What is Paintball?

Paintball is a sport that is usually made up of two teams.  Each has to work together to accomplish an objective.  You use your paintball marker to eliminate opposing players to achieve this goal.  There are two main types of paintball games; Scenario and Tournament.

Scenario paintball can take place in the woods or on urban combat fields. Tournament paintball usually takes place on a speedball field, with blow up bunkers and the objective is to eliminate the other team and “hang the flag.” Players will call these two types of paintball by different names, but the point of this article isn’t to talk about the types of paintball play. There are plenty of articles about that. The point of this article is to talk about what paintball is beyond the playing field.

Paintball isn’t just a game, hobby or sport. It is much more than that. It is the place you can go to have fun and relax. Paintball has a unique atmosphere. It gives people the chance to escape from their everyday life and make all the stress and problems disappear for a few hours or a weekend.  You meet new people, make friends, you laugh and have fun and get some exercise.

For many it gives them the focus they need in life. It has helped people stay out of trouble or it gives them a reason to work at a job to be able to afford playing paintball on the weekend. It gets you off the couch, out of the office chair and lets you stretch your legs. There is a spot for everyone on the paintball field. For some people it leads to even more. It will give them a reason to work out, to join a gym and work at living a healthier life.

There are many different avenues for people to take in the sport. Some like to just play for fun and some like to play on tournament teams and compete for prizes. There are other people that like to travel, play 2-day scenario events, meet new people and see new places. What you want to do with paintball is all up to you. You can play a few times a year,  a few times a month or every weekend. You can join teams, make teams with your friends or just show up to a field and find people to play with. If you are thinking about getting into the sport, remember there is much more too it, than just running around on a field with a marker filled with paintballs. It can be an adventure and a way to create memories that you will be able to talk about for years to come.

For those of us who have been involved in the sport for many years, we have to remember that these differences are what makes paintball unique from other sports, hobbies or games out there. “You actually get to live as loud as you want” – Matty Marshall.  As players, we need to make sure that every rental and every new player who walks onto a field walks away with a smile on their face.  As a paintball community,  we need to work with the new people coming into the sport and make sure they have the same great time that we all did when we first played. If we can work together, we can make sure this game continues for many years and will be around for future generations to enjoy!