The mean streets of woodsball...

Is the individual player being pushed out of scenario games?

If you plan on going to a scenario game in the near future you better find a team or group to go with. There is no longer a place for the individual player. You might as well try to walk the streets of East L.A. with out a gang affiliation then try to survive a Big Game without your homies watching your back.

It use to be the "General" would point to a bunch of players and say, "Okay, you guys take that hill and you guys go disarm that bomb and you guys stand guard at the HQ." with no one any more prepared than the next guy. Now wolf packs with communication headsets and GPS units prowl the woods disguised as Special Operations teams looking to pounce on any stragglers that might get in their way. Troop strength is measured against kill ratios and and everyone is looking for ways to capitalize on the "gray" areas or loop holes that 20 pages of rule book might hide.

In the quest of notoriety and the all mighty sponsorship (Yeah, you know. The same crap that brought tournament play to its knees.) teams are less concerned about the big picture and are more concerned with winning "Most Valuable Team" honors. It's no longer the Red or Blue team.

Lead, follow or get out of the way. There's no time for play.



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2009 Proto SLG

I should have some of these in soon.

Click here for a great selection of camouflage T-shirts

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The Devil himself confesses...

After market boards for guns and hoppers are in my humble opinion the number one rip off in the industry of paintball. Millions have been paid for that miraculous extra microsecond (one one millionth of a second) of recycle speed or solenoid recharge. Whether or not your new board and its options improve your gun or its performance (It doesn't and I'll argue that point till the cows come home!), fact is you are being ripped off.

Jim Drew is the brain behind the famous (infamous) W.A.S. board technology. He has decided to give it up and has offered his company and its technology to the highest bidder. Here are some of his thoughts:

"It is still sad to me that people lost sight of the meaning of the game. I guess I am somewhat to blame for the rate of fire wars, and I did invent the “Debounce” setting, but I always produced 100% legal boards.

Players - the reality is that boards now cost about $7 each for production quantities of 100 pieces (less for higher quantities), and that is made in the U.S.A. not China! I wanted to charge no more than $49 for our boards, but Gino from National Paintball insisted that the boards needed to retail for no less than $129… this set the standard in the industry, one that still exists really.

I would like to see an end to players getting ripped off by the manufacturers. I am just fed up with an industry of crooks who are far more concerned about making money than they are with the safety of the players."

Aftermarket boards. Aftermarket chips. WAS. Virtue. Blackheart. Z code. Tadao. Nerve. Predator. Etc. If you think there are allot of them on the market because they are something special think again. They are on the market because there is big money in selling vanity.



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Smart Parts press release...

Scottish Warriors adopt the SP-1

Leading European scenario team, Scottish Warriors adopt the SP-1 as their primary marker.

Loyalhanna, PA – February 24, 2009 – As the first Smart Parts sponsored scenario team in Europe, the Scottish Warriors have been putting the SP-8 Tactical Marker through its paces in all sorts of environments. Now the team is switching to the newer SP-1

Based in Glasgow, Scotland and captained by Tony Lindsay, the Scottish Warriors travel Europe to find the best scenario games. For the past three years, the Warriors have been doing so as one of the Tactical Squads of the Smart Parts Smart Corps, an elite group of factory sponsored scenario teams.

With their 2009 season including the UK Big Game, two German Big Games in Mahlwinkel and two French Games as well as other events, the Scottish Warriors are easy to spot in their distinctive black SAS gear and Smart Parts Defender pants. Uncommon competitors on the field, this team takes off-field fun to a whole other level and look forward to making new friends within the sport they love.

“The Scottish Warriors are our flagship team in Europe and are looking at expanding their fan base by welcoming all Smart Parts marker shooting players to come to these events and represent the Smart Corps Europe,” said Smart Parts Europe's director of European Affairs, Phil Webb.

Tournament teams nearly destroyed paintball. The industry is on the ropes and now I have another type of team to deal with. Yet another group of players who have turned a game into a battle of supremacy and honor waged by groups of segregated elitist. Yet another group of players I must kindly ask not to attend my Big Games. (And to be fair to Smart Parts, they are just one of many companies supporting and sponsoring scenario teams.)

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So true...

Man, I wish I wrote this!

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Oddities...

How odd it is that players often come up to me and complain, "When I layed 'my' gun down the hopper was full but now it's half empty," but I never hear, "When I layed 'my' gun down the hopper was only half empty and now it's full!"

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Cool bunkers #4...

Just like I don't like to build bunkers higher than I would want a player to fall I'm also a bit reluctant to build bunkers out of anything really, really hard. Guess I might be a little over cautious.

Play safe. Have fun.


