Paintballing and Nerf Combined to Make This Water Gun

Playing with xploderz looks like shooting paintballs only without the paint. Or the pain, even after flying at your target from 85 feet away. Check them out for anywhere from 15 to 70 bucks. [Amazon via The Awesomer]

Ultimate Woodsball League Announces 2009 Sponsors

Ultimate Woodsball League Announces 2009 Sponsors

The 2009 Ultimate Woodsball League season to be supported by numerous top industry companies!

The Ultimate Woodsball League, one of the most anticipated and exciting new leagues in the paintball world, is gathering support for its inaugural season from throughout the paintball industry! Companies from both scenario and even tournament backgrounds, large and small, are lining up to support the Ultimate Woodsball League and its players as the league prepares for its first competitions. In addition to companies whose names are already well-known in woodsball circles, some of the names that will sponsor the Ultimate Woodsball League in 2009 may pleasantly surprise the traditional woodsball crowd!

2009 Ultimate Woodsball League Major Sponsors
Ultimate Paintball
Dye Precision
Tippmann Sports
BT Paintball
JT USA
Kingman Training
Bob Long

2009 Ultimate Woodsball League Supporting Sponsors
GAT Products
Tiberius
Guerrilla Air
NXe
Full Clip USA

GenX Global

Trinity Paintball

2009 Ultimate Woodsball League Media Sponsors
Paintball X3 Magazine
Facefull/Jungle Magazine
Paintball Sports Magazine
PBNation

Featuring an in-depth but simple and all-encompassing rulebook that allows for players with any type of paintball gun to compete on a level playing field, Ultimate Woodsball League events will be played on fields featuring two bases and two objectives. Teams will compete to capture the two objectives and their opponent’s base, and to hold both their own, receiving one point for each minute each objective is held. This format will enable teams to create in-depth strategies for capturing whichever objectives they see fit, rather than simply forcing the opposing teams to slug it out over a single, mid-field objective as is the case in other tactical leagues. For a complete field map along with rules and more information on the Ultimate Woodsball League, visit the league’s official website at www.PlayUWL.com.

2009 UWL Schedule of Events
April 25 – 26 California SC Village
May 16 – 17 Illinois Badlandz

June 11 - 12 Oklahoma D-Day

July 18 - 19 South Carolina Adventure Beach

August 1 – 2 California SC Village

August 29 – 30 Pennsylvania Three Rivers

September 12 – 13 Texas Cousins Paintball
October 3 – 4 Florida XPX

Registration for the inaugural events of the Ultimate Woodsball League opens March 10, 2009.

Bunkering 101 - Tactics & The Surrender Rule

One thing all of us paintball players run into constantly is the issue of bunkering. This article will cover both the aspects of bunkering and the heated debate between bunkering players or surrendering them, an issue field owners and referees at recreational fields run across all the time.

Bunkering 101
Bunkering can be defined as eliminating an opposing player at close range, usually within 7 feet of each other. As simple as this may sound, the concept of bunkering and tactics involved in actually performing this maneuver can be quite complicated and exciting. This section is designed to give you, the experienced reader, some tips on performing this maneuver, or backing someone up who is attempting to bunker an opponent.

Back Player Strategies:
Always keep an eye on the target of whom your front player is aiming to bunker. As the bunkering is about to commence, make sure to keep a steady stream of paint to the side of your rushing front player to keep the receiver of the bunkering down. Another, more effective strategy, is attempting to keep the target busy. Keep popping out of your bunker and distracting the target, let him attempt to shoot you out. While he is busy working on marking you, your front player can hurry to the opposite side of the players bunker and shoot the target on his blind side. Always keep in mind that if the target has supporting players, have your other teammates try keeping them down so your front player will not get shot out while on the run to bunker one of your opponents. The most important tactic in supporting your front player is to keep in oral contact with him. Shout as much information as you get to him, and cue to him when he should run up. Of course though, do not make obvious comments such as Go for it! Bunker the dude in the dorito NOW!, or you may be more of a disadvantage than an advantage.

Front Player Strategies:
As the front player, you obviously hold the most important position in bunkering someone. You should be close up in the action, near the center of the field named the 50. Always keep your eyes open and do not develop the horror in paintball known as tunnel vision, where you concentrate only on a single point, and ignore your surrounding, which can and probably will lead to you being eliminated from the side or getting bunkered yourself. Always expect to be rushed up on, and be aware of what is happening. You should always be talking with your supporting back player, and popping out the bunker and shooting at the opposing teams back player to keep him down, to prevent communication between the other teams back and front players, which can help prevent yourself from getting bunkered and your team trampled upon. When getting prepared to bunker your opposing front player, expect the other teams back players to lay paint on you. Stay low when running and NEVER keep your gun down. With experienced players, it is not be a good idea to shoot a steady stream of paint at their bunker while running up to bunker them, as they will usually recognize this sign and get ready to counter you. Stay low and quiet, and run as fast as you can. When reaching the bunker, try to hit the opponents blind side. Many players tend to fire off a certain point of their bunker for a minute or two during the game. Look at their patterns and try to intercept them while they are looking in a different direction. Going over the top of their bunker to bunker them can be very useful too when you are being shot at constantly by the opposing back players. In all cases, one of the most important things to remember is that you are just as vulnerable as your target when attempting to perform a bunker.

