Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009 Leg 3

After 2 days of field set up in West Coast Park, the Singapore Paintball Novice Series went smoothly with no major hiccups. Congratulations and thank you to the people who are behind this tournament, staff of the Red Dynasty Paintball team, the "Ironmen" (people who laid the field), the referees, the volunteers, the photographers, the sponsors and the players of course...

One of the staff told me that one player asked him: "The field seems to be dry, just wondering if you guys will be watering the field before the start of the game?" In my mind, I was thinking "Nah... we wouldnt be doing that". In fact, I was eager to find out who this person was... so I decided to note this down and reminded myself to write it in the blog. That's Singapore paintball...

Well, the good thing is... someone up there heard his request and came the morning shower just before the 8 am mark and immediately, we all knew paintball was going to be fun that day. 12 participating teams for the last SPNS leg in 2009, a reasonable number indeed considering that there were a handful of new players and some of the "older players" (I used older because there are no divisional games in Singapore) who came back from retirement. All games were evenly fought and there were no simple walkovers. In fact, we have seen the most number of draw games in this leg of the tournament in the entire SPNS history, it could have been anybody's game.

Credits to Team X Factor who played with only 4 players throughout the day. It was certainly tough to be outnumbered but the desire to win was evident. The team defended well and made a few good kills... We had Red Bull girls this round... and yeah, most male participants seemed a little happier during the tech breaks, must be the sugar acting up on them. On the sidelines, Mr. J (Junaidi, PALS Ultimate Referee) told me that some players are playing very well and looked very seasoned... that's only a good sign for Singapore paintball.

4 semi final teams from SPNS Leg 2 came out tops again, Dark Militia, Five-O, Red West and Contract Killers... talk about consistency. Again, it was anyone's game. Dark Militia who only started playing in SPNS this year went home with the Champion's title for Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009 Leg 3. Having came so close on 2 occasions, Grant (Houdini) sealed the win with an overhead shot over the centre 50s bunker.

Top Gun was awarded to Sharkil from Contract Killers though we would usually prefer a new face. So you know what I mean... Series title went to Team Red West for 2009. Elle concluded the event with a piece of good news for Singapore paintball, it was announced that the center barrier, a requirement in paintball field operation has been removed by the Singapore Police Force. Abolishing a requirement that was set out 10 years ago and convincing the authorities that paintball can be played safely in Singapore. We look forward to a more exciting 2010... spread the love and as Kiko always say: "Keep the fire burning..."

Paintball is fun - Just enjoy the game

Why do people participate in sport?

Some exercise to gain fitness, to make friends, to compete, and the list goes on... But most importantly, I think one of factors in which people play sports is to have fun. I was once told by a friend that I have taken away the fun from his passion for the sport when I emphasized too much on winning and being too competitive. He no longer feels fun playing the sport.

I thought this is pretty interesting because when everyone started playing a sport, it is always out of curiousity for the game and playing it for fun. When one decided to take the sport on a more serious note, the reasons of their participation changes to... perhaps its for fitness or perhaps its for the competitive edge. Some went on the compete at a higher level with regular trainings using the best gears. They formed an identity for themselves. They become more involved as an individual who is passionate about the game. They become ambassador for the sport and spread the love to everyone they know. At this point, there will be some who will drop out for various reasons, usually time commitment, mostly family reasons and a handful of them due to financial reasons. Not that they dont love the game anymore, its just that their priority changed. Taking time off from the game may not be a bad thing as they can spend some time for other things in life.

After playing for a while and a strong passion for the game, comes the "businessmen" model. Who are these "businessmen"? People who feel that they can do more for the sport after playing and experienced competitive games . These are the people with ideas on how the game can be improved and envision changes in the game. They begin looking for money opportunities in the game. I am pretty sure these "businessmen" still enjoy the game. Some went on to become coaches, some went on to do retail, some did publications...they become "businessmen".

Seems like everyone will end up becoming a "businessmen". When the individual becomes a "businessmen", he will have to juggle between his love for the sport and his means to make ends meet. Yes, it might not always be the best option but I am sure this "businessmen" is trying his best. For anyone wanting to go down this route, all the best to you. Its a matter of time that someone like you will pick up the game with the reason of having fun and eventually becomes a "businessmen".

"Paintball is a sport but it is also a business"

Surprise visit to Red Dynasty by Exkay - Division 1 Team X-Fox

Since establishment, we have seen many regional big names in Red Dynasty giving paintballing tips: Dean Apcar, Matthew Nekvapil, Daniel "Junior" Goh and our very own Francis Lucena Kiko. Today, we bring you ExKay...



