PB 4 Him
05-16-2007, 11:45 AM
Hey ya'll, this is a copy of an essay that I personally wrote for my college english class, and it got an A so i figured i'd piost it on aog because it is about paintball. Hope you enjoy!!
Is Paintball REALLY a Sport?
Is paintball really a sport? Let’s take a look at what people think about when they think of paintball. Most people think of those hard to remove stains on their cars or garage doors when they think of paintball. There is, however, another side to this issue.
Let’s start with the ‘paintball is a crime” view. There are many instances each year that can give paintball a bad reputation. These things would make people think paintball is not a sport. Several of these include:
1. “Two teenage males, unnamed due to their age, were arrested early last June in Lyon County, South Dakota. They reportedly shot a young female in the face with a paintball marker, resulting in Class-D felony arrests for the boys and emergency eye surgery for the girl.” (Nov. 2004 issue of APG Magazine, page 208)
2. “Four 16 - 20 year olds were arrested for shooting paintballs at random houses and cars. All four were charged with breach of peace, weapons in a motor vehicle, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and first degree criminal mischief.” (Paintball.About.com)
3. “Any paintball gun/device which is designed or intended to expel a projectile containing paint, ink, or similar material which can cause injury to people or property shall be recognized as a nuisance device.” (Pleasant Hills, B. PA Law, Chapter 251, Section 251-1, Ordinance 814).
Many criminals use paintball equipment to threaten or vandalize. The criminals also use them to hurt people just for “fun”. These are the kinds of reports, ordinances, and people that give paintball a bad name! However, using the equipment from a sport and participating in that sport are two completely different things. If you go around smashing things with a baseball bat, does this make you a baseball player? No, it makes you a criminal! So, if you go around town shooting houses and innocent people with paintballs, are you a paintballer? No, you are a deranged criminal in need of psychiatric help! Just because you have the equipment, it does not mean you participate in the sport. For instance, I own a baseball bat, but I haven’t even touched it since I was in Little League. I have the equipment, but I don’t participate in the sport. This is true of the criminals that misuse paintball equipment! They own the equipment, but they are not participants in the sport.
We now move on to the “Paintball REALLY IS a Sport” side of this argument.
Webster’s American Dictionary College Edition defines the word “sport” as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature.” Paintball has all the signs of being a true sport! Baseball has rulebooks; paintball has rulebooks. Baseball has tournaments; paintball has tournaments. Baseball has national team franchises; paintball has national team franchises also. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it must be a duck, right?
In order to gain a better understanding of the sport of paintball, we should take a look at the history, equipment, and rules of the game. The first organized game of paintball was played in 1981 (Paintball.com). The organization of the game was called National Survival Game. Since 1981, the sport has expanded to include 9.6 million players in the United States alone. (Paintball.About.com) Recently, ESPN aired twelve one-hour spots of the Smart Parts World Paintball Championships. (ESPN.com)
The game of paintball has certain required equipment. One of the most important pieces of equipment would be the paintball marker (gun). Markers vary in price and features; more features on a marker bring up the price. A hopper is required to hold the paintballs for the marker to shoot. Another piece of equipment for the marker is the tank—this holds the air, nitrogen, or CO2, which is the propellant that shoots the paintball out of the marker.
When playing the sport of paintball, safety equipment is essential. The most important piece of equipment is the mask. This mask protects your eyes, face, and ears from getting injured by a direct hit from a paintball. Additional protective equipment would include padded jerseys and pants. A barrel bag covers the barrel of the marker and is required to protect players from getting shot when they are off the field and don’t have a mask on. Another safety concern is paintball velocity. Velocity is the speed that the paintball travels. The maximum safe velocity is 300 feet per second; this is measured with a device called a “Chronograph”. You usually don’t shoot at the maximum safe velocity, because, frankly, IT HURTS! Professional paintball facilities give great care to safety. They check for safety equipment and check the velocity of each marker. These facilities also have a staff of trained referees to regulate play. Amateur paintball games usually require two to four referees; however, professional tournament play can have as many referees as players on the field.
