 Ferrymen Artwork by Lotta Tjernstrom at www.lt-illustration.com.  Tom Cole, pro. Bad Company, Kingman. Photos by Skirmish.com.  Not quite as it looks today, this was the Tippmann Castle at Skirmish USA in the Poconos, PA.  The team look.  At Skyball, Canada, Miss TCP.  Classic after-paintball casuals. Photo by B. Bullard. |
TX. Khaki Jack's is open now in Plano, Texas, at the intersection of West Parker and Alma. They have your paintball and airsoft gear, and a lot of military surplus clothes, boots, and accessories. www.khakijacksarmynavy.com
MO. Paint Games Plus welcomes you to their new facility at 310 N. Karnage Lane, just west of I-44 on West Chestnut Expressway in Springfield, Missouri. PGP offers separate games for levels 1 through 3. Check out their Karnage field paint! www.paintgamesplus.com
CA. I&I Sports, in association with Jungletoys, has added four stores to its I&I chain of company-owned and -affiliated outlets. Added: Huntington Beach, 19040 Brookhurst St., phone 714.962.7965. Laguna Niguel, 27324 Camino Capistrano #211, phone 949.582.2986. Temecula, 28636 Front St #106, phone 951.294.9939. Oceanside, 1837 S. Coast Hwy., phone 760.721.5088. Directions and hours: www.iisports.com.
1ST United Methodist Church puts on their own paintball games once a month on land owned by a member of their congregation, according to a story of 1/11/06 in the Clanton Advisor.
Blue and Blue's Crew will tour the USA this season, including Wayne Dollack's Paintball's Grande Finale December 2-3, West Point's big game, and scenarios at their home field of EMR Paintball, PA. Info: emrpb@epix.net.
EMR is the home field for Ferrymen Paintball, a new team led by James "Blow" Francesconi (captain) and Karen "Kamikaze" Taylor (XO). The Ferrymen are sponsored by EMR Paintball Park, Flurry Industries, and Hoo-Ahhs for the 2006 season and are striving to be ambassadors for the sport in terms of fair and safe play: "Friends First, Paintball Second.' Founded in 2003, the team also includes Rob "Spyder" Cook, Ed "Gun-Ho" Guenther, Keith "Boot" Oliver, and Mike "Bartender" Taylor. Their name relates to the fact that all of the players when the team started had either worked on the ferry boats for the Lake Champlain Transportation Company or were related to someone who did. A recent disbanding of DOTW merged some DOTW players with the Ferrymen to give the new team 17 members. EMR Paintball Park, phone 570.465.9622, www.emrpaintball.com.
MXS continues its Empires scenario game series, following the theme of empires real and imaginary, with plenty of silliness and improv along the way. 14 events! www.mxsportz.com
PTI and RAP (Paintball Training Institute and Real Action Paintball) have teamed up with PTI including Master Airsmith classes for the RAP4 and RAP5 markers. PTI already offers master airsmith courses on specific markers, airfill stations, referee training courses, and many, many other training courses and classes. www.rap4.com, www.paintball-pti.com
PROcaps will host one-day dealer seminars, with Mike Peverill as the speaker, at various locations during this year. Peverill is the president of Procaps Direct and founder of Pev's Paintball. The seminars are to help dealers enhance their businesses. Sponsors of the seminars include Procaps, DraXxuS Paintball, VForce Vision Systems, RamAir Products, Tippmann Pneumatics, NXe, Planet Eclipse, and ViewLoader. Topics will include sales strategies, loyalty programs, how to compete in a market with the internet and big box stores, secrets of customer service, low- and no-cost promotions, and much more. Benefits for attending dealers also include free product samples. The seminars generally coincide with major paintball events. $100 registration fee is fully credited on future orders. For schedules and signups, contact the Procaps Direct office for your region:
Northeast: 631.580.4377
Northwest: 630.628.8075
Mid Atlantic: 703.257.9887
Southwest: 909.390.6191
Southeast: 772.337.752
South Central: 972.579.040
California: 909.390.619
MUSIC, just like exercise, can get the blood pumping and keep you alert and awake for every game. Music can motivate you, too! What songs or artists keep you in the game best, and why? Let APG know! co2@actionpursuitgames.com
PSP's new title, Pursuit Force, is a PlayStation Portable released this past March. It features Hollywood-style action movies with high-speed vehicle chases, electrifying shootouts, and close-quarters combat around every corner. No paintball, but it is a shooting game for those non-paintball hours. Developed by Bigbig Studios Ltd., Pursuit Force offers 30 criminal cases in different environments. Players are part of a specialized police force and have choices of 55 vehicles and 10 types of devices to use to bring gangs to justice and restore peace in Capital City.
