperate brokers to see where we can get best value for our affiliates and also our members. As soon as negotiations conclude, we will let you know.
January was a quiet month, and unfortunately we saw the warehouse close its doors for good. The guys are already working on their next venture, and from the initial photos, it looks like its going to be a very popular site.
At present, we are working with two prospective new sites who wish to open up for business and we are actively assisting them in any way we can.
This time of year is always challenging as we don’t get as many players out due to weather etc. but we are encouraged to see that we will have even more affiliates come onboard over the coming weeks.
As always, we can be contacted by email at info@irishairsoft.ie
The IAA Committee
As the title says, SE Airsoft have moved.
Their new address is as follows:
South East Airsoft,
Unit 2,
Marshmeadows,
New Ross,
Co. Wexford.
We’re now located between Aldi and the Renault dealership, literally just down the road from the New Ross Garda station.
Hobby Airsoft have just announced their Mega SALE which starts December 28.
Hobby Airsoft are exclusive distributors of Cybergun products to Irish retailers, they also distribute a large range of G&G and King Arms A.E.G’s & accessories.
From 28th – 31st December Hobby Airsoft are offering TRADE PRICES to ALL customers!!
That means NO retail markup!
Just a Snippet of what’s available…
• ICS 0.2g BB’s (Bag 5,000) rrp €11 Trade Price €7.50 +vat
• G&G 0.2g BB’s rrp €13 Trade Price €9 +vat
• Taurus PT24/7 (Co2, fixed metal slide pistol) rrp €89 Trade Price €56 +vat
• AK47 (full metal/real wood) rrp €245 Trade Price €145 +vat
This sale ends New Year’s Eve so pop along and buy what you really wanted from Santa
We are delighted to announce that Strikearms have opened a brand new walk in store in Swords, Dublin.
1st Floor,
Unit C3,
Airside Enterprise Centre,
Swords,
Co. Dublin.
They can be found behind the car dealerships close to Euro baby and above Golf Vision.
We wish them well in their new premises and look forward to popping in to the guys for a chat and a browse soon
Eirsoft have recently partnered with a number of Asian retailers to provide Irish airsoft players and collectors with a means to order special items, even after the introduction of the personal imports ban contained within the Criminal Justice Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009.
By utilising their strong working relationship with eHobby Airsoft, Redwolf Airsoft and Rsov, Eirsoft will make available a wide range of products not normally available to the Irish market. Items can be purchased directly from the Eirsoft website, or where an item isn’t listed, can be specially ordered.
Shipping times will normally be less than one week, and all products will have the usual Eirsoft warranty and quality guarantee.
More information on the Eirsoft Partner Products scheme can be found at http://www.eirsoft.ie/partner-products
Midlands Airsoft Club is now recruiting members for 2010
Since we set up in February 2009 we have grown in strength, we can now over a members a far better package
Membership includes:
- IAA membership (if the member requires it, Alternatively Already a member we will take care of your renewal when its due)
- Discounted Gaming Fee at Shadowlands
- Discount available from our sponsor on certain items ordered through the club
- Guaranteed Places in Events Held by M.A.C
Full Membership: €200
3rd Lvl student Membership €130
M.A.C does not permit walk-ons, as a member you can invite your friends to play with us once the Commitee ok’s the Visit.
The eagerly awaited Take AIM Cup takes place on November 28th & 29th at Moyvalley Adventure Zone.
The IAA have been asked to assist Take AIM with some of the logistics of the event, such as chronographing and marshalling, and to be on-hand over the weekend to help out wherever we can.
Moyvalley Adventure Zone is Ireland’s newest site and is situated in Kildare, just off the M4 close to Enfield. The numerous gaming zones sound fantastic with forest, ‘rural’ and specially constructed urban areas in play for the competition.
Games start at 9am on Saturday 28th and the event concludes on Sunday night with a prize-giving ceremony. The site will be open from Friday evening to facilitate those that wish to camp. A shop selling airsoft supplies will also be on site for the weekend.
This is shaping up to be THE airsoft event of the year with teams from all over the country taking part. Teams are made up of a maximum of 10 players (and one substitute) however if you are currently not a member of a team don’t worry you can still enter, as ‘mercenary teams’ are being put together for the weekend.
