Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant.
Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you. To the ground would fall the judge's handkerchief, to begin the combat.
Roman Gladiators were professional fighters. They fought in the arena, to the death. Businesses sponsored Roman gladiator fights (some against animals) to make a profit. Back in 105 AD, long before paintball, one mega-contest lasted 123 days with around 10,000 gladiators dying in Rome's Colosseum. Entertainment in 90 AD included some allowed female vs. dwarves gladiator fights.
Constantine the Great prohibited these "games" in 324 AD. It took until about 404 AD before they actually stopped.
Modern sports entertain crowds, while sponsors profit. Paintball "gladiators" will "fight" in the arena, to a mock "death". Paintball sponsors profit. Read this carefully now: Profit is a good thing.
The caution light has to do with injuries.
All physical sports involve possible pain. Lumps, bumps, bruises, twists, sprains, sometimes something more serious, they're part of sports. Football injuries include permanent paralysis and death. Violence in hocky? Head smashings.
So what about paintball? The rule is: No deliberate physical contact. Only the paintballs hit other players. Physical contact gets players ejected, teams penalized.
Today's hot burning issue is about how much, and how hard, the paintballs get to hit you. Pros don't care, or act like they don't care. Trickle that attitude down to where attitudes change. Recball players (set aside and ban the extremely rare sicko) do not play to get hurt. They know they could get hurt. They don't agree to get beat up bad from paintball hits.
It is up to players and field owners to enforce limits. Where do you stand?
What is your personal feeling on this? What's the policy at the field you own or where you play? probpb@actionpursuitgames.com Q&A ON HEAT Q: How fast can paintballs go?
A: They are not supposed to be shot any faster than 300 feet per second. Many fields have lower speed limits, especially for games for new players and younger players. Every paintball marker ever made can have its velocity adjusted. They can shoot faster (hotter) than 300, but don't go there.
Q: I get hit really hard, I can't tell if the refs are chrono'ing. What do I look for?
A: Look for the referees to chronograph players' markers. They chrono you, right? They should chrono every marker before the first game, and other times during the day. Some field chrono all markers before every game. Others, say like when you walk out to a field for two games, chrono check before every set of games.
Look for field spot checks using the hand held chronos. A ref always has the right to pull a player if the ref thinks the marker is hot. Some fields send a player home for shooting over a speed, such as over 340 and you're done for the day, or a second time over 300 and you're done for the day.
Tools that adjust the velocity of a marker up are prohibited on the field. That's so a player can't duck inside a building or get back in the bushes and dial up the velocity.
Velocity lockdown devices are mandatory on markers, also to prevent markers from being adjusted up while on the playing field.
When a ref chronos a marker, the ref should then check to see the locking device is actually locked.
Q: The field where I play is 260 fps. I don't like it. Tournaments are 285-300 fps so I'm stuck playing way down from tourney speeds. What can I do?
A: Talk to the refs about this, or the field owner. The velocity limits might be higher for team games, advanced games, scrimmages, and tournaments.
Q: I heard somebody ask a ref about adding some "ramp" to his marker. The ref told him ok. Is it ok? My field is semi-auto only.
A: Not if the ramping is increasing the speed over the field limits. Not if the ramping lets him shoot multiple paintballs with every trigger pull, because that violates the semi-auto only rule.
Q: Why do they let these pros play against newbies with rentals?
A: Usually it is not true professional players up against newbs. The true pros have nothing to gain and everything to lose by beating up on newbs. If you're talking about mixing newbies with experienced players, that's common. Referees should balance the teams by experience and firepower. Refs should kick abusive players out.
Q: Does it hurt to get hit with a lot of paintballs?
A: Could. A paintball stings when it hits bare skin. The more hits, the more stings. The more hits
to the same area, the more chance of bruising. The closer you are to the shooter, the more impact energy the paintballs have when they hit you. Wear baggy clothes, and cover bare skin. Pad any sensitive body areas. Baggy clothes help absorb the energy of the incoming paintball, and helps reduce the impact sting. A hit sort of feels like getting popped with a wet towel. Some people say it is like getting popped with a rubber band. Multiply that for multiple hits. The closer the shooter to you the harder the paintball can hit. There are speed limits in paintball that keep the speed of the balls at a speed that keeps the sport safe and fun. Never play anywhere unless the speed limits are being enforced using chronographs.
Q: Do I really need knee pads for paintball? I quit crawling around age three.
A: Nah, you can go ahead without them, long's you want to risk bruising your knees on rocks, or don't mind how hard the ground will feel if you trip and fall onto your knees. Just kidding. Yes you should be wearing kneepads.
Q: I don't understand how anybody can wear long finger gloves. I tried them on and they do not work for me. What do you think?
A: The Professor wears only half finger gloves. Long finger gloves work for a lot of players. Others want to feel the loader lid, the pod lids, the trigger itself. It's a personal thing. The reason to wear gloves is to protect your hands from hits, brush, poison ivy on the trees, mosquito bites, and anything else that might attack your hands.
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.
