Paintball Journal

I love girls who play paintball. Seriously, my two favorite things all wrapped up in one? I’ll take that any day of the week.

That means I do pay attention to the all-girl teams that show up from time to time, like the Femme Fatales and some of LTZ’s former rosters. Today that means a look at Destiny, an all-girl team captained and owned by Bea Youngs-Paxson. (-Paxson sound familiar? It is, Mike Paxson, her husband, plays for the LA Ironmen.) Joining her for the 2008 season is this awesome all new roster:

Angela Manfrate, 20
Abby Becker, 19
Becky Raikles, 18
Kim Ma, 22
Jackie Lon, 19
Breanna Rinaldo, 18
Brittany Wagoner, 15

Detailed biographies and information are available on the Destiny website.

Destiny’s website is actually one of the most interesting paintball team websites that I’ve ever seen, with a comprehensive gallery of the many different paintball photographers who have captured the team in action, as well as links, sponsors, and a history of Destiny.

In 2008, Destiny will be playing D2 NPPL, CFOA, 7 (Wo)man AM NEPL, and SPPL, as well as possibly some Millennium. All of the girls are experienced players who have played Xball and PSP with a variety of teams.

It’s tough being an all girl team, because most teams are composed of guys who hate being beat by girls. It’s just the way life is, as no guy wants to get shown up by girls, and so will often play harder when they see teams like this that are actual contenders. Destiny is definitely a contender.

I wish the best of luck to Destiny in the upcoming season, though something tells me their opponents might need more luck than them.

Well, it’s been a fairly busy week here on Paintball Journal, but if you are still looking for reading material, here’s what’s been happening over at my other blog for Xtreme Paintball.

Eclipse’s Board Settings for New ROF Limits

Both PSP and Millennium have lowered their ROF limits, and Planet Eclipse wants to let you know exactly how to deal with the new firing modes on their guns. Definitely worth a read if you have an Ego or Etek.

WGP’s New Website

WGP hasn’t really brought a whole lot to the table that people have noticed lately. With this new website, it gives me hope that they will have some great new products to sell on it sooner rather than later. Cool design, but hopefully they keep it updated. If you want to know more, just click away!

Ultimate Strategy

For those of you who have guns that don’t shoot very fast, but want to know how to win against the kids who do. Techniques, strategies, and overall tips on showing up those punks with the fast guns.

Hybrid Says Buh-Bye Now

Just a copy of the original Hybrid note. You can read my thoughts about it here on Paintball Journal.

Spyder RSX To Sport Tadao Board

Okay, so technically we’re heading into last week, but this is an interesting article on Kingman Spyder’s latest announcement regarding their RS line, at least one of which will come stock with a Tadao board. A great move for both companies, certainly.

Brass Eagle Ambush - For The Illest

Oh, yeah, and I can’t forget the most insane gun of the year, the BE Ambush. If you want to learn more about this sheer amazingness, head over the Xtreme.

Here are some of the things that have been going on at and around Paintball Journal HQ.

A Comment on Comments

First of all, thanks for being patient with posting comments on this site. I know the askimet spam filter has been under performing miserably as of late, but once I figured out that comments weren’t getting through, I started checking the filter daily. So if you post a comment, don’t worry if it doesn’t show up immediately. However, if it’s something you’d really like to talk about, don’t hesitate to hit the “Contact Me” button in the left hand column.

451 Downsizes

In other news, this network is in the process of some pretty major reforms. Now, this blog’s safe, so fear ye not, but expect some major changes around here. I may also be taking on some other blogs as well, but this one will always be my precious. My preeecciousss…ss…ss…..

Tournament Time

I know what a lot of you are thinking. You’re thinking “Hey, Dana, how can we trust the information we get from a kid who probably doesn’t even play paintball that much?” Well, that’s something I’m hoping to remedy somewhat in the near future.

In accordance with such bold statements, I’ve also gone and bought a Halo B that matches my trigger quite nicely, and should help my consistency.

