Paintball Tournaments
“We are the champions my friend”
Some paintball players are more than happy to get together with their friends every once in a while for good battle, but a lot of players like to play in more competitive surroundings. This is where paintball tournaments come in. In tourneys, teams are pitted against each other in several games until one champion emerges. Tournament paintball really took off in the early 1980s, with the first reportedly held in 1984.
There are all types of paintball tournaments held around the world, for just about every variation of paintball you could imagine. However time is of the essence in paintball tournaments, so time limits are usually put on all games. The paintball version of speedball is probably the most common game played during a paintball tourney.
The tournament set ups can be different, depending on how many teams enter. You may find tournaments where you’re placed in divisions and play a round robin style, with only the top two teams advancing. Or you may cross-over and play teams from a different division. A lot of paintball tournaments will place the teams by skill level, and some of them will have co-ed teams, or men-only teams and divisions.
Most teams are generally allowed to use 3 to 7 players. Each team battles against their opponent to accumulate points towards winning the overall tournament. In most competitions, points are awarded for capturing the opponent’s flag, bringing the flag to the starting point, eliminating opposing players, and having the most survivors left at the end of the game. Most professional paintball teams play in tournament formats.
When you’re playing in a tournament you really have to be a team player to be victorious. This means you should discuss strategies and tactics before the games start, and make sure you communicate well with your team mates once the shooting commences.
Before entering a tournament you should check on all of the rules, as rules differ at each tourney. The prizes vary quite a bit in tournaments as well. Many tourneys offer big money prizes; while others might only give away t-shirts or caps as their top prizes. The prize money often depends on the following:
- How many sponsors there are
- The cost of the entry fee
- How many teams enter the tourney
Tournament players take the game of paintball pretty seriously, considering most spend thousands of dollars traveling hundreds of miles, from tournament to tournament. You won’t find many tourney players who don’t practice paintball every chance they get. If you’d like to find out about tournaments, most paintball related websites have a directory with yearly/monthly tournaments listed.
