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pbReview.com / Outdoor Adventures - Bowie Paintball Field / Outdoor Adventures - Bowie Paintball Field / Outdoor Adventures - Bowie Paintball Field / Outdoor Adventures - Bowie Paintball Field
Outdoor Adventures - Bowie Paintball Field
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Reviews: |
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Website: |
Click here to visit the field's website. |
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Email: |
Click here to email the field. |
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Phone: |
410 437-7492 |
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Address: |
16680 Governor Bridge Road
Bowie, Maryland 20716
USA
Map - Directions - Weather |
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Distance: |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
May 16th, 2009 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Directions
to the Field: |
Follow mapquest directions to get there from the website but as a tip once you get on 301 from Route 50 it will be the first light that you come upon, regardless of if you can spot the Governor Bridge Road sign at first. Make that left at the light and follow that road up about a 1/4 of a mile and once you pass the Toyota dealership you will spot a tiny sign with Paintball on it. Take that dirt road all the way down and if your in an off road capable vehicle, enjoy yourself. |
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| Review: |
I've been going to this field off and on throughout my 4 years of high school and I went back recently for the first time since I returned to MD from college. I must say that everything has pretty much stayed consistent and the same throughout the years. That's a good thing on most counts but there are improvements that could still be made. I'll go through the standard breakdown review of a paintball field:
Safety: The refs have always been adamant about safety and Karen, the head honcho, will not tolerate a casualty on her watch. Take your goggles off in an area where they should be on and a pair of eyes, ref or not, will spot you and chew you out. Just follow the rules and you will not be hassled as well as not injured.
Fields: There are a vast amount of woodsball fields to choose from, some quite strikingly similar to the other but there are some variables thrown in. At least enough to give you the feel that you are getting variety each time your group heads out to the woods. There are 2 hyperball courses which are pretty average, standard fields. My only gripe about them is the old mud with sulfur rising to the top creating a smell very comparable to horse manure, but when your absorbing welts and shooting people with carbon dioxide powered guns, who the hell cares? Field number 2 has an interesting snake style maze on one side of the field and some good close quarters firefights take place there usually turning the tide of the match. Overall I wish there was a little more variety but there is enough to keep you happy and enthusiastic about play.
Hours of Operation: Being a true paintball aficionado I always wish there was more time to play but the current hours of 9am - 4pm offer enough time to allow you to go through all your paint as well as give you some downtime for rest and gun maintenance here and there. Once again, I always wish there was more time but the current 7 hours are plenty if you arrive at opening.
Prices: Now I'm the type of player that was sort of distraught when they banned the bringing of your own paint because with a minor connection I was able to grab quality RPS marballizer paint for low prices. The prices that OA offers with their now mandatory field paint are, in my own opinion, a bit steep but if you prepare yourself financially for your weekend paintball adventure, the few extra bucks over what I think I should be paying isn't too bad. Overall, the prices are reasonable and I understand OA needs their profit but I'd like to see them a bit lower.
Services: There is a tiny pro shop at "base camp" and they usually have most of the common things you would need from a pro shop. They also have a knowledgeable staff member working the shop and whom of which is usually open to helping you out with any minor marker issues and will fix them free of charge. Also available are some small refreshments such as chips, candy bars, and gatorade. Dixie cups and water coolers are also available for free openly on tables.
Staff: The refs can be a bit overzealous and bossy sometimes but all in all its for the safety of the players and to keep things running smoothly so veteran players aren't held up tapping their feet and glancing repeatedly at their watch for the novices to remember to keep their barrel bags on or their goggles down. In-game, there are usually 2 refs on opposite side of the field spotting for hits but sometimes they can get a bit lazy and miss some clear hits. By the time you get their attention the player that was hit has usually wiped it off or already taken themselves out of the game. They are nice people though, and helpful if you ask for their assistance. They are only human but I do wish they could spot hits a bit better. Would definitely entice me to get into more long range firefights instead of wasting clear hits on hoppers and facemasks for them only to be wiped onto the player's sleeve.
