The fast-paced and action-packed sport of tournament speedball paintball is set to fire up today and tomorrow at the National Insurance Scheme ground, Carifesta Avenue.
Scores of persons are expected to participate as the organizers seem set to make the sport a main feature in Guyana. Already several clubs and teams are being formed around the country but the scores of enthusiasts will get a chance to join clubs or make teams this weekend in order to compete.
As a game, paintball is not new to Guyana; it has been played in its military format referred to as either “milsim” “recball” or “scenario woods-ball” by a number of groups over the years. Tournament Speedball on the other hand, is the only format of the game which can truly be described as a sport and is active in well over 100 countries worldwide. It is played at all levels from the weekend recreational player to professional players and has proven to also be a popular spectator sport which has the spin off benefit of attracting the attention of corporate advertising and sponsorship from a vast array of businesses entities including airlines, hotels, fast food chains and manufactures of paintball merchandise to name a few. Additionally it has attracted coverage by ESPN and a large number of dedicated television and online shows which are actively promoting it for inclusion as an Olympic sport for it is already well established as a mainstream sport and as a billion dollar industry worldwide.
With the establishment of Planet Paintball Guyana, the husband and wife team of Chris and Reona Cathro who brought the sport to these shores has through careful planning, done so in a way that makes it affordable for anyone who wants to play.
According to Chris Cathro, the entertainment market in Guyana lacks activities that provide young people with the opportunity to participate in the less mainstream sports.
“Our young people have seen sports such as paintball played on the television and in movies and want to be given the same opportunities as their counterparts from other countries. This is particularly true for the 14 to 35 year old demographic,” Chris lamented as he himself is an ex-soldier with 14 years’ service in the British Army. He also worked for 20 years as an Occupational Safety and Health Officer and over eight years experience operating a 275 acre paintball park in Scotland, United Kingdom.
Using his knowledge and his previous experience of the sport Chris formed Planet Paintball Guyana to bring to the Guyanese public a game that is safe, challenging, full of excitement, and action packed no matter what level of player you are.
The games are played by two opposing teams of five players each side in matches which have timed periods of play that normally last for 30 minutes. Within the 30-minute match, teams may play up to four separate games depending on the tactics and speed at which they play and achieve the objective of either eliminating the other team’s players or capturing and returning the other team’s flag to their start line. The matches are played on flat arenas approximately the size of a standard football field. The playing area will have “bunkers” or obstacles strategically placed across the playing surface which players use as cover from which they execute planned strategies to gain an advantage over and defeat the opposing team. The player use paintball markers (commonly referred to as guns) to fire balls filled with paint vegetable dye filled paint (paintballs), after which the sport got its name.
When the paintballs hit the gelatin the outer case breaks and the area where the object strikes is marked with the paint filling which is known as being tagged. The paint in water soluble form and is easily washed off clothing or removed from surfaces without leaving stains. The most important item of equipment persons need in order to participate is the facemask which if not worn will automatically see persons ejected from the game. The insistence on the use of the facemask is common to all professionally operated paintball parks and has very sound reasoning behind it, because a paintball strike anywhere except the eyes will not harm, but a strike to the eye can cause serious injury to a player.
Planet Paintball Guyana for the game fee will provide everything needed to play including safety approved full-face masks which protects the eyes and ears. As a sport the American Institute of Insurance sports injury statistics ranks paintball below sports such a basketball, football, cricket, and many other main stream sports. Most injuries sustained in paintball are the same as you would find in any physically demanding activity such as strains, sprains, scrapes and grazes so the members of Planet Paintball Guyana are putting systems in place to keep safety at a maximum.
Chris Cathro highlighted some of the plans in the pipeline for Planet Paintball Guyana and the sport. He said he intends to sign up with the CSP South American Professional Paintball League, which holds tournaments in most countries of South America annually.
“The aim of joining the CSP is to enable players from Guyana to travel to and participate in tournaments in various countries and more importantly, to have Guyana included as a host country in future tournaments. We are also actively engaged in discussions with teams from French Guiana, Suriname, Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica that have expressed interest in establishing the first ever Caribbean Paintball Tournament circuit,” he added.
The newly formed group expects the future to be exciting and said it looks forward to providing the best possible service at the best price possible to the Guyanese public. They also promise no “special” offers, just the best facilities, equipment, and the best price every time.