Bunkering vs Surrendering
Recreational fields where weekend warriors can get away from the hassle of daily life often face monetary, hiring, and other important aspects of running a field. The most common rules controversy between recreational fields is the decision whether to use the surrender rule or play without restrictions, and allowing bunkering. The surrender rule has the very simple concept, but often tedious execution of not allowing players to shoot each other within 10 feet of each other, but rather yelling surrender at them to avoid close-range shots which can often be painful and discouraging to newer and younger players alike. The problem with the surrender rule is the lack of a player having a built-in distance sensor in their brain. Yes, this may seem a bit absurd, but players cannot always tell the distance they are from the other. In a related anecdote, I was recently playing at my local indoor field, which had the surrender rule in play. After going around an inflatable bunker at the 50-yard line and screaming for my neighboring enemy to surrender, I promptly received a shot to the goggles. The player was new, and did not quite remember the rule. So what should have been done here? Both the player and I who shot me were pulled from the game and counted as being eliminated. In a related story, at the same indoor field, I attempted a few games later to surrender a player by screaming surrender! at him from 11 yards away (sorry, no sensor in my brain), and of course, got shot. After consulting the referees of why I was pulled from the game, they told me that I was just a tad too far away to surrender the player. I had tried to show mercy on the new player that game as he had his entire side of the body exposed to my paintball marker. It is my belief that until a universal rule is established that can be easily followed by everyone, such being no rule at all (bunkering not prohibited), that incidents such as these can be avoided. If players are afraid to be shot from close range, they should select another group of players to play with that can follow and acknowledge the surrender rule immediately. Many fields now are resorting to splitting up groups of players between a bunkering group for the more experienced players, and a surrender group for the less experienced, which is for now the only solution to this problem.

Paintball Mainstream

Contrary to the belief that paintball is nothing but tough young men playing "war" wearing camouflage in the woods, the popularity of the sport has increased to the point where some nine million Americans have played it. Paintball versions of Capture the Flag, and Elimination have become popular pastimes for every kind of group from church groups to sororities.

Paintball venues have hosted birthday parties and bachelor parties. Corporations have held team building exercises involving paintball. There are paintball clubs and events for almost every age and skill level. Kids as young as 10 can play paintball, and this is due to the sport having strict safety regulations and a good safety record.

But, doesn't it hurt to be hit by a paintball? The sensation has been likened to being snapped by a rubber band, stung by a bee, or hit with a wet towel. However, the general consensus among paintball enthusiasts is that after getting hit the first time, adrenaline takes over, and the sensation of actually being hit fades into the background.

The most common paintball game is Capture the Flag. While there are variations, the basic object of the game is for one team to capture the opposite team's flag, while protecting its own flag from being captured. Players are eliminated from the game after being hit by a paintball.

Simple games of elimination are also popular. These games are played until there is only one player still standing. Sometimes there are different rules, such as pretend "medics" who will examine a player who has been hit and decide if he or she is fit to return to the game. Part of the popularity of paintball is that it is not a sport in which success depends on physical size or age.

And while it is possible for the paintball fanatic to spend hundreds of dollars on equipment, for the casual player, $25 to $30 will rent the proper safety and paintball equipment for an afternoon of fast-paced fun. Commercial paintball parks feature different themed fields, such as woods, cityscapes, or replicas of famous battlefields. Such parks usually also feature speedball fields, which are populated with inflatable bunkers. There are even indoor paintball fields, making it an all-weather sport in places lucky enough to have these facilities.

Commercial paintball fields also offer perks such as locker rooms, picnic areas, and concessions. They are required to meet strict insurance regulations and employ referees to ensure the players' safety. In addition, commercial paintball parks monitor the velocity of paintballs with instruments called chronographs. The velocity of the paintballs depends on the ambient temperature for markers (guns) that use CO2 for propelling paintballs. This problem is less pervasive in indoor, climate-controlled settings.

With improved safety features and an improving public image, paintball has gone from being somewhat of a "fringe" sport to drawing grandparents, kids, and everyone in between. Part of the appeal is the stress relief of firing off a round of paint, and part of it is the strategic and tactical thinking that is involved in the game. Paintball is also a sport where size and youth do not necessarily confer success.

Because teamwork and communication are so important, clubs, church groups, and even corporations have enthusiastically embraced paintball games as a way for people to learn to work together and where everyone contributes. The large and growing popularity of paintball facilities and teams attests to its broad appeal.pa