(More cool bunkers - Bunkers #1, #2, #3.)


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Number one...

Just a quick Heinz 57 (catch-up) post while I'm enjoying some down time:

When someone brings a gun into the shop the number one answer to the question, "How did it get like this?" is "I let a friend borrow it."

When I open up a gun and find missing pieces and ask, "Have you taken your gun apart?" the number one response is, "No."

The number one response when I ask, "What kind of oil do you use?" is "Huh?"

When I have to ask, "Who used Super Glue on this o'ring?" the number one answer is, "Dad."

When asked, "Why did you shoot the ref?" the answer is always, "I didn't see him."

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Paintball masks. I can see clearly, now.

I think cheap Wallyworld guns turn many people off of paintball but even worse is a cheap mask. Even the best mask will fog up but when one fogs up all the time it can be very frustrating. People are generally anxious to buy the best gun and the best aftermarket parts but they often go cheap on the mask (and paint).

My mask is the most important part of my gear. It's not meant to make a fashion statement which is what the most expensive ones are for. It's not a cheap after thought thrown into a "kit" to make it look like a bargain. It doesn't have an "anti-fog" sticker on the lens in a lame attempt to fool me into thinking it's fog proof and it doesn't have an anti-fog coating on the lens that washes off or hazes over after a couple of cleanings.

It's not a perfect mask. When the humidity is topping 90 percent it collects moisture on the inside. It looks fogged up if I don't do a good job of cleaning off the greasy paint sheen that's left after a hasty cleaning. The lens scratches if I drop it in the dirt or tear hard through a patch of briers and brush.

I'm sure it looks dumb to some players because I like to leave the visor on. It doesn't have an agg strap or mirrored lens. I have to change the lens and strap from time to time. But it suits me fine. I know for a fact it sure beats UVEX!



From Amazon Paintball (Edge Books)

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Medusa paintball...

What do you think?

What do you think of the Medusa pack?
	Tight
	Snoozer
	Nope
	I'd have to try it
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Remote Control RC Cars and Trucks on Sale

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Coming to a paintball field near you...

A paintball gun that does it all. Sure it weighs somewhere around 23 pounds but just think of the fear and respect you will earn in the safe zone.



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I get suggestions...

There hasn't been much activity around the suggestion box. There's always a "Make the paint free!" note or "Rent DM9's!" suggestion but nothing lately that I can work with. I guess I'm either doing a good job or people don't give a darn. I'm sticking with the first one.

I got a note awhile back that suggested I "Get more coverage on the spool field." The spool field is starting to show its age and is scheduled for a major overhaul but it still has more bunkers than than most of the fields. Maybe the writer wants ESPN to come out and do some game coverage.

About 4 months ago there was a note in the box that really concerned me. "We were here 3 hours and played 6 games. WTF!" No comment on the WTF part and I assume the suggester meant (only) 6 games. I found the note a few weeks after the fact so I'm not sure if it was from a walk-on speedballer who sat out during the woods games or if it was someone from a group who had a member take forever to chrono or held the group up for repairs. It might have been a bad weather day. That tends to slow things down a bit. Moms who put allot of time into the cake and decorations cut into playing time also.

In nearly every case I will defend my referees. But I admit once in awhile there will be a ref out there who isn't having a good day. They all know one of my biggest peeves is to have players waiting for a game. I haven't heard any complaints since but it might be time to sit them all down for a reminder.

Do your field owner a favor. If something is not going the way you think it should bring it up then. Do not wait till you are checking out or even worse, don't go home complaining. If the owner wants your return business he will react in as positive a way as possible.



Remote Control RC Cars and Trucks on Sale

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Paintball tools...

This is a bit of a stretch but I'll throw it out there anyway. This is a tool that I put together years ago. I used it to work on my first rental guns 15 or so years ago. That's a big enough hint for the T-Square old timers hanging around but I wonder if they remember, or anyone else might know what the tool was used for.


From Amazon Books - Paintball!: Strategies & Tactics

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The Girls of Paintball - Alicia Turner of London Notorious...

Do girls play paintball? They sure do. And many of them play for some of the best teams in the world. Alicia Turner is a young 21 year old who lives across the pond and competes in the Millennium Series with the Division 1 team London Notorious (also known as the Notorious Kidz). This is the second in a series (The first can be seen here) covering The Girls of Paintball interviews.

Hi Alicia. The basic question first - How and when did you get started in paintball?

I started playing rec ball with my brother when I was about 17.

You live in the United Kingdom. Have you been to the states to play? If so is there a noticeable difference between players and style?

I've never played in the states, but we have allot of American players in the Millennium series. There is a difference in style of play, you guys play more aggressive but I think we're going to be up there with you this season.

