FRIDAY- Get energized! Your paintball weekend STARTS here!
DerDer 300 FPS- This DerDer trailer is still among the best. DerDer’s 300 FPS provided a pivotal turning point in how paintball videos were seen, the sport exposed and experienced. Mild Violence, Swear Words and Mind Numbing Hits! Viewer Discretion IS advised! 300 FPS is a CLASSIC example of hard hitting paintball…
ConsoleCreature is credited for this next video. “Covering Gaming events and producing the best video content in Canada. Gamers want to see video -We give it to them.” This video from ConsoleCreature featured the motion picture “Green Zone” and tactics utilized within the film. Produced at CBQ Tactical in Toronto, Canada- the lesson is keep your gun up! Take a look!
Follow the real life ADVENTURE of world wide paintball! Where does paintball take the BuyPBL crew? Find out what it’s like in Thailand with this “Day 1″ video from the ever popular BuyPBL series!
What did it take to build the the host venue for the PSP Galveston Island Open? Stacy Young (Owner) tells his story.
Follow along as we dive into the story behind Galveston Island Paintball as owner and opperator Stacy Young tells us what it took to put togther this field…
1 Year
“The Story of Galveston”
By Stacy Young
March 13, 2010, my 37th birthday, and I decided I wanted to play paintball. It had been over two years since I had last played; I was ready to shake the rust off and shoot people. I talked my older brother into coming with me and playing. My brother had never played organized paintball, just a renegade game or two with me in the local woods.
After driving off the Island, we arrived at one of the local fields. First appearance, I was impressed. I could see people everywhere; I noticed they had an Airball field and woodsball. “Not bad”, I said to myself.
After dropping over $120 for two people entry and a case of paint, I was not as impressed, but I was ready to shoot people. After reporting to the Staging Area to form up teams we waited almost 30 minutes until somebody finally showed up and we finally got started.
This turned out to be the worst day of paintball play in my life. We spent around four hours at this field and played only four games. To me paying around $20 a game is a horrible experience. As we left the field and headed back to the Island I called the wife. “Let’s open a Paintball Field”.
The following Monday I drove around Galveston looking for a suitable piece of property. Tuesday, I found my current location on the airport. By the following Monday I had signed the lease with the city and by the end of the month, with Federal and State Tax ID’s in hand, I was receiving goods.
Galveston Island Paintball(GIP) officially opened its doors on May 28th 2010, Memorial Day weekend. GIP had many soft openings the month prior to work out any problems that might arise. The opening was riddled with problems from City Permitting, and still is, but the doors did open, on time.
Three months after opening GIP announced its first tournament dubbed, “Warm-up for World-Cup”. Offering prize packages of cash and trophies served as a great incentive. The tournament field 12 teams, from Texas, Louisiana and Missouri. This was just seven months after opening and the city’s Convention Visitor’s Bureau(GCVB) recognized me as an attraction and cut GIP a check for bringing business to the Island.
The Original Bunker Set
In November, two months later, GIP received a phone call from my contact at the GCVB and she asks, “What is Paintball Sports Promotion(PSP)”? She goes on to inform me that they contacted the city and wanted to know if I would take the lead since I was the “Subject Matter Expert”. My response? “Absolutely”. Ten minutes later GIP was in negotiations with the Chief Operations Officer(COO) of PSP for him to make Galveston a stop during the 2011 PSP Season.
Numerous Phone calls and E-mails later Lane Wright, COO of PSP, arrives in Galveston for negotiations. Little did I know I was in direct competition with the University Of Phoenix. Lane wanted to come to Galveston if we could come to terms. This is the largest league in the world, and here I am with the boss having a drink on the front porch of my paintball field. A few drinks later, hands were shook and Galveston was the host of the 2011 PSP Season Opener. Mickenzy Trexler, GIP team member replied, “Are you serious, we got the event? We got the event? WE GOT THE EVENT!”
At this Point Galveston Island Paintball had been open 10 months and had achieved something that most field owners would love to have- a PSP Event. When the news hit the Internet my website went from an average of 100 hits a day to 3000 an hour after the Press Release went out, and 25,000 hits, for the week. The same thing was happening on my social media outlets Facebook, and Twitter. I knew at that moment my little paintball field had made it to the International stage.
I loved the fact that Sunday, the final day of the event was my birthday. I looked around and couldn’t believe what had been accomplished in one year. GIP was started up with a $9,000 tax refund check, volunteers, and savvy negotiations. In “after-action” meetings with the GCVB it was estimated that around $2M of revenue was brought to the Island. Not bad for the first year.