Players: The players at OA, like any other field are a mixed bunch. There are some complete rookies that can mess up some minor things and get you bunkered, there are some veteran players with DYE guns and huge egos, some average players (like me) with average gear and a normal competitive yet mature attitude, and then there are some cool veteran players that are really helpful and take charge of teams in a positive and effective manner. All in all, go there to play hard and have fun and you should be fine getting along with other players.
In essence, OA - Bowie is a pretty standard, average field. The staff is nice and for the most part helpful and the fields have enough variety to keep you wanting to play for the entirety of its operational hours. There are some downsides but basically its not a field worth driving out of your way to play at, though if you are in the relative area looking for some organzied games to jump into, OA at Bowie is worth the first half of your day. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
March 29th, 2009 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
2 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
???for me,Pev's in Aldie is about the same distance from OA.not rly close though... |
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Directions
to the Field: |
just be sure not to miss the turnoff.after you pass the toyota dealership, there is a small sign that sai OA Paintball.it is kind of small and easy to miss. |
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| Review: |
the refs did not chrono the players(only downside).refs were soooooo nice.my mom wsas impressed at how they told other players not to curse,ect.they really helped, and when you called for a Paint check, they actualy came over!!!!!!at pevs they never do that!!!!Weezy(did i spell it right?) helped me out a ton.he gave me pointers and showed me were to refil my air suply.at pevs the refs are just like''are you even older than 9?'' (i am very short).refs constantly made sure i was ok.OA is great for woodsball,and hyperball courses were awesome to.go feild #2!!! my teammates were very supportive and helpd me out.(i dont know if this was because of my awesome mohawk,my unique skills, or just the fact that i could get into small spaces --> ''the maze'')OA is definately more family based than Pev's.GO OA PAINTBALL!!!! |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
April 19th, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
PAP in Taneytown: Never been but my friends that play in the GPL practice thre and say it's prety awesome.
OA Rosedale: Never been but heard tha the woodsball there is better(even though I prefer hyperball) |
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Directions
to the Field: |
You might miss the entrance like my father and I did lol. Its about 200 feet away from the Saturn dealership. |
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| Review: |
This field is great! Refs are down to earth, fields are pretty decent and prices are really good. That's my review in a nutshell, but here's a more detailed review.
Safety: Refs are really good with keeping the players with googles on. The only thing is chronoing, which I don't really mind, because it's not the refs fault that people don't come in time to chrono with the rest of the players.
Fields: Woodsbal is pretty good, however I prefer hyperball. Hyperball fields are pretty nicely set up, and they mix it up every once in a while. Field #1 is one of my favorites. The only thing I kind of get annoyed by is the little ditches that form behind the bunkers. When it rains, water accumulates in them and stays stagnant for 3 days or so. It brings the sulfur out of the mud and stinks like poopy lol. However, there isn't much they can do about it, due to people sliding to bunkers so much and yes I am guilty of sliding into sulfur water and walking around all day with mud butt lol :-P. Fields are awesome nevertheless! THEY ALSO HAVE A AIRBALL FIELD FOR STRCITLY TEAM PRACTICES! It looks really nice though!
Hours of Operation: Really convinient!!! As of right now (summer schedule) they play Saturdays and from 9AM to 4PM during the spring time. During the summer they play 9AM to 12:30PM (kind of a bummer). They also have night games from 6PM to 10PM(sounds fun, definately attending at least 1 during the summer!)
Prices: AWESOME! It's FPO but they have a really good selection. Admission is $20. Whitebox(really good for the value!my XO whitebox shot like premium paint lol) or equivalent is $35, Stingers or equivalent are $40, PRemiums or equivalent are $54 and MArbs or equivalent are $59. Really good paint and admision prices! If you buy admission and paint at the same time, you can save up to $10, which is pretty cool! BUY PAINT WHILE PAYING FOR ADMISSION TO SAVE MONEY!!! =D
Rules: Their rules keep everyone safe! Barrel socks are mandatory in the registration area, and they have clearly marked "GOGGLES ON!" signs. There's a no bunker rule, but sometimes it happens, which is just fine.