THRILL PLANET is a service that helps adventure seekers find exactly what they're looking for at affiliated adventure sports locations throughout the USA. They can help you get linked up to paintball. www.thrillplanet.com
SOBE Paintball will sell BAWLS Guarana, which will put BAWLS into all the Vengeance paintball distributors and dealers. BAWLS, regular and sugar-free, is the NPPL's official soft drink. Watch for a new mint BAWLS soon! www.sobepaintball. com, www.bawls.com, www.vengeancepaintballdistributors.com
PMI Inc. will no longer distribute Tippmann Sports products, the relationship ending earlier this year. Tippmann Sports in a press release said this was "due to the growing competitive product line conflicts that exists between the two companies." Tippmann will continue U.S. distribution through American Paintball Supply, Archon, and ProCaps Direct. Tippmann Sports, phone 800.533.4831, www.tippmann.com.
Splats Urban Assault Inc. operators of Splats Paintball Park near Fresno, CA, announced earlier this year that a 2-1/2-year development project is nearly done. The park features extremely sturdy construction, and design changes and setbacks as required by the city. When open, it will host weekend games and tournaments. Splats Urban Assault Inc. operates a retail paintball store in Fresno as well; Jay Orlauski is the CEO. Phone 559.217.6051, paintcheck@splatsurbanassault.com, www.splats-paintball.com.
NSGA, the National Sporting Goods Association, reported that in 2004, sales of hunting-related gear grew the most of all athletic and sports equipment, to an estimated $2.8 billion. Though not a separate category, paintball knows that some part of this figure represents gear used in paintball, since there are many crossover products such as camouflage. Hunting-related footwear alone, within the category, rose 21 percent. Take a look around at the next woodsball game and see what players are wearing! NSGA findings are based on surveys and interviews with 100,000 households in America.
Women are participating more in the shooting sports and hunting, up from 4.2 million in 1999 to 6.3 million in 2004, according to NSGA. Christine Godleski, vice president and general manager of ESPN Outdoors, predicts that growth will continue, thanks to the TV shows, magazines, grassroots programs, and new products that appeal to women, as she said in a speech given at the 2006 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show's annual Women in the Industry luncheon this past February.
Shot Show reports from paintball exhibitors were very positive this year, as many major paintball companies had booths and a paintball industry meeting was held. APG Editor Dan Reeves said, "Paintball had a separate section this year, in the Las Vegas Convention Center. An estimated 38,000 people attended this show, which is for the trade only. The APG booth, in the main floor, also included several magazines that, along with APG, are part of the growing Action Pursuit Group Media's outdoor group's publications."
Law Enforcement training is part of the game plan for Real Action Paintball, which participated in the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, earlier this year to conduct training exercises and display their paintball gear that is specifically designed for the law enforcement. www.rap4.com
CO. Need Automag parts? How about packages to start your own field, or to outfit your entire team? www.prostarsports.com
High-tech, just a few years back!
Powertrip. Toulouse 03. Photo by Skirmish.com
Waiting for the next game, they watched from high above Skyball's netted playing fields.
Barry Winston Barry Winston passed away this past New Year's morning while working. Winston was a regular player at the annual Hell Survivors Monster Game in Michigan, and always said to his best friend, Ken Van Dusen, that if he could only play once a year, that would be the weekend he would play. Winston played for Skeleton Crew, and sometimes for Voodoo Posse and Psycho Ballistics. He and Van Dusen, in the early years, helped to build Sherwood Forest in La Porte, Indiana. Crew forever...Hoorah!
Original SWAT Ad Wins Emmy The 2006 television advertisement for Original SWAT Footwear Co. won a Midsouth Regional Emmy early in 2006, for Best Commercial Spot. The ad appeared during programming for the Original SWAT World Challenge on ESPN. Shot on location in Memphis, Tennessee, the ad included live-action and cartoon animation and starred members of the Shelby County
SWAT team of Memphis, Tennessee. Honors were given at the Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Science. Original SWAT's ad was produced by Running Pony Productions, by Tim Parker and Greg Eiden of the Sasquatch Agency in Portland, Oregon, and Erin Cabezut, marketing director for Original SWAT. Original SWAT Footwear Co., Salida, CA 95368; phone 209.545.2500; www.originalswat.com.
