The Wake

Every weekend all over the country, if you know where to look, you can find a motley assortment of warriors preparing for battle in brightly colored arenas. As the seconds count down, plans are made, equipment is checked and cleats are dug into the turf. When the horn blows, it’s high noon at the OK Corral. It’s Pearl Harbor, Rorke’s Drift, the Battle of the Bulge. In less than a minute, several thousand projectiles fill the air.

Paintball, with over 9.8 million players around the globe, is the third largest extreme sport in the world behind in-line skating and skateboarding. Paintball players are stereotyped as camouflaged militia-wannabes, and while that is true for some, there is a completely different side to the game. Thousands of people participate in competitive paintball, played on small, spectator-friendly fields often shown on ESPN.

The National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) and Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP) run five national events every year. The 2006 PSP World Cup at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida brought more than 350 teams to determine who is the best in the world.

Local paintball is thriving as well. Major Minnesota tournaments include the Polar Bear Circuit, the Annandale Youth Series and the Splat Tag Rookie Cup. Players can start in Young Guns or Rookie events and move up the ranks to Novice and Amateur. Playing in a local event can cost anywhere from $100-$300 per player with some tournaments offering cash or equipment prizes. The equipment can range in cost from $100 to several thousand dollars and can be accessorized with several hundred dollars-worth of customizable parts. Most of the markers used are fired by electronics, making the trigger pull lighter than a mouse-click. This allows players to fire a constant 15 balls per second—faster than many machineguns.

A few Minnesota teams and players have made a name for themselves on the national level, playing for professional teams or helping local teams reach national tournaments. In 2004 Team Splatball, from Splatball Inc. in Minneapolis, and Zumbro Factory, from southern Minnesota, tied for fourth place in the PSP’s Novice season rankings. At the 2006 NPPL Boston event, Air Assault Factory took first place in the Division III category. Air Assault Paintball is an indoor field located about 20 minutes from the Twin Cities. Since the Boston event, Air Assault teams have performed well in several other national events. Minnesota athletes have also played on professional teams like the Philadelphia Americans, Chicago Aftershock, Las Vegas LTZ and more.

Recreational paintball is also popular in the Midwest. Events like the Splat Tag Giant Big Game in Hudson, Wisconsin draw as many as 800 players who duke it out in massive battles. These battles often involve radio communications, tanks, military tactics and many-acre playing fields. Organized teams, like the Wild Bunch and MN Militia, spearhead maneuvers and take the role of Special Forces, seizing and holding important objectives.

If you are interested in paintball, whether tournament or recreational, the best place to learn more is the Minnesota Paintball Internet Guide (www.mnpig.com). MNPIG has a comprehensive listing of paintball fields, stores, tournaments and other events, and there is a message board where local players can get answers to almost any paintball-related query. It is also a good idea to stop by a local field and talk to players and employees. Air Assault Paintball () and Northside Sports () are two good places to start.