I’ll probably be playing in Splatz’s next tournament, on February 16th. It’s a charity tournament that will benefit the local food bank. I’m pretty stoked about that whole thing.

That’s all for tonight, I’ve got a paper to write about Barack Obama or something. I’ll see you tomorrow.

It’s one of the most important factors you should take into account about your gun. It’s what determines whether you’ll get the shot of first, or if you’re gonna be sucking paint through your grill. It’s what makes a lot of inexperienced and experienced players alike shoot their own bunkers, feet, and teammates. I’m talking about trigger lengths, and I want to know what yours is.

Shall we? I’d really like to know just exactly how far everyone has to go in order to shoot a paintball. Of course, I’m not asking you to do this without putting my own info out there first. Let’s take a look.

That’s my blue CP Sling trigger on my stock Ion frame. Pull length of 1/8 inch.

The calculations were made using a wooden standard Westcott Ruler and a Texas Instruments TI-83 calculator. I had to use the calculator to determine how many eighths two sixteenths equaled.

Not really. I used it to do the centimeter conversion. For those of you who deem the imperial system too lame to use and prefer metricism, the 1/8 inch is 0.3175 cm.

I measured how far the bottom tip of the trigger traveled before activating the microswitch. For those of you using mechanical, optical, or sear trigger systems, just the distance the trigger travels to activate the marker is necessary.

Pictures are also nice, but not necessary. Just take some high precision evaluative devices such as what I listed above and record the distance on a pad of paper. Come to your computer, log onto the internet, and come here to post your findings. Shortest and longest trigger lengths win something fantastic! Oh, and do post your trigger and gun model.

I certainly won’t be taking away the witty commentary, the cutting edge news, or the multifarious reviews and articles. However, there’s plenty to look forward to this year and it’s about time I stopped rummaging through ST on PBNation and started peering into the actual paintball information that’s been running rampant through the holidays and into the new year.

So, first let me start off the year by wishing you a Happy New Year!

Now that that’s over with, let’s get started on what to expect from Paintball Journal in the coming year.

First off, plenty of coverage of national events, teams, and possibly even some true recounted experiences from me. I’d really like to get able to see an even this year before college, and if I and a couple friends can scrounge the money, expect to see us in Chi-Town for PSP’s Chicago Open.

I’m excited about the established PSP format and NPPL’s new professional venue format that have emerged this year as one of the largest differences between the two series.

PSP is largely staying put this year, with the standard MAO and Chicago Open, as well as the one event to rule them all - World Cup.

NPPL on the other hand is carrying the new trend of professional stadium venues to a new height this year, with every event except for the traditional Huntington Beach occurring in an NFL stadium.

With so much happening in the national series alone, it’s hard to even look at other events, but we will because of the changes likely to occur in the PSP. In case you hadn’t heard, PSP is almost certainly going to drop the rate of fire from 15.4 BPS down to 12-13 BPS. The most definite answer I’ve heard so far is 13.33 BPS, but even that is not confirmed.

The changes are likely to affect attendance and general public opinion, and I’m most interested in seeing how feeder series such as CFOA and XPSL will react, as well as independent series such as CTS and NCPA. Will these changes be enacted elsewhere? Will the NPPL change anything in such a drastic way as that in the future?

I can’t even begin to list all of the new stuff coming out that excites me, although foremost in mind is currently NXe’s JRNY hopper, set for release next month. I can’t wait. Can you?

Didn’t think so.

Adapted from last year’s version.

Twas the night before PSP World Cup 08, and all through the house
Not a paintballer was stirring, not even Yosh Rau
The bunkers were washed by the field crew with care
In hopes that more teams soon would be there

The ballers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of bunkerings danced in their heads.
And my team in their gear, and I in my Dyes,
Had just settled down and just closed our eyes.

When out on the field there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I bumped in a flash,
Picked up my marker and screwed in the gas.

The moon on the breast of new-laden turf,
Gave the luster of midday to a very confused smurf,(/ot)
When, what through my wondering i3s should appear,
But a MINIature Invert, and bagful of gear.