The most common type of paintball is usually played on a fairly smooth field with inflatable or plastic tube bunkers. These bunkers are usually large inflatable objects with somewhat humorous names (even though they hardly look like their actual counterparts) such as: Taco, Dorito, Snake, Carwash, Pop Can, and Temple. The field is usually set up with each side of the field mirroring the other; this is to make the field fair for each team. This style of play is called Speedball because the games usually last about five minutes each. The game of paintball can also be played in a forest with a longer game timer and no artificial bunkers. This is called Woodsball and the game uses only the trees and brush for cover.
The game of paintball consists of three major positions: Front Guy, Mid Guy, and Back Guy (yes, these are technical terms!). The front guy is usually a smaller, more agile player who plays on the “50-yard line”, or the center of the field. His job is to “bunker” or shoot out the other team’s front guys. The Mid Guy is usually not as small or agile as the Front Guy but is still relatively fast. The Mid Guy plays at the “30-yard line”, or the middle of the field. The mid guy’s job is to fill in for a front guy if he gets shot out. The Back Guy is usually not as fast or agile as other players but must be an extremely fast shooter to provide cover for the other players. The Back Guy’s job is to “shoot the lanes” or provide cover fire for his Front and Mid Guys to move up the field. The Back Guy has to shoot really fast, otherwise the other team will “bunker” his team! If a paintball breaks on player or his equipment, he is eliminated from play or called “OUT”. The first team to eliminate all of the opposing team’s players wins!
I think that it should be harder to get a paintball marker. Just about anyone can walk into a sporting goods store or sporting goods department and purchase a paintball marker. If paintball markers were harder to get, it might decrease the number of paintball related crimes. There is already a national age restriction for purchasing a paintball marker; however, enforcement seems to be a problem.
The game of paintball really is a sport for me. It is competitive; successful players definitely require skill and physical prowess to be competitive in this sport. I am an avid paintball player who dislikes having my sport called a criminal activity. According to Paintball.About.com, paintball has more players (9.6 million) than tackle football (5.4 million)! In addition, the number of paintball players in the United States is almost equal to the number of baseball players (9.7 million). To me, and many others, paintball REALLY IS a sport!
All materials copyright Kent Uittenbogaard, 2007
Any use of this article subject to copyright law
If you use parts of it GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!!!!!!
Is Paintball REALLY a Sport?
Is paintball really a sport? Let’s take a look at what people think about when they think of paintball. Most people think of those hard to remove stains on their cars or garage doors when they think of paintball. There is, however, another side to this issue.
Let’s start with the ‘paintball is a crime” view. There are many instances each year that can give paintball a bad reputation. These things would make people think paintball is not a sport. Several of these include:
1. “Two teenage males, unnamed due to their age, were arrested early last June in Lyon County, South Dakota. They reportedly shot a young female in the face with a paintball marker, resulting in Class-D felony arrests for the boys and emergency eye surgery for the girl.” (Nov. 2004 issue of APG Magazine, page 208)
2. “Four 16 - 20 year olds were arrested for shooting paintballs at random houses and cars. All four were charged with breach of peace, weapons in a motor vehicle, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and first degree criminal mischief.” (Paintball.About.com)
3. “Any paintball gun/device which is designed or intended to expel a projectile containing paint, ink, or similar material which can cause injury to people or property shall be recognized as a nuisance device.” (Pleasant Hills, B. PA Law, Chapter 251, Section 251-1, Ordinance 814).
Many criminals use paintball equipment to threaten or vandalize. The criminals also use them to hurt people just for “fun”. These are the kinds of reports, ordinances, and people that give paintball a bad name! However, using the equipment from a sport and participating in that sport are two completely different things. If you go around smashing things with a baseball bat, does this make you a baseball player? No, it makes you a criminal! So, if you go around town shooting houses and innocent people with paintballs, are you a paintballer? No, you are a deranged criminal in need of psychiatric help! Just because you have the equipment, it does not mean you participate in the sport. For instance, I own a baseball bat, but I haven’t even touched it since I was in Little League. I have the equipment, but I don’t participate in the sport. This is true of the criminals that misuse paintball equipment! They own the equipment, but they are not participants in the sport.
We now move on to the “Paintball REALLY IS a Sport” side of this argument.