Camping is available on site for the weekend but for those that don’t want to ‘slum it’ the hotel on the site have arranged fantastic overnight rates for the competitors. Anyone wishing to avail of the special Take AIM Cup hotel rates needs to email info@maz.ie as soon as possible with their room requirements.
For more information and to enter your team for the event, please contact Alan on 087 1408195.
So get your team signed up and let the smack-talk begin!!
The IAA is delighted to announce the affiliation of Main Irish Airsoft.
MIA is one of the country’s oldest and largest retailers. MIA have seen the sport evolve from it’s inception in 2006 into the fantastic sport that it is today, and one which just keeps on growing.
MIA have a full maintenance, repair and upgrade centre in store. All airsoft products are tested using the SKAN chronograph as used by the Gardai. If you need your airsoft gun tested just drop it in to them and they’ll be happy to check it for you.
MIA stock all the top brands such as Classic Army, ASG and SRC as well as some of the best clones on the market. Brands stocked include Classic Army, King Arms, G&G, Real Sword, SRC and many others. MIA have all you need, including lots of accessories and clothing, and a wide range of BB’s including their own RAPTOR BB.
As many affiliates and non-affiliates have been in contact with us asking about various topics, we have recently been in contact with the Department of Justice with regard to same.
The Department has come back to us to describe the process for registration as a RIF retailer. They expect to have a form for registering interest in the coming week, which you can return to the department. This will then prompt a visit from your local Crime Prevention Officer, to ensure compliance with the regulations.
As to the regulations, we have seen a close to final draft of these. They are along similar lines to our recommendations, which are available in the “Official Documents” section of our website. We appreciate all affiliates who came back to us with feedback and revisions for these recommendations, and they were very much appreciated by the Department. We expect these to be published very soon, probably along with the form for registration.
The target date for introducing the import restriction on RIF has been set to 1st January 2010 by our contacts at the department. The usual caveats around deadlines apply – this is not set in stone yet, but is a reasonable estimate.
We have also been asked by several affiliates and concerned players about whether clear plastic airsoft devices will be considered to be RIFs (as we’ve been informed that many markets are planning on bringing them in in bulk). We showed the Department of Justice some images, as examples of what they look like, and they are going to get back to us about it. They need to seek advice on what’s classed as a RIF, and how the legislation applies in this particular case.
We have also been in contact with senior Gardaí in the Firearms Policy Unit, who are working with the Commissioner and Local Superintendents to put in place guidelines for Superintendent permission, with our suggested guidelines as a base. If you run an Airsoft venue, and have not been in contact with your local superintendent to date, we recommend you do so soon, as we envisage a similar timeline for authorisations to be required for Airsoft sites.
We’d like to thank you for your patience in this process, and will of course keep you informed as to the information we have, when we have it.
Dear Members,
The Irish Airsoft Association will hold its Annual General Meeting for 2009 on Saturday the 14th November in the Red Cow Business Centre, Dublin 24, at 2PM. This meeting is only open to Members that are fully paid up by 5pm on Friday the 30th October.
The committee will maintain a section in our forums for the AGM and the information you need to know about it. This will include Officers nominations, motion nominations and publications.
AGM Forum
The operation of the AGM is legally bound by our constitution and it applies strict timelines for aspects of the meeting. These are set out below.
Motions for voting must be proposed and seconded in writing (AGM Forum, email, or letter) by 5PM on the 5th of October, after this point no further motions can be accepted.
Election of officers for the 2010 committee will take place at the end of the meeting. Nominations for committee positions must be proposed and seconded in writing (AGM Forum, email, or letter) by 5PM on the 5th of October. All positions are open and we encourage as many people to stand as possible.
When submitting nominations for election, motions for voting or seconding you must include your full name and IAA membership number.
The meeting agenda and association financial report will be sent to all members before the 15th of October.
The committee encourage all members and affiliates to attend this event. Affiliates are only allowed to vote, submit motions, nominate officers and second officers in their individual capacity as individual members. Affiliates in their own right have no standing so the owners need to be signed-up members before the cut off date.
Regards
The Committee
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