Tell us about your team.

My team is called London Notorious, and we play in the SPL league of the Millennium Series, we practice at Dartford Sevens. www. d7s. co. uk.

What position do you play on the team?

Anywhere, usually T-bag side. (At this point I had to write back and ask Alicia what a T-Bag is. Anyone want to take a guess? Keep it clean!)

Do you get any time for rec ball?

Unfortunately, I don't really have time for it anymore because of practice.

What would you say to girls who might be thinking about playing paintball?

Uh, I'd say, just go for it, dive around, get dirty, get covered in bruises and cuts. It'll only make you a better player. Also, ask the boys for help. I think it's better to play the way a guy plays, you get more respect.

I always ask the last person I interview what they would like to ask the next person I interview. Audrey Eckroth of the Femmes Fatale asks, “Who did you get coaching from?”

Our owner, Dave, is also our coach. He gets us doing fitness and drills etc every weekend. If not Dave, then we have Nexus or Shock (CPL teams) helping us out at practices.
And what would you like me to ask the next person I interview?

How easy did they find it coming through the ranks of a male orientated sport?

Thank you Alicia.


Bunker'd!: Tournament Paintball Complete

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Recball anyone?

Someone asked over on PBNoob what "recreational" ball means to you. This was my reply:

recball is staying back 20 feet
recball is shooting 3 BPS with your DM22
recball is helping the new guy when he spills paint on the ground.
recball is paint checks
recball is shouting "Good shot!"
recball is pizza between games
recball is jeans and a long sleeve shirt
recball is a Dad and his son or a daughter or his wife
recball is a 100 round pod stuck in your back pocket
recball is wanting to be on the same side as the guy with the 21 inch barrel
recball is picking teams
recball is not knowing who won but knowing who got hit
recball is leaving your ego (not the gun) in the parking lot
recball doesn't require practice or drills
recball is trying not to hit the ref
recball is a game

Any others?



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An apple for the Teacher...

Had a lady call, she wanted to make sure the pro-shop was open, who identified herself as a local school teacher who needed paintballs for a school project. After I assured her that I had paintballs and that I was open she said she would be right out.

She wanted a variety of colors so while I waited on her I laid out a display on the counter. When she arrived she looked them over and was pleased She was surprised when I refused to let her pay for them. Being the curious kind of guy I am I asked her if she could tell me about the project.

Well, she's a Jr. High Math teacher. She started throwing sines and cosines and tangents at me and I was down for the count before she ever got to the hypotenuses. Let's just say math was just not my forte unless it was for figuring lap times or gear ratios at the local dirt track.

A couple of things she discussed really caught my attention. First she talked about the procedures she had to follow in order to bring a paintball gun on to school grounds (at which point I mentioned she might want to call it a paintball "marker" next time). She needs three adult supervisors before she can take it out of the bag, needs to wrap the marker in PINK tape and she has to do an in and out inventory and account for every paintball she uses. She wasn't sure if she had a gun plug so I tossed one of those in for free, also.

The other thing was her students had to get a minimum of a C grade on a recent test she gave if they wanted to participate in the project. She had kids coming in at lunch time and after school to take re-tests and make-up tests just so they could participate. It appeared she was heading for an all time pass rate for her testing period.

So here's an apple for the teacher. I hope she doesn't forget the CO2!

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Paintball auctions...

In case you missed it there is a new auction site specifically for paintball. It will take awhile before it will be able to compete with EBay or PBnation (it's already changed ownership). I hope it does well. EBay is going to the dogs and PBnation, well - no comment,

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Tiberius Arms sniper paintball...

Everything old becomes new again. Paintballs with fins were tried years ago with limited success. Most players did not have the patience to load them one at a time like musket balls. Various types of feed systems were tried but were given up on. Tiberius says a clip will be out soon that will fit their guns.

There's a YouTube video out showing the TechPB guys loading and shooting these things but like allot of TechPB videos the language is a bit raw so I can't recommend it (Man, I'm on a roll lately over trash mouths). Anyway, the idea of a finned paintball is interesting - I just don't want anyone to think it's unique. The guys in the video claim they are accurate but of course you can't see them fly and you can't see the hits. I remain skeptical.

Do you think a "one shot - one kill" paintball is possible?
	Sorry. No!
	Absolutely.
	I wish.
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Curses...

I'm such a prude. The first thing I do when I check my MySpace page is check the comments for an "F BOMB". As I line the commenter up for the kill I take self righteous pleasure in deleting the miscreant from my friends list. I'm a fairly tolerant prude so not allot gets to me. The F BOMB crosses the line.