A deadly Kisser indeed... not off the field but on the field. ExKay, whom he is commonly known in the Malaysia paintball community was in Red Dynasty the other day... yeah... the other day simply because the trip was so secretive that we were unprepared for him. A great day to come by on 6 June 2009 (an important day to Red Dynasty), ExKay was greeted with an unusual quiet weekend day in RD. Luckily, there was an ad-hoc impromptu paintball clinic and one lucky soul managed to get away with tons of knowledge playing the snake.



ExKay who used to play for Xposure, Xtioneers and now a member of the MPOC Division 1 leading champion (after 3 legs) X-Fox, you cannot go wrong with the things you tell you to do in the snake. While his visit to Red Dynasty was short, he still managed to impart his unorthrodox ways of playing the snake to Fadly (our newbie in paintball). "A good paintballer needs to shoot with both hands" was his quote of the day when he showed Fadly how lightning fast his hands were when switching the marker from left to right.



Yes, Red Dynasty has not seen the last of ExKay for he will be coming by to Singapore again in early July. And a prelude of his next paintball clinic will focus on the snake side (yes, both the snake and his back player). So if you are keen to improve your style of playing the snake, fostering the communication with your back player, or ways to interact with your snake player while supressing fire. This is a chance not to be missed!!!



On behalf of Red Dynasty, we would like to thank ExKay for his time and introducing to us his "weird" but powerful way of playing in the snake.

SPNS 2009 Leg 1

Once again, we have a new Champion for SPNS - Red West, a team comprising of 2 American boys (Zach and Ryan) and 2 local boys (Gerald and Vincent). Zach and Ryan are not new to paintball, having played some rec ball back in their hometown and playing for Red Sevens in some MPOC legs, these boys have a pretty good understanding of the regional standards of play. Emerging from the pot is Vincent, a total newbie to paintball. He was scouted for his speed and size but when it come to strategies, tactics and knowledge to the game, this pettite man is simply lost. Kudos to him for having to undertake such steep learning curve. Gerald whom many touted as the next "BIG" thing in local paintball played for Red West too. Gerald also won the Top Gun competition (1 on 1) during the halftime show.

Contract Killers bagged the 2nd position. These boys have come a long way since playing in their first SPNS tournament. Aaron who is a new addition to the team surely adds up to the offensive power to the killers. Led by Benguin (captain of the team), the killers made their way to the semi finals with 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. The afternoon sun indeed has an effect on their impressive start when they were clinching all 5 games before lunch break. Contract Killers beat Dark Militia to clinch the final spot.





Dark Militia under the leadership of Grant (playing with Wargh! Nuts in this leg), did an almost impossible task. What planned to be a fun session for the "new kids on the block", these men came out with an astonishing results to win the 3rd position. The last time this happened was in SPNS 08 Leg 3 where a group of mid-life gentlemen formed a team and called themselves the "Midlife Crusaders". But what was entirely different about the 2 teams was that the former was only formed less than 3 weeks ago and had less than 4 official trainings. So really...in paintball, anything can happen.


Wargh! Nuts who has a 100% record showing in the SPNS since its intervention did a 4th position. Lady luck was not their side as they were forced to play a 1 on 1 game with Red West in the Semi Finals to determine which team will go through to the Finals after coming back to win Red West in the 2nd game of the Semi Finals.

The rest of the other teams also displayed their best during the tournament just that luck is sometimes anybody's game.

In my opinion, I feel that the standard of play in local paintball has improved since we first started. Teams are starting to have their own identity (on and off field), within the teams, they are slowly forming with that bit of luck and training, they will soon be performing. But indeed, we are proud to say that the level of play in the SPNS has indeed improved. With this, I am also urging our local boys (girls included too) to take part and compete in the regional tournament, only with this are you able to relate your playing experience with others who are also keen to take up paintball as a regular sport. I have once mentioned that our local boys will perform in the lower division (3rd or 4th) of regional tournaments given the fundamental training that they have acquired in Singapore and I do stand by this statement again after seeing how the SPNS has developed.




Of course, in any tournament or competition, there are winners and there are losers. It is almost similar to working life, some are successful and are struggling to make ends meet, but its how well we take winning and losing. As a sportsman (not referring to myself, so no flaming), winning and losing is part and parcel of something bigger and greater. You need to have tasted losing to appreciate the finest of winning, so its a cycle.