From a new Evil Driver, so milled and slick,
To an Ego 08: Oh my god, sick!
More rapid than eagles my eyes went insane,
And I called all the teams, called them by name!

“Now Dynasty, Trauma! Now, Avalanche and ‘Canes!
Arsenal, Legion! Assassins and Strange!
Down to the the field! To that place where we ‘ball!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

As fast as recballers that before the Hurricanes die,
When they meet up at Pevs, attempt stupid dives,
So down to the dead-box the ballers they flew,
With Empire bags, and all their gear too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the field
An incredible challenge that couldn’t be real.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
T’was indeed Dynasty making all of the sound.

They were dressed all in blue, from their heads to their toes,
And their clothes were all covered in paint from Egos.
A couple of guys they had shot in the back,
One dude in the ass, and right in the pack.

His eyes how they burned! He was obviously pissed!
His marker was up, that rage couldn’t be missed!
He called to his boys, he wanted a fight,
And Dynasty figured that that’d be alright.

But who was this guy, armed to the teeth,
Smoke from his ears encircling his head like a wreath.
He had a small face and some interesting fangs,
“Good Gravy!” I yelled, “It’s Oliver Lang!”

This dude marched on down, with his other teammates,
In the match of the year, that would decide all their fates!
The blink of the eyes and a twist of the thread,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And broke to the snake, diving into the turf.
And laying his fingers across his trigger,
He laned down the tape, fast as a… a mongoose!

He bumped to snake two, to his team gave a whistle,
And down field they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he shot down his sights,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday.

Thinking about fortifying your Christmas list or about what to get your teammates? Well here’s a list of inexpensive stocking stuffers that no paintballer is going to say no to.

Cracks, broken springs, and busted lids all cause us to lose these, our best friends in the middle of intense games. These are always welcome in any player’s gear bag for tournaments in particular when turnaround times can be beyond quick and pods mysteriously grow legs and walk away. This is a very cheap way to fill a paintballer’s stocking. Also cute gift idea alert: stuff a paintball pod with random paintball related items, for example, barrel condoms, stickers, or batteries.

Okay, since I already mentioned them batteries are next on my list. If you play with any electronic equipment, I guarantee you you’ll always want fresh batteries for the best performance. This includes, but isn’t limited to, your gun, hopper, and mini-fridge. Don’t forget how important these small alkaline doohickeys are to your performance. Put ‘em on the list.

There are some awesome DVDs online that are a year or two old and are therefore a bargain! Of course, even the brand new DVDs like the NCPA Series coverage and Dynasty Dysected 2 are only $30. I highly recommend both, by the way. If Grandma’s looking for a little, inexpensive extra something to top off your gift list though, point her in the direction of the bargain bins at online stores. Nothing like a little ‘04 NPPL coverage to get you through the winter.

Sunday, December 9th. Splatz Indoor Paintball, Evansville, Indiana. Over 75 paintball players united for one cause: to raise as much money (labeled in picture) as possible for Toys for Tots.

It started over a year ago, when Evan and I were talking about what we’d do for our senior project, and how exactly we’d tie in paintball. The idea of running a tournament for charity came up, and I was set on the idea from the beginning. Evan took a little more convincing than I did, but he a pragmatic person who, I think, understood better than I exactly how much time and effort we would put into such a project.

Last year, senior projects for our school did not have to be completed until late spring. This year the time schedule got bumped up so that all projects had to be completed by early in the year, sometime in January.

This posed a significant challenge to those of us who wanted to do outdoor events, especially considering our school took their sweet time informing us about the changes to the senior project requirements.

However, Evan and I still were set on this idea, and took the initiative very early on to approach Eric Coblentz at Splatz Indoor about our tournament idea. Supportive from the beginning, Eric encouraged us to get our sponsors as early as possible and agreed to host an open tournament for us at Splatz.

