Provincial teams eager to compete for first speedball title
WEDNESDAY MARCH 9 2016 FORGETcamouflaged people running, ducking and dodging brightly coloured paintballs out in the bush – competitive paintball is a structured, timed sport that tests your skills and lateral thinking.
The Cape Argus SportShow will host South Africa’s provincial paintball teams on March 20 as they compete and showcase their skills in this adrenalin-fuelled sport.
The sport slowly started gaining strength as a serious sport in its own right when an overseeing national body, the South African National Paintball Association (Sanpa), was formed in 2009. A few years later, the South African Regional Paintball League (SARPL), which is the “club” equivalent, was formed in 2011.
Competitive paintball is often referred to as speedball.
SARPL’s Western Cape co-ordinator Jaco Booysen said “paintball is no longer reserved for bachelor parties and team-building events, where guys dress up and play Cowboys and Indians”.
“I have been active in the sport for three years and as a man of nearly 40, competing in most sports, I must say that speedball is the one sport that has taught me lateral and out-of-the-box thinking.”
“It is fast-paced, mentally and physically tiring and it really does tax the body and the mind,” he added.
The provincial teams competing in this first-of-its-kind paintball competition will include teams from the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu– Natal in the Under-19 and Men’s divisions. An Eastern Cape team will be competing in the Men’s division.
Eager speedballers underwent intensive training in a selection process at the beginning of the year.
The trials, which included speed, skill and shooting drills determined which 10 players would be selected to take part in their provincial teams.
Speedball takes place in a marked field or arena with two inflatable bunkers on either sides of the field.
The two halves of the field are mirrored to ensure a fair match.
As with normal paintball rules, once a player has been hit with a coloured paintball shot from a paintball marker, they are eliminated. A time-based element adds more intensity to the game, with each match comprising only 10 minutes, featuring two-minute rounds.
Booysen said this more structured approach to conventional paintball added intensity. “It really is an adrenalin rush,” he said.
The chairman of Sanpa, Paul Grobler, said: “The players competing in this competition shoot about 10.5 balls per second. The games are high-pressure and competitive”.
These provincial teams will go headto-head in a battle of wits, speed and skills in a quest to clench the first ever title of the SA Provincial Cup at the Cape Argus SportShow.
An additional WP five-man event will be hosted onMarch 21 with club teams participating. – Robin Henney