San Francisco EXPLICIT 2012 Roster, New 2012 Jersey and Rumors
We have the latest update from SF Explicit on their 2012 NPPL Roster. A powerhouse line up for the NPPL season, names like Alex Savino, Tyler Harmon, Chris Lasoya, Mercello Margott highlight the rebuilding effort we’ve been reporting exclusively from the team. As with any all-star lineup, following up on core strength is an important part towards placing victories. With individual talent, we are looking forward towards seeing results on the podium. Here is the latest:
Ryan Pruitt
Neil Eberle
Tyler Harmon
Ryan Podesta
Chris Lasoya
Marcello Margott
Matt Jones
Alex Savino
Chris Chernis
After missing practice to attend the WCPPL with Fuzion and Royalty, Feddy Cummins and Jason Vitalich had to make decisions about who they would be playing with in 2012. We are told that Cummins is back with Fuzion with the possibility of playing with Sacramento Damage. Vitalich’s status is unknown but we are following to see where he will go next.
The team’s latest jersey design will no doubt raise eyebrows as the logo, style and design aspects of the team have completely evolved during the off season. Xternal Sports featured this new San Francisco Jersey on their Facebook page with positive feedback. We feel the new design is fitting considering the new direction and focus of the team.
Stay with ProPaintball.com as we report the latest Breaking News, Events, Pro Players and Teams in 2012!
If you haven’t heard about Almost Famous Paintball yet, here’s your formal introduction. We’re not exactly sure how to categorize them because they seem to have their hand in a lot of different things.
John Arquilla filming
“We started out doing media coverage, mostly of SoCal events, but now we’ve added hosting our own events,” says founder, John Arquilla. “We also have a few web series in the works. We’re following a little kid team called GoGo13 and we have a fictitious comedy series called BCoOL, which is about a paintball team that really sucks. But they dream big.”
2012 is a big year for Almost Famous Paintball. Continuing their steady stream of media coverage for SoCal paintball events, this year also marks the inauguration for the Almost Famous Paintball League (AFPL). The AFPL features a semi tournament series as well as a pump series, which feel more like a summer concert series than a standard paintball tournament. But to understand the AFPL is to understand the mission of Almost Famous Paintball.
Always recognizing that paintball, first and foremost, is about camaraderie and having a good time, Almost Famous created its signature event – Union Day. At this gathering, players of all skill levels are randomly placed on teams, giving everyone the opportunity to meet new people, learn from their teammates, and have a great time playing paintball. Music and an MC, as well as “scholarship” contests to attend the event for free help make this event a favorite in the SoCal paintball scene.
“Our message is this: ‘YOU, yeah, you. Come play paintball with us. Let’s hang out,’” says Arquilla. “We welcome everyone. If you’ve never picked up a marker before, come to Union Day. If you’re a pro player that got kicked off your team, come to Union Day. It’ll be the best paintball experience of your life – until the next Union Day.”
The AFPL is the tournament version of Union Day. While the AFPL is for rostered teams, the easy going vibe, music, and MC have already made a good impression on participating teams. The next semi tournament will be held on April 7, 2012 at Camp Pendeleton and the pump tournament is scheduled for some time in May.
Latest from Eclipse’s ETV ”Artifact” Documentary Series- “One Night In November” Featuring Chicago Aftershock
Dan Napoli’s sixth full-length film “One Night In November” premieres online focusing on Chicago Aftershock and their hard pressed run to the top. A dramatic end to the team is featured in the latest Season 2 installment of ETV’s “Artifact” Documentary. The trailer for this film has us on pins and needles in documenting the behind the scenes struggle to stay alive among fierce competition…
“The experience making this film was really unique, as the team was sort of falling apart and evolving, and reshaping itself as we were in post-production, though all the footage was in the can,” Napoli said. “I think ultimately, (co-writer) Matt Marshall, (producer) Ledz, & I-we just tried to show what a crazy up and down year Aftershock had between World Cup 2010 & NPPL Vegas 2011. And sometimes, that’s just how a pro paintball season goes. it’s not the NFL. You have this monumental victory, four or five years in the making, and then followed by the implosion of the team two months later. It’s pretty intense.”
One Night In November features music by The Cast Before The Break, The Sleeping, Evidence, Moonlit Sailor, Strike Anywhere, The Wonder Years, Hot Water Music, and Jets To Brazil.
The 49 minute feature is available for download from the Planet Eclipse ETV store for $4.99, and can be played on any ITunes compatible devices or any desktop computer using ITunes. You can purchase this film by following this link… Planet Eclipse ETV Digital Store
Event #1 Results- Who came out on top? We provide the latest scoop on the WCPPL!
Camp Pendleton played host to the first WCPPL Event of the 2012 season- the WCPPL Open. Last weekend, teams from all around the West Coast were ready to grind in this Race-To format.
The WCPPL caters to division ranked teams. Thanks to the efforts of Mike Hinman and staff, the WCPPL provides a strong program for players looking to progressivly compete. Hinman was sure to step it up this year by including the new PSP Scoreboard. Players loved the new scoreboard as it was featured high above on Camp Pendleton’s towers.
