Paintball is a sport of creativity, athleticism, and desire. Our players com from all walks of life from the guy behind the counter at the fast food joint to teachers and business owners. While our professions may be different off the field we are bound by the love of the game. Paintball to those who play is first and foremost a social encounter.
Source: GreatHistory.com
Twenty years ago you could purchase a gallon of gas, a gallon of milk, a hamburger, and a liter of coke for less than five dollars. However, in 1989 you could not make $100,000 a year traveling the world shooting people with balls of water soluble paint. Paintball is the third most popular extreme sport in the world behind inline skating and skateboarding. Although a relatively young sport by most standards, this game did not come to be the phenomenon it is today overnight.
Paintball guns, or markers, existed before the game of paintball. Starting in the early 70s, the air-powered guns were used to mark trees and livestock in the field. Early models shot streams of paint, but were soon redesigned to shoot paint pellets. The pellet design was advantageous because they could be shot further than a stream of paint and were able to clear obstructions. Besides, who would shoot a Super Soaker over a BB gun? Because their sole function was to leave semi-permanent marks, paintballs were made from oil-based paint. Markers were mass produced by Daisy and Crossman for the Nelson Paint Company and became popular in both the livestock and forestry industries as tools for field-marking.
Much like the concepts of significantly more dangerous and less successful games, the idea of paintball originated in the presence of alcohol. Hayes Noel and Charles Gaines fantasized over a bottle of gin a
bout a stalking game they could play with their friends. A friend recommended they use Nelson paintball markers and before long Hayes Noel and the third founder, Bob Gumsey, wrote up the rules for the game. In June 1981, the first game took place in an eighty acre forest in New Hampshire. The competitors consisted of the three founders and nine friends ranging from a New York film producer to a farmer from Alabama. An every-man-for-himself, capture-the-flag format was used. Within weeks, one of the writers from the original twelve participants published an article in Sports Illustrated raving about the adrenaline rush he experienced playing the newly invented National Survival Game (NSG).
Gumsey, Gaines, and Hayes responded to the widespread popularity of the article by selling NSG starter kits that included a Nelson pistol, paintballs, goggles, a compass, and a rule book. In 1982, Gumsey opened the first commercial paintball field in New Hampshire. The game was still called NSG and Nelson remained the dominant franchise in the industry.
Since 1982, paintball has evolved substantially. The game is now played globally, both recreationally and competitively. Most recreational play takes place in the woods, but competitive paintball is now played in an arena type setting with inflatable bunkers. Tools of the trade have evolved with these new formats. High-end markers now cost from $500 to $1,500 and are capable of shooting more than 15 balls per second. The projectiles are now completely biodegradable and are filled with water soluble paint instead of oil based paint. A competitive player can easily spend several hundred dollars on a basic set of equipment.
A multi-million dollar industry has developed as people have continued to step onto paintball fields and step off with welts and smiles. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money and sponsorships are awarded every year in tournaments. The first professional league emerged in 1992. Today there are two thriving professional leagues, the United States Paintball League (USPL) and Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP). Although most professional players are not paid enough to make a living solely from playing, in 2006 paintball took a huge leap toward becoming a mainstream sport when professional player Oliver Lang took an offer to play for the Los Angeles Ironmen for an annual salary of $100,000.
As one looks at how far paintball has come in a fraction of the time that most mainstream sports have existed, you wonder what might be possible twenty years in the future. Invest in your future; play laser tag.
Source: GreatHistory.com
Twenty years ago you could purchase a gallon of gas, a gallon of milk, a hamburger, and a liter of coke for less than five dollars. However, in 1989 you could not make $100,000 a year traveling the world shooting people with balls of water soluble paint. Paintball is the third most popular extreme sport in the world behind inline skating and skateboarding. Although a relatively young sport by most standards, this game did not come to be the phenomenon it is today overnight.
Paintball guns, or markers, existed before the game of paintball. Starting in the early 70s, the air-powered guns were used to mark trees and livestock in the field. Early models shot streams of paint, but were soon redesigned to shoot paint pellets. The pellet design was advantageous because they could be shot further than a stream of paint and were able to clear obstructions. Besides, who would shoot a Super Soaker over a BB gun? Because their sole function was to leave semi-permanent marks, paintballs were made from oil-based paint. Markers were mass produced by Daisy and Crossman for the Nelson Paint Company and became popular in both the livestock and forestry industries as tools for field-marking.
Much like the concepts of significantly more dangerous and less successful games, the idea of paintball originated in the presence of alcohol. Hayes Noel and Charles Gaines fantasized over a bottle of gin a
bout a stalking game they could play with their friends. A friend recommended they use Nelson paintball markers and before long Hayes Noel and the third founder, Bob Gumsey, wrote up the rules for the game. In June 1981, the first game took place in an eighty acre forest in New Hampshire. The competitors consisted of the three founders and nine friends ranging from a New York film producer to a farmer from Alabama. An every-man-for-himself, capture-the-flag format was used. Within weeks, one of the writers from the original twelve participants published an article in Sports Illustrated raving about the adrenaline rush he experienced playing the newly invented National Survival Game (NSG).
Gumsey, Gaines, and Hayes responded to the widespread popularity of the article by selling NSG starter kits that included a Nelson pistol, paintballs, goggles, a compass, and a rule book. In 1982, Gumsey opened the first commercial paintball field in New Hampshire. The game was still called NSG and Nelson remained the dominant franchise in the industry.
Since 1982, paintball has evolved substantially. The game is now played globally, both recreationally and competitively. Most recreational play takes place in the woods, but competitive paintball is now played in an arena type setting with inflatable bunkers. Tools of the trade have evolved with these new formats. High-end markers now cost from $500 to $1,500 and are capable of shooting more than 15 balls per second. The projectiles are now completely biodegradable and are filled with water soluble paint instead of oil based paint. A competitive player can easily spend several hundred dollars on a basic set of equipment.
A multi-million dollar industry has developed as people have continued to step onto paintball fields and step off with welts and smiles. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money and sponsorships are awarded every year in tournaments. The first professional league emerged in 1992. Today there are two thriving professional leagues, the United States Paintball League (USPL) and Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP). Although most professional players are not paid enough to make a living solely from playing, in 2006 paintball took a huge leap toward becoming a mainstream sport when professional player Oliver Lang took an offer to play for the Los Angeles Ironmen for an annual salary of $100,000.
As one looks at how far paintball has come in a fraction of the time that most mainstream sports have existed, you wonder what might be possible twenty years in the future. Invest in your future; play laser tag.