A fully-equipped paintballer
THE soldiers in camouflage gear dash from one barricade to the next,
closing in on the enemy. Their guns are at the ready, their faces alert
and watching, their bodies tense. They signal to one another, changing
their strategy, trying to outmanoeuvre the enemy.
One of the enemy is shot, green blood oozing from the wound on his arm.
Wait, "green blood"? What's this all about? It's a paintball battle,
played by teams of adventurous, mercenary-wannabe types at various
venues around Johannesburg, with real-looking guns with paint-filled
bullets.
Joburgers of all ages are flocking to play paintball every
weekend, pulling on old jeans, t-shirts and takkies, and getting a big
adrenalin rush from shooting one another, afterwards proudly comparing
their "wounds", stinging, round red marks left by the paint "bullets".
The paint is water-soluble so will wash out, but players generally pull
on overalls to protect their clothing.
The game is played on "battlefields", fenced-off areas of about
half an acre, arranged with various barricades behind which teams hide
while they advance on one another, trying to wipe out the enemy and
reach their start line, and proclaim themselves winners.
The two teams start at opposite sides of the field, and at the
supervisor's whistle, spring into position and move up the field. When
a person is "shot" with a small M&M chocolate-size bullet, they
raise their hands and walk off the field. If they're shot but the
bullet doesn't explode its paint, they remain on the field.
The teams hire guns, overalls, goggles and masks from the
venues, and thus attired, play the game. The more serious paintballers
buy their own guns and goggles.
Dave Brich, owner of Paintball City in Germiston, says it's a
game for the whole family. Groups of parents, aunts, uncles, grandpas
and their grandchildren enjoy wiping one another out each weekend.
Groups of 12-year-old girls come to play paintball on birthday party
outings. But there is a gender bias: seven out of 10 players are male.
He's been running his business for 18 years, and gets 2 500
people through his gate every month. He turns away hundreds of people
each month. Game times have to be booked in advance.
A speedball battlefield
No training is required, people appear to naturally know how to
aim a gun and shoot. The speed of the bullets can be manipulated, but
most people have the speed set at a rate where they can see their
bullets shoot off from their guns, or see a bullet approaching them,
allowing them to take cover.
The game started about 20 years ago in the US as a way to mark
trees of different ages, thus indicating which ones had to be felled.
But the foresters missed the trees and hit their fellow foresters, and
the game was born.
Brich says there's about 40 five-man teams countrywide, who
play in regular tournaments. Twenty of those teams are based in
Johannesburg. There're 60 battlefields around the country.
But don't expect that adrenalin rush to come cheap. Prices at Paintball
City are about standard. The hire of a gun, mask and overall is R25.
You'll need at least 100 paintballs, that's R40; 200 paintballs cost
R75 (it's easy to use up 100 balls in an hour). You'll need to
replenish spent energy at the tuck shop, so before you know it you've
spent R100. If you're taking the family, make sure you go via the ATM.
There're two major venues in Johannesburg.
Paintball City
A pallet battlefield
Paintball City in Germiston has seven fields of different skills
levels. It's open from Wednesdays to Sundays to the public, and for
special bookings on Mondays and Tuesdays. Sessions last for four hours
and start at 8.30am and run through to 5pm. Booking is essential.
Paintball City is the largest venue, with 130 guns. And for the
serious paintballer it has a showroom, where you'll find everything you
need for your game. Guns range in price from several hundred rands to
thousands of rands.
Paintball City is on Main Reef Road, Knights, Germiston. Phone 011 828 7583 for directions and bookings, or visit the website.
River Raiders
River Raiders has two courses
and is open on weekends to the public, and open for private and
corporate functions during the week. There's three sessions over the
weekends, starting at 9am and going through to 5.30pm.
Entrance is R25 per person, which gives you the gun, overall,
goggle and face mask. A pack of 100 balls goes for R45, 200 for R85.
Booking is essential, especially on the weekends.
River Raiders is at 89 Witkoppen Road, North Riding. Contact Roy on 082 447 1554 for a booking.
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