Aug 13, 201207:43 AMDaily News
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A look at non-traditional sports: Paintball
Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part series on non-traditional sports in Central Pennsylvania. Day 1 featured roller skating.
Paintball is a sport with something for everyone.
Strategy, speed, skill, strength and even courage are all factors in a typical game of paintball. While the sport may not be for kids—they can certainly try, but odds are it’ll hurt when they get shot—adults of all ages can enjoy one of the many types of paintball games.
Paintball requires a lot of gear and any location you deem is okay to play. It can be in a giant field or dense woods or even close quarters of a place that can get very messy.
Equipment-wise, players need a marker (which is the gun), CO2, paintballs and a mask. Players can wear as much or as little padding as they’d like, whether it’s as simple as an old sweatshirt or strong as hockey pads.
Games range from capture the flag to team battle to variants like “fox and the hound,” where two people, called the “foxes,” hide while the rest of the group, the “hounds,” hunt them down. Another popular game is speedball, played on a very small area that usually ends quickly and is a close-range scenario.
The main downside to paintball is it can be very expensive. Basic guns can cost $70 but usually run higher. Paint for one person for an entire day can cost $25 or more. That doesn’t include CO2, which powers the guns, nor the mask and extra gear players can use. Equipment is found in sporting goods stores and all over the internet.
Kurt Bopp is assistant editor/web at Central Penn Parent. Although he enjoys speedball, he loves the tactics and strategy of a good team battle or round of fox and the hound.
Links
Linglestown Paintball, 7548 Linglestown Rd., Harrisburg: http://www.linglestownpaintball.com/
Roundtop Mountain Resort, 925 Roundtop Rd., Lewisberry: http://www.skiroundtop.com/paintball.htm
Wanna-Play Paintball, 10 Capitol Hill Rd., Dillsburg: http://www.wannaplaypaintball.com/
Ambush Paintball, 91 Hill Top Drive, Conestoga: http://www.ambush-paintball.com/
Sure Shot Paintball, 340 Blackburn Road, Quarryville: http://sureshotpb.com/
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