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Springs that don't spring and other such nonsense...

Tippmann has known for years that this part does not last very long. Kingman has known forever that their use of metric connectors and their odd way of attaching the ASA is a pain in the butt. Jt knows the Tac-5 swallows the velocity screw if it's screwed in to far.

It takes an interesting kind of business mentality to deal with such situations. A simple, "OOPS, my bad," could end up costing millions. Better just to sweep it under a bunker.

Do you know of another paintball product that has a quirk we just have to live with? How about the 9.6 nine volt battery?



Bunker'd!: Tournament Paintball

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Take care of your balls...

I hate it when TB Wright comes up with something relevant to say. His writing is rude and crude and he is arrogant to the core so I don't normally send a link his way. But as he did here he put together a nice read on how to take care of your paintballs.



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Paintball guns...

Medusa Paintball has some sort of still secret paintball gun that works on electricity only. NO AIR!










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Billy Ball unveiled

Here it is. Billy Ball. And, yes. I'm going to get this off my chest. It's about gosh dang time the industry has decided to respond in a positive way to an issue that I have been preaching about and warning about for years. From the very first day I opened my field almost 14 years ago and did not allow Autocockers or Automags I have been warning people that high rate of fire would be the down fall of paintball. Finally - a LIMITED RATE OF FIRE GUN! Finally - confirmation that someone is listening.

But if you know me you know I'll still find something to whine about. Making a marker that can be adjusted for low rate of fire is a good band-aid fix. I learned years ago and you have heard it many times - "It's not the gun. It's the player." What needs to be adjusted is the player's attitude. It's something we do here at T-Square everyday.



Books from AMAZON - Paintball for Fun!

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ROF - paintball's albatross?

Interesting discussion about Rate Of Fire as it pertains to woodsball. Good stuff.




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Not available in the U.S.!

Pepper Ball System - Flash Launcher Kit

Shoots at 400 Feet Per Second
Including: 3 In 1 Flashlight
Pepper Ball Launcher
Built in Laser

Flash Launcher Kit includes:

1 - Flash Launcher
4 - 12 Grams
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10 - Training Balls

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Paintball and the economy...

With the down turn in the economy many paintball players (and paintball player parents) have had to make a choice between paintball or putting gas in the car to get to work. I understand choosing gas.

No hard feelings.

Exxon just announced 42 BILLION dollars (a record) in profit for the year.

Hmmmmm!?




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The Girls of Paintball - Audrey Eckroth

So, I'm asked from time to time why girls don't play paintball. And the answer is, "They do!" Here's a quick interview with Audrey Eckroth who plays for a team you might have heard of - The Femmes Fatale:

How did you get involved in paintball?

I started back in July 06. I didn’t know anything about paintball till my uncle told me a paintball field just open up in town. I went one weekend and I fell in love with it. Kept on going back every weekend then got a job there and was always there. It was like my second home.

I hear you might want to hit the pro ranks.

I’m hoping I will get there in 09 or 10. I’ve been trying so hard but its not easy to get pros to consider a girl. Its hard to get the guys respect till they play against you.

What’s the best part of playing for The Femmes Fatale?

The best is it’s a no drama team. I don’t like hanging out with girls at all but if you play paintball then you're good in my book. I love Dye (their sponsor) so it’s like the best team to be on. They work hard to choose the best girls in paintball to play with them. When I was new in 06 I heard about them, wanted to play with them for so long and now I am.

Now you have taken your paintball life one more step. Tell us about Paintball Babe Clothing.

I’m designing the website now and its gonna be in x3 mag so I’m pretty excited. Gonna expose in PSP Phoenix with some of my models. It’s gonna go well. I know for sure it will be the best.

Is there anything you might want to say to young women thinking about playing paintball?

They should try it and see if they like it. If they don’t then they wont stick to it. You have to love the sport to play it and succeed in it and stick with it.

What question would you ask the next person I interview?

Who did u get coaching from?




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I love this description of a player from over at Reiner Schafer's blog:

"One of the players on our team was obviously into the Milsim look. I don’t really know exactly what he was shooting other than the fact that it was big, black, looked heavy, and made a loud fast rat-tat-tat sound when he shot."



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Paintball X3

Just got a sneak peak of the new PaintballX3 online magazine. Very cool, a bit of something for everyone. See it here on the 7th.


Edit: My bad. It's available today!

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Another cool bunker #4...

Sandbags are the essential true to life requirement for making a real bunker. Yahoo.answers provides a couple of clues about who invented the sandbag. One suggestion was ancient Egyptians. Another suggested "Mr Sandman, of course!" (Yeah, I know.)

