It’s all action this weekend for paintballers lined up to compete at an annual speedball tournament at Lake Hood.
Ashburton Paintball Park owners Abbie McAnally and Daryl Kingsford will host the two-day Ashburton Paintball League Open Tournament on Saturday and Sunday.
It includes teams from as far afield as Nelson and Timaru.
It is the second such event for the pair who also host the Ashburton Paintball League.
Kingsford, a 27-year veteran of the sport and coach, said it was not just a matter of grown adults playing army in the bush.
The actual sport side of paintball, called speedball, was extremely competitive, physical and very fast, he said.
“A lot of communication and team work comes in as well, it’s very, very good for team building.
‘‘They need to be able to communicate with other players on the field and let them know where the opposition is.”
Two teams of three start at opposite sides of a inflatable bunker filled field and are given seven minutes to beat the opposition to the end without being hit.
Points are awarded for marking the opposition with paint and making it through enemy lines.
Kingsford said each point lasts for seven minutes and there is then a one and a half minute break to reload and get ready to be back on the field ready for the next point.
‘‘If you don’t get there you miss out. The match is over when a team gets to three points or time runs out,” he said.
Like all sports speedball players have to abide by safety and technical rules.
Referees monitor the shots fired, including any overshooting which could see offending players, and one other team member, sent off.
‘‘When you get eliminated you have to retreat to the nearest sideline or back line of the field,” Kingsford said.
Isaac Price and Krystal Copper are also participating in the weekend and moved down from Christchurch to be closer to the park.
‘‘We decided we spent more money driving down here to play paintball, it was easier to find a house and be closer to the field.
It’s a nice change,” Price said.
Fellow player Gary Kennedy said his fitness had quadrupled since he took up the sport over a year ago.
‘‘It gets me out and about and if I wasn’t doing this my body would be half broken, it keeps me going.”
Coach Kane Thomson has 22-years of paintball experience and has travelled to Sydney for Super Sevens team paintball tournaments several times over the years.
‘‘It was an experience to travel Australia and play in those large competitions,” he said.
Thomson said a main focus of his coaching role was teaching guys they had team mates to rely on and encourage communication and players to relax and take notice of their surroundings.
“It’s so much tunnel vision. You may be putting paint down on your target and there maybe an easy shot on someone else, but no-one is talking to let you know and then you get taken out by the guy you should have shot.”
Paintballer Issac Price spoke very highly of coaches Kane Thomson and Daryl Kingsford as both coaches, and mentors.
‘‘I honestly don’t think many of us would have the skills we have without these two coaching,” he said.
‘‘They are both invaluable to growing all of us and the sport itself, without them we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
For Kim Newton, playing paintballing was a way to get back into exercise after ankle surgery.
Newton was a fan of the sport prior to her injury, so her physio suggested it was a way to keep active.
“To be honest when you put that mask on and you walk inside the field, all your little limb imperfections just disappear.
‘‘When you’re out their running around it’s your adrenaline that keeps you pumping.”
At the park, McAnally and Kingsford pride themselves on building an all-inclusive, family friendly environment.
“We want all people to play paintball in all its different forms,” Kingsford said.
“It’s fun.”
He said the best thing about the sport is you did not have to be old, you did not have to be young, male or female, everyone is on the same level.
‘‘We have a guy who plays from Dunedin and he’s 70 and still plays paintball actively. No matter how old you are or how fit you are there is always something you can do on that field.”
■ The Ashburton Paintball League Open Tournament runs Saturday and Sunday at the Ashburton Paintball Park, Lake Hood from 9am. Spectators can watch for free.
