2008 Woodie Awards
Paintball popularity explodes in the area
Matt Rydberg
Issue date: 7/2/07 Section: Sports
Fighting the summertime blues is never easy, but splattering each other in fast paced paintball action seems to keep the blues away.
St. Cloud State alum and founder of the SCSU Paintball Club Adam Tetrault has been operating local paintball area Crossfire Paintball since its inception nearly 12 years ago. He said they typically focus on bachelor parties and corporate events, but every Sunday they open up the course for walk-ons to try the game out.
"The thrill of the game is what keeps them coming back," Tetrault said. "It's just a rush to play."
Local students like Andrew Torgenson said, "I love to play with some of my friends; we just get a group together and head out to the woods."
Paintball is a large category that encompasses two different styles of play. The type featured on ESPN is typically a version of speedball, where players have to duck and cover under a nearly continuous hail of paintballs. It is fast paced, and matches typically last no more than a few minutes. Woods ball is typically slower because stealth and tactics become more important.
Some courses like St. Croix Paintball, just over the Wisconsin border, try to blend the two. Owner Brad Johnson discussed the games. "It's something different. There is strategy as far as making sure the flag doesn't get pulled, making sure you have guys cover certain areas, but then there are some obstacles where you can get close enough it feels like urban (speed) ball."
Tetrault described the various games players can usually choose from.
"Capture the flag with two flags, or one flag in the center. There is elimination, zombie, president there's just a ton of different games to choose from."
A typical paintball outing costs anywhere from $30- 60, based on how much equipment a person has to rent. Otherwise, most sporting goods stores sell paintball gear. It is typically recommended that players wear loose fitting clothes that can get hit by paintballs, headgear, pads and a gun. Most paintballs are designed to wash out, and typically don't get fast enough to hurt worse than getting snapped by a rubber band. This makes paintball one of the safest sports available.
St. Cloud State alum and founder of the SCSU Paintball Club Adam Tetrault has been operating local paintball area Crossfire Paintball since its inception nearly 12 years ago. He said they typically focus on bachelor parties and corporate events, but every Sunday they open up the course for walk-ons to try the game out.
"The thrill of the game is what keeps them coming back," Tetrault said. "It's just a rush to play."
Local students like Andrew Torgenson said, "I love to play with some of my friends; we just get a group together and head out to the woods."
Paintball is a large category that encompasses two different styles of play. The type featured on ESPN is typically a version of speedball, where players have to duck and cover under a nearly continuous hail of paintballs. It is fast paced, and matches typically last no more than a few minutes. Woods ball is typically slower because stealth and tactics become more important.
Some courses like St. Croix Paintball, just over the Wisconsin border, try to blend the two. Owner Brad Johnson discussed the games. "It's something different. There is strategy as far as making sure the flag doesn't get pulled, making sure you have guys cover certain areas, but then there are some obstacles where you can get close enough it feels like urban (speed) ball."
Tetrault described the various games players can usually choose from.
"Capture the flag with two flags, or one flag in the center. There is elimination, zombie, president there's just a ton of different games to choose from."
A typical paintball outing costs anywhere from $30- 60, based on how much equipment a person has to rent. Otherwise, most sporting goods stores sell paintball gear. It is typically recommended that players wear loose fitting clothes that can get hit by paintballs, headgear, pads and a gun. Most paintballs are designed to wash out, and typically don't get fast enough to hurt worse than getting snapped by a rubber band. This makes paintball one of the safest sports available.