So in late October and early November, we started getting our sponsors together. We raised $675, which was enough for us to guarantee $1000 in prizes. Team entries cost $90, and we only needed four teams to raise enough to give our prizes. We printed our flyers, and started distributing them through Splatz and Paintball Players MD, a local store that would be one of our platinum sponsors.

The week before the tourney rolled around and I totaled up all of the teams that had registered so far. Turns out there weren’t any, and wouldn’t be any until about the day before. Needless to say, a little bit of tension hung in the air in that final week.

I called Splatz the night before to make sure everything was a go, only to have a near ecstatic Suze Coblentz answer, telling me that 13 teams had signed up.

I slept well that night and woke up at 5:30 to leave for the field. We arrived around 7, having picked up some girls (labeled for your convenience) and donuts on our way over.

Though it took quite a while to get the schedule sorted out, we started the tourney around 10AM. With 19 complete teams competing, things had to go smoothly. The whole place looked pretty great, with lights and just enough space to fit everyone in comfortably, even if it was a little nippy in the main staging area.

We ran 54 preliminary games for two brackets, pretty much shotgunning the games one after another in order to get through them quickly. I spent the whole first half of the tourney manning the chrono and yelling for different teams to get their butts in gear.

Overall the tournament went pretty smoothly. One team got a little riled up when they won every game but didn’t make finals because they were in a tougher bracket. Unfortunately sometimes that happens, and I’ll be honest, we weren’t expecting so many teams and didn’t really want to have brackets in the first place just in case something like that happened.

Now, the information you really want to know.

The real winner was the Marines Toys for Tots Foundation. With the help of all who attended we raised nearly $1,400 for the charity, just in time for Christmas.

A very sincere THANK YOU to everyone who made this possible. That includes out sponsors, and especially

Paintball Players MD, who also provided free all day air and our reffing staff Team JFK!

I’d also like to thank Go Team Magazine for covering our event for their January issue, when our local newspaper wouldn’t.

The definition of a sport, as defined by the Free Online Dictionary:

1.a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. b. A particular form of this activity.
2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
3. An active pastime; recreation.

As defined by Merriam-Webster Online:

1 a: a source of diversion : recreation b: sexual play c (1): physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2): a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in.

According to the Sports section of our local newspaper, the Evansville Courier and Press, paintball is not a sport, and therefore they couldn’t possibly cover our tournament to benefit underprivileged children.

Well that’s unfortunate, because they missed a great event, which you can read about here.

But what’s more is, it takes a very uneducated person to believe that paintball isn’t a sport today.

Well, what would you like?

The eight million participants within the US obviously isn’t good enough a qualifier, even though that’s larger than Olympic sports such as snowboarding. Obviously the fact that anyone can play no matter how old doesn’t do anything for it. So what else does paintball have to offer?

We have college teams; big colleges like Purdue and University of Connecticut are paying big bucks to allow their kids to play. The NCPA is one of the most successful and consistent formats of today, and is organized largely on a volunteer basis.

Or perhaps you’d like to focus on athleticism. The lack of athletes in paintball is obviously why professional teams practice three to five times per week and typically have medical staff and athletic trainers at every large event. It’s why paintball has been rated as a medium workout, and highly recommended for the work to rest ratio in a typical day’s paintballing excursion.

Then of course there are the two professional leagues within the USA, the PSP and NPPL, both of which drive millions of dollars every year through the paintball world. Of course, then you have the PALS, Millennium, and every other world-wide series that you can think of.

Specs? So far all we have is a rough outline, but here’s what I know.

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Good evening, I’m Dana Granholm, reporting from PBJ Headquarters in Evansville, Indiana. Here are tonight’s top stories…

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First off, I blog for Xtreme Paintball, in case you didn’t know. That’s where I get a lot of my information and tips, so it’s worth checking that blog out as well as this one. I’ve always got a link in my blogroll, so it’s good to check it out. I update that blog three times a week, so typically a little less than this one.

