Paintball

General

Paintball is a sport played all over the world. Players generally are equipped with some kind of gas propelled gun or marker that fires gelatin capsules called "paintballs." The goal is to hit or "mark" other players by having a paintball break on them. There are various forms of paintball including team based play (capture the flag), role play/scenario style and tournament play from amateur all the way up to professional level.

History

Though the details vary from source-to-source. It is generally accepted that in the late 1970's Charles Gaines (a writer) and Hayes Noel (a stock trader) played the first game of paintball. A group of 12 men, including Gaines and Noel, gathered together with Nelson Paint Company air guns (originally designed for loggers and farmers) and had a royal good time trying to hit each other with the oil based paintballs. Later in 1981 the first organized game of paintball took place in an 80 acre lot in New Hampshire.

Safety

Paintball is one of the safest sports in which one can participate. Studies have shown -- at least as reported in hospital visits -- that per 1,000 participants paintball has 0.2 injuries a year, while sports like American football have 3.8 and basketball have 1.9. Indeed, if played at an authorized field where measures of safety are maintained (Masks on, velocity checked) paintball is considered to be one of the safest extreme sports.

Gas Types

There are generally two types of gas used today for paintball.

• CO₂ (Carbon dioxide) - The cheaper of the two, less stable than nitrogen or compressed air.
• Compressed Air - Sometimes referred to as Nitrogen More stable than CO₂