Webster’s American Dictionary College Edition defines the word “sport” as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature.” Paintball has all the signs of being a true sport! Baseball has rulebooks; paintball has rulebooks. Baseball has tournaments; paintball has tournaments. Baseball has national team franchises; paintball has national team franchises also. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it must be a duck, right?
In order to gain a better understanding of the sport of paintball, we should take a look at the history, equipment, and rules of the game. The first organized game of paintball was played in 1981 (Paintball.com). The organization of the game was called National Survival Game. Since 1981, the sport has expanded to include 9.6 million players in the United States alone. (Paintball.About.com) Recently, ESPN aired twelve one-hour spots of the Smart Parts World Paintball Championships. (ESPN.com)
The game of paintball has certain required equipment. One of the most important pieces of equipment would be the paintball marker (gun). Markers vary in price and features; more features on a marker bring up the price. A hopper is required to hold the paintballs for the marker to shoot. Another piece of equipment for the marker is the tank—this holds the air, nitrogen, or CO2, which is the propellant that shoots the paintball out of the marker.
When playing the sport of paintball, safety equipment is essential. The most important piece of equipment is the mask. This mask protects your eyes, face, and ears from getting injured by a direct hit from a paintball. Additional protective equipment would include padded jerseys and pants. A barrel bag covers the barrel of the marker and is required to protect players from getting shot when they are off the field and don’t have a mask on. Another safety concern is paintball velocity. Velocity is the speed that the paintball travels. The maximum safe velocity is 300 feet per second; this is measured with a device called a “Chronograph”. You usually don’t shoot at the maximum safe velocity, because, frankly, IT HURTS! Professional paintball facilities give great care to safety. They check for safety equipment and check the velocity of each marker. These facilities also have a staff of trained referees to regulate play. Amateur paintball games usually require two to four referees; however, professional tournament play can have as many referees as players on the field.
The most common type of paintball is usually played on a fairly smooth field with inflatable or plastic tube bunkers. These bunkers are usually large inflatable objects with somewhat humorous names (even though they hardly look like their actual counterparts) such as: Taco, Dorito, Snake, Carwash, Pop Can, and Temple. The field is usually set up with each side of the field mirroring the other; this is to make the field fair for each team. This style of play is called Speedball because the games usually last about five minutes each. The game of paintball can also be played in a forest with a longer game timer and no artificial bunkers. This is called Woodsball and the game uses only the trees and brush for cover.
The game of paintball consists of three major positions: Front Guy, Mid Guy, and Back Guy (yes, these are technical terms!). The front guy is usually a smaller, more agile player who plays on the “50-yard line”, or the center of the field. His job is to “bunker” or shoot out the other team’s front guys. The Mid Guy is usually not as small or agile as the Front Guy but is still relatively fast. The Mid Guy plays at the “30-yard line”, or the middle of the field. The mid guy’s job is to fill in for a front guy if he gets shot out. The Back Guy is usually not as fast or agile as other players but must be an extremely fast shooter to provide cover for the other players. The Back Guy’s job is to “shoot the lanes” or provide cover fire for his Front and Mid Guys to move up the field. The Back Guy has to shoot really fast, otherwise the other team will “bunker” his team! If a paintball breaks on player or his equipment, he is eliminated from play or called “OUT”. The first team to eliminate all of the opposing team’s players wins!
I think that it should be harder to get a paintball marker. Just about anyone can walk into a sporting goods store or sporting goods department and purchase a paintball marker. If paintball markers were harder to get, it might decrease the number of paintball related crimes. There is already a national age restriction for purchasing a paintball marker; however, enforcement seems to be a problem.
The game of paintball really is a sport for me. It is competitive; successful players definitely require skill and physical prowess to be competitive in this sport. I am an avid paintball player who dislikes having my sport called a criminal activity. According to Paintball.About.com, paintball has more players (9.6 million) than tackle football (5.4 million)! In addition, the number of paintball players in the United States is almost equal to the number of baseball players (9.7 million). To me, and many others, paintball REALLY IS a sport!
All materials copyright Kent Uittenbogaard, 2007
Any use of this article subject to copyright law
If you use parts of it GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!!!!!!