Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which markers are used to shoot paintballs. The bullets are about the size of marbles, and are made of polyethylene glycol. In comparison to similar sports, paintball is relatively new, and its rise in popularity has continued to increase since the 1980s. Paintball has become popular worldwide, and many people from different nations participate in competitions.
There are no set rules for paintball, and the game can be played indoors our outside. Because there are no set regulations, the rules are left up to the players. A variety of equipment is used when playing, and the sport also has its own phrases and slang which describes a variety of movements and situations. Paintball is one of the safest sports in the world and is fun to play by people of all skill levels.
The first paintball game was played in New Hampshire in 1981. After this the sport became popular, and the first competition was soon held in 1983 in which a $14,000 prize was awarded to the winner. By the early 1990s, paintball fields were opened in Europe. The National Professional Paintball League was founded in 1992, and large tournaments begin to be held in which hundreds of thousands of dollars were given away as prizes.
In simple paintball games, the goal is for a team to accomplish a certain objective without getting eliminated. Players will attempt to eliminate each other by shooting them with paintball markers. Each paintball group has their own rules which differ from others, and because of this the game has been compared to poker. One of the most popular games in paintball is capture the flag. Two teams try to capture the flags of each other while simultaneously protecting their own flag. The first team to hang their opponent's flag on a designated location wins.
Neutral flag is a game played which is much like capture the flag, with the exception that there is only one flag in the middle of the field, and both teams must eliminate each other or capture the flag. The third type of game played in paintball is elimination. It is similar to a "deathmatch" in which the objective of each team is to eliminate all the players on the opposing team.
There are three primary styles of paintball games. They are speedball, woodsball, and scenario paintball. Each is distinctly different from the others. Speedball is a fast game in which players engage in close quarters combat, and these games don't last very long. Bunkers, tires, and other objects which players can hide behind are placed on the field. The paintball guns designed for this style of play fire rapidly.
In woodsball, players battle each other in the woods and forests. These areas are large enough to hold many players, and the paintball guns used in this game are slower than guns designed for speedball. These games take a lot of time, and players typically stalk each through the trees and bushes.
Scenario paintball is a style of game which have specific themes. These themes are often historical, and are based on real battles such as the battle of Normandy or the battle of Stalingrad. These games are much larger in scale than woodsball or speedball, and can last days. Players may be required to rescue hostages, and "paintball tanks" an helicopters are used. These events attract thousands of spectators.
Woodsball was originally the most popular form of paintball. Most players are either casual, scenario, or tournament players. Most tournaments take place in paintball parks which are insured. These places must adhere to certain standards of safety for the players. Referees are added to make sure the players adhere to the rules of the game, and play properly by the rules. About 9 million play paintball worldwide and it is the third most popular extreme sport.
The most important safety rule of paintball is that all players must wear goggles and helmets at all times while on the field. The velocity limit on markers is 300 feet per second, and markers aren't allowed which shoot faster than this. When these two rules are followed by all players, paintball is a very safe sport. If a player's goggles are covered with paint, and they cannot see, they must stand up and yell "fogged" without taking off their goggles.
Paintball is a game in which safety is taken seriously, and those who fail to meet safety rules can be seriously injured. Many outsiders have complained that paintball simulates war and violence, and though terrorists and law enforcement agencies have trained on paintball fields, the community works hard to dispel this image. In many paintball fields, contact with other players is illegal, as well as verbal abuse.
Many players also think that having expensive equipment makes you a better player. While this does have a factor, a player can get good results without having expensive equipment. To many players skill is more important than the cost of the equipment.
