Paintball 101: What to know before you hit the field
MEGAN GREEN courtesy photos
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By Megan Green
Riverside High School
Paintball is an extremely popular sport, but there’s more to it than most people think. It involves a lot more than running around and shooting paint at other people. In fact, there are a variety of different paintball games you can play.
Game types
The most familiar type is speedball, also called tournament paintball. It is a fast-paced game, and the one generally seen televised. Speedball features short rounds of elimination where teams face off and see how quickly they can eliminate their opponents.
Speedball teams also play capture the flag. This is where the field is set up with an equal amount of bunkers (inflated things for players to hide behind) on each side and a flag in the middle. Once the timer starts, the object is to get the flag before the opposing team does.
I play paintball myself, but my squad does not play speedball. We play woodsball (more on that below) and scenario paintball (which has a storyline or theme), both of which are much slower games than speedball.
Like speedball, these games have competitive levels, but unlike speedball, they are played in widespread areas over the span of several hours. Many of the games played in these types of paintball require a team of at least six players.
The main difference between woodsball and speedball is the playing field. As its name implies, woodsball is played in the woods. It is a more combative style of play, as opposed to the strategic play of speedball.
Local fields
There are many places in the area to play both woodsball and speedball. Scary Creek Paintball in Scott Depot lets you play both, and the newly opened Teays Valley Indoor Paintball, in the Sports City Complex across from Hurricane Park, is open for speedball play.
Another option for woodsball is to play in a field, but unless it’s your own private, secure property, this isn’t recommended.
Player positions
Since it is combative, woodsball has specific positions designated for each player. First is the squad commander, who’s the leader. The rest are ambush sniper, dagger or light rifleman, broadsword or heavy rifleman, sabre or medium rifleman and hammer or mobile heavy gunner.
Each position has a specific responsibility:
• The squad commander has to know all about tactics and be able to motivate his squad.
• The ambush sniper needs to be accurate and stealthy. He’s a team’s deadly secret weapon.
• The dagger needs to be quiet, quick and on top of her game because she’s the crazy person that runs out in front, grabs flags and such.
• The broadsword has to be brave and quick because she’s the one to provide distractions. (Broadswords shoot lots of paintballs.)
• The sabre must be extremely versatile and prepared for absolutely anything. She is able to step in and play any of the other positions at any time.
• The hammer needs to be strong and fearsome. He carries an extremely heavy gun that shoots at astonishing rates. (Hammers shoot the most paintballs.)
All of the above positions are necessary to make an extremely rounded squad.
Speedball also has specific positions, but there are only three of them - the back, mid and front players. The back player tends to be loud, slower and experienced. He calls commands from behind the rest of the team and must be able to shoot a lot of paintballs at rapid speeds.
The mid player is quicker then the back player and can take over any position if needed. She tends to be an ambitious person with a quick, accurate shot. The front player is extremely quick; he is the basic distraction. Front players have to be calm and collected in stressful positions, and they must be very trusting of their teammates.
Weaponry
The paintball guns, called markers, used in each type of game differ just a bit. In speedball, they’re normally lightweight and brightly colored. They are also made to shoot at extreme rates without jamming.
In woodsball, the markers are bigger and not as brightly colored (to help with camouflage). Some even look like real assault rifles.
All markers are powered by some sort of gas. These include liquid carbon dioxide, compressed air ranging between 3000-8000psi, nitrogen and, new to the market, propane. A hose connects the gas tank to the gun.
Gear
To avoid serious injuries safety gear is used at all times during absolutely every game.
A paintball mask is the most important piece of gear a player can own. None of us particularly want to be hit in the head, face or eye and chance being killed while having fun.
Other safety options are chest and back protectors, shin protectors, neck protector and arm and wrist protectors. None of these items are required, but they can be good investments. Girls especially may want to invest in chest protectors.
Even with gear, though, you’ll still probably come away from a game with a few bruises. But don’t let them scare you away - they don’t spoil the fun.
And in the end, fun is what paintball all comes down to. It’s an awesome sport with many great opportunities that teaches respect, teamwork and leadership. If you’re interested, try it - you just might find a new hobby, and you’ll make some new friends, too.