Services: You can rent a everything you need to play paintball there, as well as just rent only HPA steely tanks. They fill CO2 and HPA up to 5k and never fill hot. They fill nice and slow! You also connect to the fill station yourself via quick disconnect whip which slots for 4 people to fill at once. They also have some tools, so if you don't have the allen wrench or screw driver you need, the kind employees there will be more than happy to let you borrow one, as long as you return it =D.
Proshop: They have a small proshop on the side of the field where you can buy extra paint, HPA and CO2 tanks, o-rings, masks, squeeges, small gun apgrades and even more. They have a specialty store in Arbutus (near Baltimore) which carries almost anything you need. If they don;t have what you need, they can order it for you. But anyways back to the field review.
Staff: Really friendly!!! They're super nice and down to earth. Karen is really nice. Guys at the fill stations are pretty cool and sometime joke around, but still keep a safe enviroment. Davey T. of Arsenal A works there and he's really cool!
Refs: They do a good job! They protect you from bonus balling, and act pretty quick during paint checks. Last time I went there, a ref asked me if I wanted to just play hyperball and I said yes please. He talked to the other refs and the got groups together for strictly woodsball, strictly hyperball and one for a mix. I love those guys! Some even give you pointers while playing!
Players: 90% of the players are really nice. They sometimes act as refs in helping you out with paint checks and spotting. The other %10 can be ignorant, but it is what it is. It's a DM's, PM,s Ions, Egos, E-Cockers and Timmys. Woodsballers usually have Tippys, Cockers, and sometimes speedball guns. Anyways, it's a good place to meet new friends through communicating on the field, and discussing gear!
Facilities: They have Port-a-Potties, but no running water. Decent place though.
Food: They carry snacks near the CO2 fill station such as bottled water, gatorade powerade, snickers, chips etc. If you don't want to spend cash on drinks, they supply drinkin water and cups, dispensed from a water cooler.
They carry ANTI-FOG solution in huge spray bottles which you can use for free!
All in all OA Bowie is a great place to play, and everytime I leave the field, I can't wait to come back. I'm heading up there in a week or two, so if you're in the area, give this field a chance. Stop by and have a blast!!!!
Jarel N.
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
January 26th, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
1 year |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Riva trace Baptist Church has an ok field but not the best |
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| Review: |
At oa they have nice woodsball fields but there speedball courses are not the best. Their staff is good and very helpful. Their hours are 10 to 4 every weekend. Their prices are prety good I think but you have to use field paint. they do have a little snack shop that has chips, candy and drinks. their refs are alright but occasionly you will hear some BS calls.
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| The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion on the comments page. |
Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
November 9th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Rosedale, |
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Directions
to the Field: |
ITS IN BOWIE |
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| Review: |
Safety- The best around, we go over everything you need to know and tips and pointers before you even get a gun or start playing.
Prices- good
Refs- we own.. i am one myself
Staff- polite and friendly
Food- decent stuff chips soda gatorade and sometimes a caterer is there
IMO OA paintball is freaking amazing because i love it. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
November 4th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
2 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Not so much in the area, but
Skirmish, On Target, Condor, Team Combat |
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Directions
to the Field: |
From the DC Beltway, get off at Rt 50 E toward Annapolis, take that to 301 S. First like is Governor Bridge Rd, AKA Harbour Way, make a left. Just past the Toyota dealership is a gravel road on the left, take that to the end. |
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| Review: |
I moved South recently, and went here with a couple of friends for a big game because I heard it was supposed to be the best field around. I, however, was unimpressed.
First off, let me say that I've never seen gravel on a paintball field up until this point. It was muddy that day, I ended up slipping in a patch of gravel, busted up my knee, couldn't really run for the rest of the day. Also, that fall destroyed the pants I was wearing, so to keep myself from tripping up on them I tore the legs off and made shorts.
So, as for the rest of my day, started off with gun problems. No guntech there, not that day, not ever. They actually have a sign hung up in the proshop saying that employees are not allowed to work on customer's markers. Guy there did recommend a change of battery, which, luckily, did work. Otherwise I would have had to spend $20 to rent a piranha. Then, on my way on the field, I get chronoed for the only time that day. There was no spot checking of velocity that I saw. But, when I was on the field, I did see the refs sort of freaking out after seeing that someone had been hit with non-field paint.