In this leg of the tournament, we have gone back to when we first started, getting our own local refs to do the job. I must say, its a job that is done fairly good, surely not the best refeering that I have seen but definitely good enough. There are good calls and there are bad calls, so its how we understand from the different perspectives. Kudos to our local referees for your time and effort. Its a thankless job some might say... you are not paid for your effort and you get some rather "unfair" comments about job but let's not forget that in all the paintball rules (even up to international ruling), the regulations are always in favour of the ruling body, did anyone noticed that? Do you know if you are hit on the harness and you dont feel it the hit and if the refs saw you playing... thats a 1 for 1 call? Yes, you can explain that you dont feel it... you dont know that you are hit, but its the rules. Yes, I do agree that there are some strict calls during the game but would anyone be rather playing under lenient ruling? That's where you get even more disputes.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone that is involved in the planning and participation of the tournament. Its not a one day effort, the planning, the sourcing, the forming, the training...

Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009 Leg 1

There you go...participating teams of SPNS Leg 1:

If all goes well, we will have the participation of 8 teams in the 1st Leg of SPNS 2009, namely:
PSG Warfreakz, Death Mavericks, Contract Killers, Wargh!Nuts, EVIL Avengers, Dark Militia, Red Fraction and Kamikaze.

In this leg, we welcomed back Death Mavericks who was out of action for SPNS 2008 Leg 3. A team made up of mainly students age ranging from 16 - 21 years old, they will definitely give the oldies some tough fight in the field. Never look down on them as they can all snapshoot very well. If there is an award for the most discplined team in Singapore, it will be them. Every Saturday morning...you can always see them at the field, shooting, running, breaking out, everything!!!

PSG Warfreakz was last year's series champion. This year, they are back again with an almost new set up. While some of the members sitting out for Leg 1, their trademark of being fast and furious will surely remain as the talk of the town. Papaya dance again? We'll see...

EVIL Avengers, a newly formed team is no stranger to the SPNS, its members were formerly from the Redlords, Red Shadows, Hot Fuzz and Team ExsequorX, this mixed team is indeed THE team to watch out for.

Wargh!Nuts is joined by Houdini RIP from Team Damnation. His experience from the recent World Cup Asia and MPOC will definitely give the Wargh! team a hard boost!

Dark Militia is a newly formed team but rest assured that they are not here to make up numbers. While they maybe new, being the underdog always have the upperhand when garnering support from everyone. A trump card to turn the tides...

Kamikaze pick up a few new players this season. Raring to showcase their skills and participating SPNS for the first time are Delusion, Darren and Chikuawho but really, they are not that new afterall.

Red Fraction under the leadership of Fadzzi will be here to proof that they are no pushover. With a slow start into the SPNS season last year, the Red Fraction will be proving a point that they too can make it to the bigger stage. A fully bonded team with a full turn out this time, anything less than a top 4 position is indeed questioning...

Contract Killers has a new member, Wolfcry...filled with the desire to do well in paintball, these guys are fundamentally sound and will put up a good fight into the new season.

So that's the round up of the new season. Paintball is round and it can be anybody's game...

Paintball clinic by Matthew Nekvapil at Red Dynasty

When Dean Apcar from UK Medway Halloween was in town last October, he introduced to us how a dorito player should behaved while playing the dorito bunker. Those who were at Red Dynasty definitely went home learning a trick or two. Dean's team was sitting on the Millenium Series 4th position in the Division 3 M5, so surely he knows what he is talking about.

This time, we managed to invite Matthew Nekvapil from Malaysia. Matthew started playing paintball in 2000 and has since represented McEffect, El Bandito and the Xtioneers. He is currently playing for Team Demonz who is also the current MPOC Division 1 Champion. Matthew is also part of the Asia contingent which represented Asia in the InterContinental Cup in Toulouse, France.

This 3 hour paintball clinic was attended by more than 20 participants from all playing levels. Areas that were covered includes shooting posture, sliding (yes...how can we missed out on the superman slide), shooting while running, etc. Surely, there was a lot to learn...information overloading some said. And to put all the techniques into good practices, participants were treated with some skirmish games. Surely can't ask for more for a free clinic... and to top off the good deal, some if not all participants were treated with complimentary paintballs!!!

Where do you find such good deals? One sentence to sum up his first meeting with the local community, Matthew said: "Lots of potential...."