My guys do allot of sandbagging for me out at the field. They are great sandbaggers. I don't think I've ever met a sandbagger I didn't like.

Except maybe at a PSP event.




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Top of your list?

from 68caliber

Tippmann Model 98 Tops Most Influential Markers List

Do you agree with the Tippmann choice?
	Sure
	What about the Angel?
	What about the Autococker?
	What about the VM-68
	What about anything other than Tippmann?
pollcode.com free polls

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Watch your back, boys...

My daughter is the Field Manager here at T-Square. Bless her heart, she does an outstanding job. It's not always a good thing to bring family into a business. We had a rough start but now, over 7 years later, I don't know what I would do without her.

She does everything. Among her toughest jobs is riding herd over the refs, making sure they are doing what they are suppose to be doing and are where they are suppose to be. She manages to hold her own in this mostly testosterone powered sport. She is also a pretty good gun tech.

Which brings me to what this post is about.

She is most often found at the front of the pro-shop while I sit in the back at my work bench/office. Almost on a daily basis someone will come in needing a gun repair, look at her and walk across the pro-shop to me. I'll look up to see her face, knowing she is glaring bullet holes into the customer's back.

Sometimes, when I know she is really busy with something else, I will go ahead and help the customer. But it's more fun to listen to the customer's assessment and then call my daughter over and ask her to handle it. Sometimes the customer gets it. Most times they don't.

This past weekend a player came in with a gun that wasn't working. I was outside so he was "forced" to talk to her. She looked the gun over and asked him when he last changed the battery. His reply was, "Oh no, it can't be the battery. Could someone else look at it for me?"

Well, I knew what was going on the moment she came around the corner to get me. It was that "Some knucklehead inside thinks a girl can't know anything about paintball guns." look! Without knowing what she had asked him I went inside to check the gun. After a quick look I replaced the battery and handed the player a working gun.

"Gee, thanks," he said and he never took his eyes off the ground as he slid out of the shop past my daughter.

Be careful making assumptions. Especially when it comes to female field managers!

(I love you, darlin.)




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My own wake up call...

Saw a comment that said I was getting away from my real intent and purpose here at the blog - that I was getting away from real owner/customer relations stories and comments. Though I never really had any intent other than to have a place to vent after a long day at the field/shop I do understand I have picked up a few frequent readers who have certain expectations.

I apologize for the sudden "commercialization" of the blog. Times are tough all over and an extra dime or two from ads never hurts. I hope it's not to distracting.

This blog was really meant for my own entertainment but it's nice to know I might be making someone else laugh or scratch their head or shake it in agreement so I want to keep the content relevant and irreverent and thought provoking and important. If I'm drifting away let me know. If there's something you want to hear about tell me. If you have something to say I'm always looking for a guest post.

Get comfortable. Stay awhile. Make your self at home. Sorry I don't always have the time to tidy up. This is meant to be a place where you can put your feet up on the coffee table.

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Small victories...

It's not the best quality but I'm pleased as can be to have just uploaded my first YouTube video. It's terrible being tech deficient. I still have the very first calculator I bought back in 74. It cost $95 and it added, subtracted and multiplied. I think it actually did division, too but I probably didn't use that function as often. Anyway, here for your viewing pleasure, my new T-Square Paintball Field Intro video:

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Billy Ball?

I'll have more details next week.




Games for your BlackBerry

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An open letter to tournament players...

I recently had the opportunity to sit and listen to a group of field owners and a number of experts in the paintball industry talk about paintball and its current state. Many subjects were covered. How to increase business, how to provide better service, how to cut costs for both the owners and the players.

When the topic of customer relations came around the discussion started with birthday and church groups and walk-on rec-ball players and eventually came around to tournament players and their followers.

Here are two words used to identify tournament players.

Viruses and Locusts.

These two descriptors were tossed around by people with years of tournament experience and people who were there at the beginning of paintball and have followed the changes from both a player’s point of view and from that of entrepreneurs.

The attitude that goes along with those words ain’t pretty folks. And it’s more common among field owners and game promoters than many tournament players want to think. I’m not going to go into the many reasons why I agree with the descriptions. And don’t get me started on why I feel the scenario scene is headed for the same stew pot.

I have friends involved in the tournament world. I sponsor a team here at the field, a great bunch of guys. I don’t write this as a slam toward anyone.

Consider it a wake up call. Save yourselves.





With Skype you can make free calls over the Internet. Skype – the whole world can talk for free

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Let's start February off with a rant...

I'm sorry, but crap like this just scares the bejeesus out of me. It needs to be kept in trashy, dimly lit basements. And how can these even be called "grenade" launchers?

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