As an added bonus the LA Ironmen and Golden State Pirates were practicing along side the division oriented tournament. We can’t think of a better way to help expose such talent to new players.
Premiere Race-To-X: Denver Fury and SD Pirates would not fare well in the preliminary round. San Diego Mob win four straight preliminary games with Royalty and Notorious battling it out in the Semi-Finals. Notorious wins against San Deigo Mob to take home the Premiere Race-To-X WCPPL Open title.
Division 3: The Race-To-4 format would host such teams as IE Unseen, HaVoK, Royalty (2) and LA Hitmen in the Quarter Finals. The Fuzion 916 squad would propel themselves into the Finals after strong wins in the Quarter and Semi-Final rounds. Fuzion 916 would win against LA Hitmen to take home first place in Division 3.
Division 4: Genesis and Fuzion 707 would highlight 4 straight wins in their repsective brackets. The SD Pirates II would edge out their Quarter Finals match against Fuzion 415 and move on to the Semi-Finals. Finishing strong, Fuzion 415 would come back against Ka Funf, take the finals and win Race-To-3 in D4.
The NCPA returns to Florida for Championships! Sign up your local high school or college team!
ProPaintball.com is happy to report the return of the NCPA College and High School National Championships. The event will once again be held at the world famous Central Florida Paintball in Lakeland, Florida. The NCPA is well respected for the events they help organize and the yearly Championships have become a well welcomed staple of the paintball season.
The NCPA College and High School Paintball National Championships are BACK at Central Florida Paintball in Lakeland, Florida, on April 13-15, 2012. Over 500 athletes from over 80 teams will attend the event. FREE spectator admission to matches and the trade show!
Three Divisions of Play:
College Class A (XBall): Friday-Sunday, $1900 College Class AA (RaceTo-2): Saturday-Sunday, $600 High School (Tactical RaceTo-2 3-man): Saturday Only, $300 (Includes 2 cases paint)
BYOP (Sponsor Paint Only)
Earn Unique PbNation Badges!
Every player gets a NCPA Player Badge, but only the winners get the ultra-rare NCPA National Champion badge!
Can’t attend? Watch the FREE Live Webcast!
For more information on the event, visit the event webpage at http://ncpapaintball.com/nationals/!
-Chris Raehl of PbNation.com
Follow all the action with ProPaintball.com on Facebook and Twitter! We will be sure to have the results as they happen this April!
From “oldschool” to new wave- the Empire E-Flex is the latest from Empire.
Debuting at the Paintball Extravaganza, the latest Empire E-Flex combines the lense and goggle system of the Empire E-Vent with the oldschool look and feel of the JT Pro-Flex. What lead to this new creation? No doubt the aesthetic “flex” option combined with an easy change out lense system was too good to pass up. For years JT ‘Flex owners have held on to their custom goggle systems- they wear well, feel great and look awesome. The classic ‘Flex look is a paintball staple, unmistakable and does well in competition. But JT lenses are sometimes tough to find and with so many options, we think it makes sense that this new mask included a few other upgrades:
Vents™ system for rapid lens exchange
Thermal, dual-pane clear lens with zero optical distortion
Ultra soft and flexible face skirt creates bounces and offers maximum breathability
New comfortable E-Flex™ thermo-foam ear pieces
Pro-style Empire strap with silicone bead to keep the strap in place
Be sure to check these bad boys out when they hit the market this season! Support your local paintball store and field.
The 2012 Paintball Extravaganza Starts Today- Latest Updates
Day 1 of the 2012 Paintball Extravaganza wrapped up in Virginia where top paintball representatives and companies got together to exchange ideas, products and show off the new heat. With PSP Galveston Island just around the corner, we were surprised and happy to see a few new products on the board. We like to think of it as a “sneak peak” before the season gets underway. What were some of the highlights of Day 1?
Valken Sports was ready to roll out their 2012 line of Redemption Apparel. With another year of success under their belt, Valken’s upstart only a few years ago is looking fine as ever. Filling out this regimen is the new Valken RM1 paintball marker. We are suspecting another growing year for Valken.
HK Army right on track with their latest apparel edition of HK Army Paintball Pants. Set to premier sometime in April, these hot pants match and compliment the current line of HK Jerseys and Eject Paintball harness. Stay tuned…
Ninja Paintball had the new Ninja Pro Regulator- an air system regulator which rotates 360* for ultimate player setting. Settings available in 450, 550, 700 and 800 psi.
The new wave of tactical excercise? Check out a few of the following videos…
An interesting twist to paintball/milsim/scenario gameplay- iCOMBAT appears to be a brand new marketing campaign for the irTactical system of tactical training equipment.
What is it? A combat game where the projectiles are eliminated in exchange for laser tag like systems- where opposing players are given a small jolt from a system dedicated taser. Pretty cool! You might recognize a few faces from the following videos. Be sure to dig into this unique system here- http://www.irtactical.com/
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