Olympic Paintball
...e made sure safety is the number one thing to concern themselves with. JT USA produces safety goggles in which their lenses are made to exceed US Military standards. Safety of goggles and gear are extremely important, but not as important as the safety of a person. Almost all sports have rules, which ensure the safety of all their players on both sides. This makes for fair and quality play. Paintball would be one of these sports. There are limits in which all makers on field have to remain within a certain speed. The world accepted limit is 300 feet per second, this will change to 280 this upcoming year. Strict rules are not just for new players, they apply to everyone. “Don’t be under the misconception that the emphasis on safety is just for beginners. Even amongst Professional Paintball players, safety rules are at the core of tournaments…”(Jarvis 62). Go to any local field with your marker without a barrel plug, without a mask, and without signing a waiver, and you can expect to go home early. Many fields have two safety orientations one for equipment and one for play, this ensures that not only will you have fun but be safe at the field. Fun is something that can be had by both playing and now by watching. Some may say that Paintball is to hard for the average person to follow. The new X-Ball format was created precisely for the average sports fan. It is set up in much more conventional terms. There are four quarters with a length of fifteen minute. Between each quarter there is a five-minute break. This is setup so those who watch football even at a casual level can see how the flow of the game. Even though I have not played this new X-Ball format personally I have heard very promising things. That is what really defines Paintball as a contender to be in the Olympics. The amount of effort that these people put out in eight minutes might rival what a soccer player would put out in ninety minutes. Tournament paintball is “…where the extreme moves are pulled, where the adrenaline pumps, where one team can compete against another in a test that will determine which is the better”(Jarvis 65). There is a huge amount of preparation that goes into playing before you even step onto the field. Strategies that change from field to field and on the players you have. Many people think that it is simply young adults and grown men playing Army. I can assure that this couldn’t be further from the truth. There is no dressing up in camouflage, no weapons of mass destruction, nothing that can be taken as serious as war. All of tournament paintball is played outside of the woods on even ground and more importantly a much more visible area. Many people are concerned about their first paintball experience. Most go with friends or family but, some do research beforehand. They may go in thinking about how much it is going to hurt or how expensive it is going to be. For your first time out wear clothes you may not care for and a change of clothes for when the day is done. If you feel that you may be outclassed by other players take Alan Smith’s advice “Anyone can play paintball; no matter who you are there is a place for you…”(Smith 72). In terms of pain being shot by a paintball is greatly exaggerated. It is a slight sting as if some one flicked you or hit you with a rubber band. Remember to go and play with an open mind and expect to have fun. If people were even mildly prepared to play and passed this info on, more and more people would see how easy it is. This in turn would help Paintball become more mainstream in a way similar to skateboarding. Tournament paintball has some very different forms. There are events on which the teams consist of three, five,...