Flash! Pros on The Tonight Show. Flash! Pros on MTV. Flash! Pros... The paintball world's full of publicity for pros. $1,500 markers, pro style. Pro jerseys, pro autographs. But how about all the players who don't stand in the pro spotlight? The Professor asked readers their thoughts, and here's what five readers had to say.
Alex Schlitt ("AS"), 14, of West Linn, Oregon, wears a black JT Flex-7 with a thermal lens. Alex would rather play speedball than woodsball "because of speedball's fast paced adrenaline rush".
Bill Wertenberger ("BW"), 16, from Naylor, Missouri, wears a JT Elite Headshield goggle system. He is a woodsball player because "you have the thrill of hunting someone down and marking them."
Aaron Ragusa ("AR") plays for the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Salukis, sponsored by Over The Edge Paintball in Benton, Illinois, and SIPPL. Aaron wears a JT nVader goggle system with a thermal lens. Aaron plays woodsball, because "there are lots of fun tactics that can be applied".
"Nick" is a woodsball player: "Before I start let me tell you that APG has answered many of my questions and taught me many things, so keep up the good work. The first time I played I fell in love with playing and had been fantasizing over getting a marker for a year, until I got the 98
Custom Power Pack. I have Scott goggles from the Power Pack. I would rather play woodsball and the reason is simple: the feel of getting hunted. I know that we don't want to consider paintball a war or a hunting game, but when you're in the woods and paint is flying at you, man goes back to survival instincts to defend himself."
Josh Kotranza ("JK") of Emmett, Michigan, wears a PMI goggle system and likes speedball: "All the other kids on my team would rather play woodsball, but it's too slow for me. I like fast speed games were you make quick moves and everything happens fast."
1 Q: Why do you need referees in paintball games?
NICK: Like in all games, people will try to find loopholes to bypass the laws in order to win. That's why we have refs; they keep it clean, safe, and most of all make sure everyone plays by the rules.
AS: To make sure players are not cheating and to keep the game running smoothly.
BW: To ensure safety and that no one is cheating.
AR: Referees keep paintball safe, fair and fun!
JK: you need refs in paintball games to make sure no one wipes and make sure everything runs smoothly.
2 Q: Why do you need to use a barrel plug or barrel bag when you are not in a shooting area?
AR: This is another safety factor. This is the last means by which a paintball can be stopped, the first being YOU!
AS: Because people may not be wearing masks and if the marker goes off, the paintballs may hit someone in the eye.
NICK: I for one do not like the idea of a barrel plug (would rather use a barrel bag) because if somehow someone pulls the trigger, that plug might be coming out. But to answer the question, you need the plug or bag on just in case of a misfire or something goes wrong with your marker. They even mentioned this in the January (APG) issue in "Barrel Plugs".
JK: Accidents happen. Barrel plugs and jimmys (barrel bags) help prevent the ball from traveling and hitting somebody that might not have a mask on.
3 Q: What is the maximum speed, for safety, that a paintball is allowed to go, when it leaves the barrel?
The maximum worldwide speed limit is 300 feet per second.
4 Q: What would make you play paintball more?
AS: If I always had a ride to and from the field, and money for paintballs and other supplies.
BW: More fields in my area.
JK: (An easy) way to get air and paint.
AR: If the price of paint were to drop. Significantly.
5 Q: What do you say when somebody tells you paintball is a "violent" sport?
BW: I tell them they have never seen paintball played the right way and probably have never been in a paintball game. I encourage them to come play and show them that it is safe as long as you use your head.
AS: I tell them about paintball's excellent safety record and about all the rules restraining violence in the sport, and about paintball's safety equipment.
AR: I can't count the number of times I have heard this. I tell them that (paintball) is no different from any other sport (i.e., football), and that paintball builds teamwork, responsibility for one's actions and equipment, and is also great exercise.
NICK: I've come in contact with some people who've said that, everyone has. I tell them what I tell everyone else: Paintball is an organized game played on supervised fields which barely deal with injury at all. Then they bring up the war thing, which I personally am sick of hearing. Yes you hit people with projectiles, yes there is some pain, but like in [APG's] article titled "Paintball and War," it says "In paintball you live to fight another day, and in combat you fight to live another day."
6 Q: What would you like to change about paintball?
NICK: The thing I would change about paintball is, well, nothing. If I could make a change, I would change the intimidation factor just a little bit. Everyone gets intimidated when they first play and when you put in snotty guys who want to light up newbies, it's kinda not fun to play. But other than that I think paintball is on the verge of overtaking the world in the sport way as we know it.
JK: If I could change one thing about paintball it would be its reputation. Then I would give paintball more publicity. Then I would change the amount it would cost to play.
AR: I would like to change the attitudes of some players. I once witnessed a player mark an opponent after being tagged out because he wanted to play more and was angry. That, and paintball prices :).
ASK THE PROFESSOR anything about paintball by email:
profpb@actionpursuitgames.com. Questions may be edited, and personal replies are rare because the good professor gets so many questions, so read APG regularly to get your answers.
