Paintball in the new Millennium
Here it is, the turn of the century! What a great time to be alive! Imagine being able to tell your grandchildren, “Yeah I remember the turn of the century” or “I remember the year 2000.” Or how about “ Yup, I remember using the stock, rock, and cock paintball markers!” Wow, just think about it.
Paintball is growing in popularity by tremendous leaps and bounds and is in the midst of being accepted in mainstream society with the acknowledgment of it as a recreational sport. There are even current groups on the horizon making the push towards a professional franchised paintball league in the United States, playing in venues especially designed for the sole purpose of promoting the sport on a professional level with major media coverage. The USPL (United States Paintball League) hopes to have this accomplished by the year 2003.
Taking a look back at the evolution of the markers themselves, it is almost staggering. Imagine how far we have progressed. We have grown from the single shot, pump action pistols powered with 7 gr. CO2 cartridges with a ten round capacity, horizontally fed into the marker to electronic markers capable of firing full auto up to 13+ rounds per second powered with 4500psi of compressed air and 200+ round electronic loaders complete with agitators to ensure a steady flow of paintballs. Firing rates that used to only be attainable by the highly skilled and talented can easily be accomplished by anyone with the only hurdle being the expense of the marker itself. Some of the major producers of markers have stated that they will only be producing semi automatic markers that will not exceed 13 round per second in the future.
The sport itself is changing as well. What had been initially played in wooded areas is moving more and more into the open and into full view of the general public, literally. With the advent of inflatable bunkers and obstacles for cover and the use of screening, paintball can be played anywhere. Locations that would have been near impossible to hold a tournament or charity event on are now a common location, out in the open and in full view of the public. More and more tournaments and events are being played in stadiums and on college universities furthering the sport to the general public. This is showing the public that we are not a bunch of militant survivalists but just ordinary people out to have a good time by playing a game that we enjoy.
The attire is also changing. Due to the popularity of speedball and the fact that is played primarily in the open with only a limited amount of cover, the need for concealment is less of a concern. Teams are opting for a less than conventional approach to their attire. The use of camouflage fatigues is fading with the teams choosing a more sport jersey type of apparel. Companies such as JT, Renegade and Raven are further supporting this change by offering affordable paintball clothing. Many teams now wear bright colors or even tie-dye while other teams still choose more natural colors or a solid pattern, depending upon the type of game, frequency, and locations that the games are being played.
All of this change in such a short period of time has also caused others to make a push back towards the fundamentals of the sport itself. There is and has always been organizations and groups who believe that the sport should be played as it was initially intended. There are even fields that allow people with pumps to play for free on their fields, waiving the field fee. The Pan Am Series for this year even has a stock only class in their tournament schedules.
Some are up in arms about all of the changes in the sport, screaming that the major promoters of the tournaments are selling out. They are upset over the use of semi’s not even to mention the current controversy over the use of full auto and electronic markers. This is not a sell out, this is the evolution of the sport. In order for this sport to truly be accepted by the public and accepted as a sport, the public must willingly accept it as such. If they need to identify with the sport through a common visual stimulus, so be it, have Pepsi, Coke, or McDonalds sponsor teams. Promoters are in the business of making money, very few things are done for free. By bringing these events and tournaments into the open they are creating clientele for their business, not to mention furthering the sport by enabling the public to view the action and spurring an interest in the sport that might have gone unnoticed if not for these events. All things evolve and move on, if they do not they stagnate.
Like I said these are exciting times to be alive. The sport we know and love is rocketing forward like a runaway locomotive, I am looking forward to what the future holds. To those I know and have played with, those on my team, and those that I have not yet met, I wish you a prosperous and successful New Year. Take care, keep low and I’ll see you on the field.