The main thing I wanted to show you lot is the brand new web design that’s swept the site. It looks much better than the old design and I’ve got to hand it to my man Stephen for that, he’s the Webmaster and Minister of Propaganda for Xtreme Paintball. He also gave me my job there. I make millions. It’s great.

Anyway!

First off, the NXe JRNY preview, which I commented on earlier tonight on this blog, was posted first by Stephen Estep on the blog over yonder, ensuring that there wouldn’t be any squabbles between exclusive writing for 451 Press / Xtreme. Boring stuff, I know, but one of them might threaten to cut my pay into the hundreds of thousands and that would just be tragic.

Stuff actually written by me includes this review of the latest RealPlayer which I do tie to you as a paintballer. It’s really detailed so if you’re debating dropping the $30 or whatever the ridiculous price is on the player then you’d better read that. Heck, if your a fanboy of one of the other players, you might want to check it out anyway, just to gloat.

The biggest thing that I’ve got up on Xtreme is the Proto SLG preview that I will not be doing on Paintball Journal.

Sorry for my recent inactivity. It’s National Novel Writing Month and somehow I’m still 6,000 words behind. NaNoWriMo and school have teamed up to pound me into oblivion, thus leaving my blogging in second place to the rest of my survival.

Today’s topic is winter paintball, one of the coolest styles of paintball. No pun intended, but if you get it, you can keep it.

There are several things to take into consideration when playing paintball during the freezing months, not the least of which is the fact that some fields just straight up close down during the winter. However, that shouldn’t deter you from putting together a day of play with some friends in some woods or nearby forest. Just be sure to get permission from whoever owns the property.

You’ll have much less of a problem using a Compressed Air tank rather than a CO2 tank in cold weather, as air is much less adversely affected by the cold temperatures. However, high tech only goes so far, and often it’s wiser to use a tank like a Tippmann to play in the cold than a high-end gun with parts that may be permanently damaged by the temperature. A reliable gun makes a huge difference in winter time paintball.

Layers are a must, but should also reflect your surroundings. Remember that pure white is rarely a good choice, even after a heavy snowfall. You should break your colors up in a way similar to that of branches and trees contrasting with snow drifts.

Possibly one of the easiest things to forget are your paintballs. If the temperature is approaching freezing, then your paintballs will become extremely brittle and susceptible to breaking as they drop into your chamber. You should try to keep paintballs inside or at least out of the cold as much as possible.

PSP World Cup is over. We have one more national event to look forward to, and then that’s it for the year. I’m not gonna lie, after World Cup, NPPL’s Commander’s Cup just seems anti-climactic. More on Commander’s Cup later, though.

The aftershocks of World Cup are still being sorted out. Miguel Cruz has some of the best photography of the event available online, so take a look!

Prices haven’t dropped as significantly for New In Box items as anyone hoped they might, but used prices are down to record lows, with guns a mere two years old now available for downright painful prices. If you’re going to buy, this winter is the time for it! With fewer events and less time to play, and in anticipation of Christmas, you might want to start thinking about that gun you’ve been drooling over for the past year.

Okay, so World Cup has passed and we are over that. Now, to the future!

NPPL Commander’s Cup promises to be the best NPPL event of the year, probably even rivaling World Cup in its awesomeness. It will take place in San Diego, from November 30th until December 2nd. Registration closes Friday the 16th, so get your information in! An interesting twist to this year’s event is the San Diego State University football game that will take place inside Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday, the 1st. The NPPL seems quite happy to be working with SDSU to cross-promote in what will hopefully be a powerful draw for both crowds.

As for your future, take the winter off! Paintball is an easy sport to get burned out from, and taking a winter off can leave you totally refreshed for the coming Spring. I know it seems like a weird strategy, but even professional players need some time to themselves. At least tone it down to easy practices and relaxed rec games.

PSP World Cup 2007 ended Sunday. It’s a great way to end the PSP season, and there is plenty to be said to wrap things up.

First of all, congrats to all the teams that placed this year. Here’s to showing them a little love…
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