As an Airsoft player or Retailer it is your sport or living which the VCR Act had threatened to extinguish.
It is all of our responsibility to make sure we do not cause the exception we gained to be removed by foolish acts which although may not technically be breaking the law might lead to a threat to the concessions we works so hard to gain.

An example is purchase and gift of a RiF, this may be quite legal, but to do this with intent to supply non registered person would not be if in reality it was just a back door sale.

Elite Firezone MSC have changed their name to All Arms Airsoft their new web site is not functioning yet but their players will retain the same UKARA numbers and the same letter code will be used for the site

Following our annual renewals a number of retailers will no longer be members of the UKARA database scheme.

Airsoft retailing is a highly competitive and stress filled business with very low margins of profit.

Please check the Approved Retailers list

The ex-members will be listed below the current list as non UKARA retailers, players or game site should not send in player forms for registration to these firms as they will have no way of getting them entered them onto the database.

We have had warning from the department who administer RoHS compliance [ www.rohs.gov.uk/ ] that they are looking very hard at the Airsoft sector of electrical imports.

Any item imported into the EEC has to conform to certain standards ( e.g. Lead levels in solder ) if it has any electrical components incorporated in it, or in the associated parts shipped with it in the package.

If you have a game site registered with UKARA and we do not have a copy of your latest insurance cover none of you players will be eligible to purchase RiFs using our system. Although all game sites are automatically emailed by the database in advance of there records expiry due to failure to update the sites email address or spam filters these emails may be missed.

The Database will shortly be updated, this is mainly to make it more efficient, easier to administer and give greater flexibility.

The item which may affect players is that when their registration is made it can now be set to expire 12 months from the actual date they were signed up, rather than when the form was processed. Currently the registration defaults to 12 months from the date the player form is entered by a retailer which may fail to follow the letter of the law.

If you wish to import your own Airsoft replicas it is very important to make sure that you can verify with the new Boarder Agency your credentials to legally import.

If you cannot do this the Boarder Agency will destroy your goods without refund.

For Imitation Firearms (IF's) you must be able to prove you are over 18 years of age.

For Realistic Imitation Firearms you must be able to prove you are a member of an insured airsoft game site or an insured member of a recognised re enactment society and be over 18.

UKARA has no scheme for membership of under 18 year old airsoft players.

I keep getting this reported to me that we do, but we do not, and have no reason to do so as under 18 year old's cannot buy RiFs.

Quote from the last meeting at the Home Office ( poorly worded )

Airsoft is still here and we are still playing our great sport, hobby, or pastime however you wish to view it.

Still instructing youth of all ages how lethal real gun could be if you were involved in real armed conflict.

Most players realise that when you call "dead" in a game, in reality there would be no re-spawn and the effects would be permanent.

Perhaps morbid for a soon to be Happy New Year but I fear for any future possible legislation in which our type of usage of toy guns might catch any fall out of ill-conceived new laws or amendments.

This was held on the 12th of November at Tewkesbury.

The board members were re-elected.

The meeting lasted 2 hours and covered a great deal of practical issues in regards to database operations and efficiency modifications to streamline checks on eligibility of, players,sites and retailers.

Other topics covered was a full discussion of the Home Office meeting earlier in the year, general state of the industry, especially in regards to RoSH compliance and the lack of a level playing field throughout the EEC.