Now, most scenarios I've been to, they don't allow shooting within 10 feet of an opponent. My friend was witnessed being shot pretty much point blank by 2 refs, and they didn't do anything about it. I found out about this shortly after I had been kicked off the field for wearing shorts, which apparently isn't allowed (because it's a "liability issue"). At this point, we had both had about enough, and for the first time in our collective paintball careers, left early.
This was just my experience. I personally would not recommend going to this field. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
May 23rd, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Paintball Adventures Park
Skirmish ,USA |
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| Review: |
Safety- well, i got there and the refs made everyone crono there guns... but when i was playing on the hyper ball feild, some one was a little too high over the FPS limit. right off the break my halo was hit, cracking off the battery cover (it was a pretty new shell with no cracks). and the refs were O.K. at best, it was as if they were 'zoned out' of the game... i was calling for a paint check but he didnt move, the ref was no farther than fifteen yards away.
Fields- the hyper ball field was extremely muddy, after no rain for a week or two, and the one woods ball game i played was terrible, the layout of the feild was very bad
Prices- Very overcharged paint, $20 for entrance/allday air. i payed 55 bucks for a case of wallmart paint! (JT paint), limited selection (2 or 3 diff brands).
im not going to OA again. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
July 29th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
1 year |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
?????? |
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Directions
to the Field: |
??????? |
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| Review: |
Thi field is freaking awsome ive been to other fields before(Robin Hood Paintball,Ecx Paintball Park, Graveyard Paintball....all great fields except robinhood)but OA is awsome great refs cool staff. and the guys in the proshop will talk bout anything paintball to you(guns, parts, tanks, strategies anything) even lil tips on how to maintain your gun better. they have great scenario games and there almost free 5-man tournaments are awsome!!!! recommend this field to anyone |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
July 21st, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
uhhh tanneytown which i hear is nice especially if you play speedball
i live WV so im not to familiar withthe fields around here |
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Directions
to the Field: |
past toyota and saturn dealership and to the left about 30 yards or so is a turn and a sign that says oa paintball |
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| Review: |
i went to outdoor adventures bowie today for the first time today and the field is pretty decent . im just going to cover the main points...
saftey; the same common sense rules of paintball were applied well and they give a saftey brief before the games start
fields; i personally am a speedballer and didnt get to play much of it because OA runs sort of like a democracy system you have a group of people and the refs ask you if you want woods or speedball and the group i caught today preferred woods, the woods fields are nice and provide many opportunities to win, speedball.... they didnt have the airball setup today which was a bummer but the do have 2 hyperball fields and i only got to play on the one but it was o.k. i think that they should hose them off once in a while because the paint is like caked into the tubes and in some parts of the field theres a funky smell. and they could shovel up the old paint but oh well. i wouldnt recommend diving unless you want to eat dirt there are some big spots with just dirt and then grassy spots. but none the less i had fun
hours.......... the hours are bad i think the do the 8am-2pm hours because of the weather and the heat but 8 am to me is too early on a weekend let alone summer break lol
prices; 20 bucks entry i think is a little too much for walk-ons i know they are making money off the rentals because they make rentals buy their paint and pay 35 bucks for a crappy pirrahna and compressed air tank but oh well paint, they had a special this weekend where you buy one case of marbalizer for 55 or you can get 2 for 100 bucks, not to bad if you ask me
rules; the bunker rule... thats gotta go when the walk ons play you have to yell bunker 3 times and if the other person says bunker once then your out, i personally dont like it because i would rather just go up and shoot them but oh well
proshop; they have a nice little pro shop where you buy paint and other miscellanious items like packs, vests, marker parts, etc..., and the lady in there who sold me my paint was friendly and got to throw a few words in
staff i could tell when i payed and turned my waivier in the people handeling the players were getting frustrated because they had so much to do and wanted to get it done quick but over all they were nice people
refs, lol.... refs, the refs there are pretty funny and cool if you ask me but the could be a little quicker on the paint checks and be more observant because i know i was hitting people and saw it break on them but the ref wouldn't call them out.
