A GUIDE TO PAINTBALL

Paintball is currently one of the fastest growing sports in Europe. Every month 1000s of new players try out the most exciting pastime available. Most first time players are attending a corporate event day, stag party, birthday party or just a group of friends getting together to have a day of fun. After playing for the first time a large number are “bitten by the bug” and return on a regular basis or even take the step and try tournament paintball.

The common presumption of non-players is that paintball caters for the Rambos of society and those with a paramilitary bent. Little do they know that paintball is a well organised, exciting and expanding sport. It is a game and nothing more, if you go to a site expecting a crash course in subversive thuggery; you’ll be disappointed.

The most common asked question is “does it hurt and is it dangerous?” The answer is: if you are wearing sensible clothing – a thick jacket, thick jumper or coveralls then NO!!. If you are running around in the altogether and are shot from point blank range, expect a sharp shock.

Use the the natural cover!!

Close range shots do hurt and cause a bruise but most sites tailor their games to reduce the instances of close range shots therefore reducing the chances of bruises etc. Safety is the key word on all sites.

On arrival at a site you will be issued with a safety mask, specifically designed for paintball, coveralls to protect your clothes and other items of equipment depending on which site you play at. A comprehensive safety talk will be given at the start of the day before any player is allowed to touch a marker (gun) or start the day’s play. Most sites now use pump action or semi automatic markers and offer a large number of scenario games.

“What do I need to take with me and how long does it last?” Packages can be arranged to last from 3 hours to full days and with the advent of purpose built floodlit arena and indoor sites, paintball can be played during the evening. In practical terms, you will need a change of clothing in case you decide to crawl in the mud or if it rains, and sensible footwear. The most important thing to take with you is a sense of humour and a willingness to get stuck in and possibly make a fool of yourself.

Paintball is an ideal way to generate team spirit and develop leadership skills and several sites now offer paintball as part of management development courses. The game is also a way to develop inter departmental rivalry, pub challenges, sports challenges and company challenges. Most sites will organise tournaments for companies. If there is only a small group interested in a game contact a site and ask them to put you with a group of equal ability.

The United Kingdom Paintball Sports Federation issues a “Code of Practice” to all member sites and a site questionnaire. These items have been developed with the Health and Safety Executive, insurance companies and the paintball industry. A site has to meet certain standards before its membership is accepted.

(Data provided by UKPSF)