19 March 2012 - Fresh from the oven and into the local paintball scene is a newly formed team known as Paint Demonz, a team which team members have an average height of 1.65m! Well, if you think these guys are kids and teenagers, think twice. Winning the Singapore Paintball Series (SPS) Rookie Challenge 2012 against 3 other local teams such as Still Thinking, Zon3 and Prodigy-SG, this is one team that will definitely catch your attention due to the petite physique. With the absence of height, this team makes it up for their agility and speed by clinching the Champion position. The Rookie Challenge is an annual affair introduced by the SPS committee to provide players who are new to the game of competition paintball to compete at a leveled platform. This competition has a stringent regulation to only allow participants who have not been previously registered in any of the SPS events.
The Rookie Challenge was first introduced by Red Dynasty Paintball Park in 2008 and this responsibility has since fall under the organization of the SPS to provide the competition with a professionally run outfit and to allow new teams to bridge similarities into the main SPS events which will be organized twice a year at national levels. The Rookie Challenge as some players mentioned is the "Mecca" event for Singapore paintball. An event where all if not most beginner players would participate before they proceed to engage in more hardcore paintball. A platform where players learn the tricks and treats of paintball similar to attending paintball classes in school.
The newly formed teams were not left alone as several "veteran" players who were formerly participants of the the Rookie Challenge came to share their experience about field walking and covering of lanes. It was an affair for everyone who like paintball. Prodigy-SG who was placed in the 2nd position had an early start which saw the team demolishing the Paint Demonz in their first game with 3 players alive. The team remained consistence throughout the entire tournament who saw them 3 points short of winning the champion title. Team Still Thinking who was made up by a group of friends was playing for the first time together and committed an early false start as the players were all hyped up by the intensity of the game. They finished the event in the last placing. Team Zon3 which had a slow start with losses came back into the game in the 2nd round which saw them getting 2 draws and winning their last game with a 5-0 finish. This team which was made up by international students came into the tournament as no pushovers as they were readily prepared with protective gears such as knee guards and protective suit which is not allowed in the main SPS events. However, the organizers accepted their request as this event was mainly to induct new players to competition paintball.
As a SPS feeder event, the Rookie Challenge was officiated by the SPS Referees, a refereeing body which was formed under the SPS committee to oversee the development and promotion of paintball refereeing in Singapore. Senior referee, Eugene Lau took on the important role as the Head Referee under the guidance of SPS Referee Manager, Idi. This tournament saw the gathering of 4 batches of referees coming together to accomplish this event. The next SPS Rookie Challenge 2012 is scheduled on 15 July 2012. For more information about the event, please visit the SPS Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SingaporePaintballSeries for more updates!
