Splat!!!!!

Paintballing may seem like senseless fun but it can bring out true team-working qualities

THE mere thought of one’s offspring rushing around a derelict battle site clad in army fatigues and face masks while wielding a gun is enough to cause most parents a severe case of apoplexy. And, until I visited a local paintball arena last week, I was convinced this was an over-hyped sport designed to raise the testosterone levels and turn our youngsters into gun-wielding gladiators.

I was wrong. The game is great fun and a lot safer than careering around on a skateboard or being hammered on the rugby field. The youngsters I watched (I was not sufficiently moved to actually join in) were obviously having a good time without there being a sniff of angst or any ‘rebel without a cause’ attitudes.

Sitting there, watching our valiant Sunday Mail team slip into all-in-one protection suits, ready to do battle with their paint balls there was a definite air of excitement from the groups of under-18s waiting on the side lines to ‘cream puff’ our less than fit and not so wise team.

“I discovered paint balling last year,” said Michael, 16, “and ever since I have been totally committed to playing the game and do honestly feel that it’s changed my life for the good”.

Jimmy, who runs the paint ball centre, confirmed this sentiment. “I have had young lads down here who had previously gone right off the rails and now they are back in the mainstream. One boy told me that he’d rather be shooting up here at the range than shooting up God knows what in bar street.”

This is one of the key features of paint-balling; it is played out as a close working team. It’s also a game that requires a certain level of physical fitness to keep up with all the running around and a degree of agility is also required to speedily clamber over, and under, some of the obstacles.

Watching the game played it is easy to understand why it has become so popular among companies wishing to discover leadership qualities, problem solving abilities, stress management and teamwork within their staff.

It’s now played in almost every country in the world and has become a multi million pound business, spanning magazines, specialised gear and a whole range of other merchandising. And, like skate-boarders before them, those involved have developed a form of ‘balling language’ that sets them apart from their piers and, again, helps with this all-important team bonding.

Players use gas-powered markers to launch marble-sized pellets containing coloured goo at each other. The most commonly played game is when teams go all out to seize each others ‘flag’ without being struck by a pellet. Needless to say, the Sunday Mail team swiftly perished in a shower of day-glo orange blobs as soon as the home team crept, stealth like, on to the pitch and started the attack. One decided, after spotting these black clad and seriously ominous opponents, that perhaps the best idea was to cower quietly behind the relative safety of a derelict bus. It’s a case of shoot or be shot and, as in life, dying on the field of battle simply sucks!

Back to any parents reading this and some reassurance about how the game is played. Always at the forefront is the safety angle: no-one is allowed into the arena without wearing protective full-face mask, while a fair amount of time is taken to instruct on the proper use of the paintball gun. In addition, experienced referees are always present in the arena and they have the all important power to verify hits and to ensure safety by removing players if they start rugby tackling.

In general, a player is marked and must leave the field of play if he or she is hit by a paintball that bursts and leaves a coloured splat.

The basic equipment includes a marker, sometimes called a paintball gun for its physical and mechanical resemblance to a firearm. Paintballs flow from a bulbous hopper into the chamber. Pressing the trigger results in pressurised gas (usually air, but sometimes carbon dioxide or nitrogen) to flow from a small attached tank and propels the paintballs out of the barrel up to 300ft and at a speed of around 200-270 mph.

It’s not solely a game for the under twenties, the evening we went, a group of men in their thirties and forties were getting ready for the fray as part of a decidedly-different stag night. Women also are encouraged to ‘do battle’ but when one of the male members of the Sunday Mail team was faced with a petite blonde girl wielding her paint ball gun he made the fatal mistake of “being reluctant to shoot a woman”. She ‘took him out’ in the first three minutes.

This is definatly a bit of a Die Hard experience and not for those who bruise easily – especially if a ball does not break on contact, it can leave a good size bruise. ‘Old hands’ on the field always wear double layers of clothing along with protective padding for the chest and pelvic areas. I’m sure Bruce Willis would love it!

l If you fancy taking part in a game then make sure you wear comfortable trainers, loose clothing and long sleeves. Everything else in the form of safety gear will be provided. The arena is situated in Yeriskipou next to the Paphos Go Karting and up from the Paphos Amathus Hotel. Phone Jimmy on 99 313188 or Andreas 99 620920