So either your son or daughter has come to you with a comment like, “I want to go paintballing for my birthday” or they went paintballing for a friend’s birthday party and they now want to get into paintball and your wondering what the hell is paintball? Is this sport safe? What type of people play this sport? All these questions will be answered along with more.

What is Paintball?

Well let’s cover the basics first. What is paintball? Paintball is a sport in which players on one team seek to eliminate those of an opposing team by marking them with a water-soluble dye shot in capsules from an air powered paintball marker. It’s basically dodge ball and laser tag mixed together.

Now there are two types of paintball, Woodsball and Speedball. (Note: Many paintball fields have both woodsball and speedball and allow players to go back and forth between the two during a day of paintball)

Woodsball

Woodsball is the original form of paintball. Its paintball played outdoors usually in forested areas but can also be played in grass fields.

When played in forested areas, trees, brush and man made bunkers provide the most terrain and cover for the players while in grass field’s man made bunkers, trenches provide most of the cover and terrain. This will vary from paintball field to paintball field but most fields will have a variety of both.

While played at Woodsball field’s players will most likely participate in Capture the flag games, Elimination, Team Elimination, Attack & Defend as well as a variety of other games invited by that particular field.

Speedball

Speedball is the newer form of paintball. It can played outdoor in fields, indoor in large factory type buildings or even in professional stadiums such Toronto’s Sky dome or Orlando’s Disney's Wide World of Sports® complex.
When played outdoors or indoors, terrain can consist of barrels or hollow tubes but has more recently been converting to the Air Bunkers used more commonly in indoor fields and in stadiums.
While playing speedball players with most likely participate in Capture the flag, Elimination, Team Elimination as well as a variety of other games invited by that particular field.

Paintball Players

Paintball is a sport for many ages. In most cases anyone 12 years of age and older can play. Many men, woman, boy and girls currently play paintball and all enjoy it. I’ve personally played with lawyers, stock brokers, welders, doctors, janitors, and business owners just to name a few. There are also Celebrity paintball players that play ever year for a variety of charities.
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Paintball Safety

The number 1 concern parents have with paintball is how safe it is. Lucky for everyone paintball is extremely safe despite the many rumors. More people get hurt each year in the United States from bowling, golfing and running than playing paintball. NEISS (The National Injury Information Clearinghouse of the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington D. C.) in 2003 providing the following statistics. These injuries include sprained ankles, cuts, heat exhaustion, etc. and included injuries from players who where on the field (ex. tripping over a log) and off the field (ex. slipping while entering an indoor field). As you can see from these statistics paintball is very safe.

Field owners and players take many precautions to keep the injury rate as low as it is. Just be sure to check out a field before you play at it to make sure there is always a referee watching your kids on the field and an adult of the field. Also make sure they have proper safety nets or glass depending on whether or no it’s outdoor or indoor. Also remember to ask a staff member what speed the markers that your kids will be shooting are set to. (assuming you’re renting and haven’t purchased your own gear) An indoor maker should be set around 250 – 260 fps (feet per second) and an outdoor marker should be set around 270 – 280 fps. If there markers are set at 300fps or higher I would recommend going to a different field. Also ask if your kids will be briefed on marker, goggle and playing safety. This is extremely important if its there first time.
Click here for more Stats on Paintball Safety

What to bring

When going paintball it’s important to be prepared. Even if it’s your first time it important to make sure you have everything you need.

Checklist
1. Map and directions to get to the field (can usually be found on a fields web site)
2. Money It’s important to not run out of money cause once you run out the fun stops. Always bring extra cause if your renting paintball is very pricey and it’s not a flat rate since you have to buy paint.
3. Proper Clothing If you’re playing at an outdoor field be sure to see what the weathers going to be like. Also dress in layers because you can get hot running around also cold if wind picks up. Most first time players wear a sweater. This is a good idea for first time players who worried about the sting of a paintball. Also wear good shoes, not like dress shoes but ones that you can tie up and give you the ankle support you need. Wear old cloths cause you will get dirt and really oily if you play indoors. Bring a change of cloths and have towels on the seats on your vehicle for the ride home incase someone forgets there change of cloths.
4. Drinks & Snacks Pizza and drinks can be purchased from a lot fields and if not you can always order it. Bring lots of water. Lots!!!! You’ll drink more water playing serious paintball than running.

That’s a basic list but it will get a lot longer as you become a more serious player.

Basic FAQ

Q: Does it hurt when you get shot?
A: Yes but not as much as you think. It feels the same as getting flicked with a rubber band on your bare arm. Personally stubbing your toe hurts a lot more.

Q: How much does it cost?
A: A day of paintball is usually around the same price as a day of go karting but it’s important to check your local field for prices and deals.

Q: Is it true you can make a living playing paintball?
A: This is true but there are very few players who do.

Q: Are there professional paintball circuits?
A: Yes there are. There's the NPPL, NXL, PSP and many more.

Have a question we didn’t answer, email us at grungepaintball@gmail.com

Article Written by Brett Watts