| WHAT
IS PAINTBALL? |
| Paintball
is simple game in explanation, but difficult in
mastering. Basically two teams start in flag stations,
their objective is to capture the other team's flag
and return it to their starting flag station to
win. During the game, players attempt to eliminate
opposing team members by marking them with a paint-filled
projectile which (usually) breaks on impact. This
projectile, or paintball (where the game gets its
name) is fired from a CO2 powered airgun, which
is set at a safe velocity, so as not to injure players. |
| IS
IT SAFE? |
| Paintball
is the safest sport in the world, now. According
to insurance and medical statistics, paintball is
safer than bowling. The reason for this is that
players MUST wear the proper protection and MUST
adjust their paintmarkers so that the paintball
will not cause severe pain, upon impact. |
| DOESN'T
IT HURT WHEN YOU GET SHOT? |
| Just
slightly less then a branding iron. Just kidding.
It feels like someone snapping you with a wet towel.
It stings, and may leave a small bruise, but will
not permanently injure you, as long as you are wearing
the proper eye protection. Usually you don't feel
any pain until long after the hit, due to the adrenaline
rush you get while playing. |
| HOW
ARE PAINTBALLS MADE? |
|
Paintballs
are made by dye encapsulating machines. These
machines, worth millions of dollars, also are
used to make encapsulated drugs, such as gel-caps,
"Contact C"-type drugs and even bath beads. It
is not surprising, then, that most (if not all)
paintball manufacturers are pharmaceutical companies.
The
actual process is rather involved and technical,
but in a nutshell here it is. Two wide ribbons
of softened gelatin are fed into the machine.
These two strips are joined by two counter rotating
drums that have dozens of concave "pockets" which
form the paintball. At the same time the drums
also inject fill in between the gelatin strips
and seal the seams, making the paintball.
The
paintballs are still very soft, because the gelatin
of the shell is still warm, and are placed in
a tumblers (to ensure roundness) until they are
cooled and hardened enough for the next stage.
They are then set on trays and left out to continue
hardening. A special machine packages the paintballs
by weight, although a case of paint is sold by
quantity. In a case of 2500 you will get, on average,
from 2490 to 2510 paintballs.
You can also go to the R.P. Scherer site, they
have a really cool animated graphic that illustrates
just how paintballs are made. They should know
they were the first company to make paintballs.
(You'll have to wait until their index page graphic
finishes it's animation and then click on "How
Do We Make Them?")
|
| CAN
I GET THE PAINT OUT OF MY CLOTHES? |
| Yes,
it's water soluble. Basically it is mineral oils,
food colouring, calcium, ethylene glycol, iodine
and other harmless chemicals. If left in clothing
for a period of months, it will stain. |
| DO
I HAVE TO BE ON A TEAM? |
| Not
for your first time. You can try to organize a group
of family, friends and co-workers for your first
outing. |
| WHAT
SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN A FIELD? |
| Choosing
a filed is not as simple as calling and booking
a date. The best price in town may not be the best
field in town. |
| HOW
MUCH DOES IT COST TO PLAY? |
|
Contact
your local field. They can be found under Paint
games, or Adventure in your yellow pages. Also
paintball publications will have field listing
in the back of their magazines. The average field
in North America will cost approximately $15-
30.
This
will usually include: rental of goggles, rental
of paintmarker and some paint, usually between
30 and 50, paintballs. extra paintballs are available
at the field. (Plan on using 300-400 paintballs.
Paint averages between five and ten cents per
ball.) better markers and facemasks are usually
available at an additional cost. A day of play
is usually 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.
|
| WHAT
DO I NEED TO BRING? |
| Clothes
that you don't mind getting sweaty, and that are
suitable for the weather conditions on play day.
You should bring some snacks, and plenty of water.
|
| HOW
CAN I PLAY SAFE? |
| Also,
notify the field owner or manager of any medical
conditions, allergies etc. The field should provide
everything you need, in the way of safety equipment.
However it's a good idea to think about throat protection
(a t-shirt around your neck will suffice) and protection
appropriate to your gender, if you know what I mean. |
| DO
I NEED TO BE PHYSICALLY FIT TO PLAY ? |
| Not
especially. I have a pair of bad knees and I simply
play within my limitations. As for any strenuous
exercise, I strongly recommend consulting a doctor.
|
| DO
WOMEN PLAY PAINTBALL? |
| Yes,
in fact there are a few all-women teams in the professional
paintball circuit. The two that come to mind are
the Lady Treedancers and the Puffs. The Puffs have
an interesting trade mark; their paint sponsor,
RP Scherer, adds Chanel No 5, to their bright pink
paintballs. There's no denying "who-marked-who"
with those paintballs. |
