Paintballers shoot for top prize

Paintballers prepare to go to battle at the Kick'n 2005 Paintball Tournament. The payoff is more than $10,000 in prizes.

Christina Dicken / News-Leader

A paintball competitor takes aim at his opponent during the tournament. The event began with 42 teams.

Christina Dicken / News-Leader

Paintball shooters take cover behind inflatables during the Kick'n 2005 Paintball Tournament at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds.

Christina Dicken / News-Leader

Paintballers shoot for top prize

Kick'n 2005 Paintball Tournament includes all ages, sizes

By Amos Bridges

News-Leader Staff

As he watched from the bleachers at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds indoor arena, Drew Summers admitted he has a way to go before he could compete with the paintball players on the other side of the green safety net.

"It's a hobby, so far," said the 13-year-old, who started paintballing about two years ago. His parents bought him his first CO2-powered paintball gun, called a marker, this Christmas.

The Kick'n 2005 Paintball Tournament, sponsored by Springfield Paintball, was the first tournament he'd been to, Drew said Saturday.

While the Springfield teen looked on, five-person squads of amateur and novice players battled it out on the arena floor. Inflatable obstacles provided cover as each team sought to capture a central flag, or simply eliminate the opposition with a well-placed splatter of white paint.

The top five-person teams left from a field of 42 will compete in today's finals for more than $10,000 in prizes.

While he prefers outdoor courses to the indoor set-up at the arena, Drew said both styles of play highlight the sport's allure:

"It's intense — you really have to think on your feet," Drew said, as the rapid, staccato sound of the opposing teams' markers filled the air.

And the pain of being smacked with a paint-filled projectile travelling at 280-feet-per-second?

"It hurts sometimes," he admitted, but tolerance builds fast. "I've been shot a lot."

Drew's father, David Summers, said he's happy his son has found a hobby that, unlike the ever-popular video games, involves physical activity.

"It's good to get him out of the house, and out from in front of the TV," he said.

While David Summers said he has yet to try paintball himself, he may need to watch out — Patrick McLaughlan Sr., a member of Team Hotshot, credited his 16-year-old son with getting him hooked on the sport.

"He wanted me to buy him a $100 paintball gun," the elder McLaughlan said. Before spending the money, he decided to try it out for himself. Now, the duo compete on the team with other Oklahoma players, wielding markers that cost 10 times as much as that original purchase.

Ranked as the third most popular extreme sport — after inline skating and skateboarding — paintball has grown rapidly in the last decade, said Steve Alsup, co-owner of Springfield Paintball, started in 1991. His son and partner Mike Alsup is the tournament's organizer.

Professional players now compete on a national level, he said, and many colleges and universities field teams, as well.

One reason for the popularity is that almost anyone can play and excel, Alsup said. Size, age and physical condition take a back seat to clear thinking and grace under fire.

"It's got its own demands that it places on a person, and a lot of that's nerve," Alsup said.

And while tournament-level gear can cost as much as $2,000, a novice player can purchase a beginner-level marker and other basic equipment for as little as $100, he said.

"It's about like fishing or golf — any price range you want, you can be there," he said.

Alsup said the Springfield tournament, in its sixth year, is a way to promote the family's other business — their own brand of Kick'n Paintballs.

With the increased popularity of the sport, heightened demand and production has made the rainbow-colored ammunition more affordable, he said. While a box of 2,000 paintballs once retailed for $125 to $150, the same box now costs just S30 to $45.

Consequently, players are more willing to shoot, and — with semi-automatic markers that can fire as many as 20 balls per second — shoot often, he said. "Last year, we sold every paintball we could make."