players; the players were pretty nice but the ones that made me mad were the ones that weren't going out even though their hopper was plastered with paint and the ones who were wiping, i.e. one game i was playing there was a guy at the back corner (hyperball) and guys on my team were hitting him and i know i hit him and saw it break but he still wasn't going out and i told the ref to do a paint check on him but he was taking his sweet old time getting over there and i odnt think he ever even went to check him....
facilities; the whole place aside from the fields is nice they have all their stuff set up in trailers and had covered benches for players to sit and rest and get out of the sun
food; i didn't buy any food so i cant give any info on that but they do have a big water jug thing full of water for players to drink that didn't bring water
over all this field is ok and i would probally play there again if they lightened the fee for walk ons to like 15 and didn't have the stupid fill color rule (you cant have a blue, orange, and some other color fill) but i would go and check it out for yourself to see how you like it. oh yeah and the domocracy thing is stupid how speedballers have to play woods by a majority vote they should just have speedball open all the time and keep seperate refs in woods and seperate ones on speedball so we arent forced to play woods or woods arent forced to play speedball |
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tncamp |
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Saturday, June 16th, 2007 |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
June 16th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
2 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Pev's AG Leesburg---Overall better |
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| Review: |
Safety--No real Chrono check. Told Ref we had crono'd and he accepted it without verification. No on field checks. We were honest and kept it to below 290. Did everyone else? Refs were very good about reminding players about goggles, barrel covers, and safing guns. Tank refill guys noted and expired date on one of my tanks that I hadn't noticed. Nice catch, especially since another field had filled the tank after the expiration date.
Fields. Good variety of fields, speedball, hyper ball and woodsball.
Hours of operation--Web site says show up 45 minutes early. We did, but facilities did not open (HPA refill, store, Co2 refill, etc.) till 30 minutes later. Partly our groups fault for late arrivals, but did not get underway playing until 8:45. Once on field play proceeded well with breaks about every hour to refill air and ammo.
Prices--Biggest gripe. We had a group of 24 people. several of our group had their own equipment. As a walk-on with your own equipment you are allowed to use your own paint (even if you comply with color restrictions). if you are a part of a group you are forced to buy the field paint at $75/2000-- $45/1000-- $7/100. If we are bringing in business (lots of newbees who all rented and bought paint), why are those of us who have our own equipment penalized? Because of this issue I will not return to this field. Rather than paying $20 to play with our group it cost us $50 each (that included 1000 paintballs). We ended up playing a lot of speedball and were forced to buy even more paint at the outrageous prices, and it was cheap paint.
Rules--rules are well known to the players in our group. Refs did a very poor job enforcing the rules (more on refs later).
Services--Great services from the store and the tank fill guys. Very professional, and I like the free fills included in the price. One of our group had a broken piece on his Timmy A-5. The repair guy took a piece off of his personal gun to get our guy back in the game.
Staff--Despite a call several days prior about the use of paint, we were very disappointed. The rep on the phone verified we could use our own paint in out gear. The web site is very unclear on group personnel being required to use field paint. Staff at the field just pointed to the sign.
Refs--I'm 54 and have been playing rec ball for several years. Most of the refs are younger, and some of them are very good, but we got a pair with a lousy attitude today. Other than the reminders about safety rules as we moved about, refs were poor. Safety briefing for new players was conducted in a barely audible voice. Those of us who have played before saw hits on gear (guns, hoppers, ball haulers, etc) and the players were called hit by opposing players. The hit player wiped the hit and kept playing. On multiple occasions we pointed this out to the refs, and their reply was that they couldn't do anything about it. One ref even suggested that we could wipe off hits and he would just look the other way.
ABSOLUTELY UNSAT!!!! This attitude teaches the new players to be dishonest in their play and penalizes those of us who were playing an honest game.
Facilities--Good set up. Lots of tables and the covers over the tables were nice. the shade on a hot day was very welcome.
Food--Snacks only, but I didn't personally buy anything so I can't speak to the variety.
Overall--between the attitude of the refs, and the requirement to use field paint, we'll take our group somewhere else. It's a shame, because I like the fields and the facilities. WE had planed on going up for the scenario game next week, but I'll probably go Leesburg instead. |
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