Red Sevens in MPOC Division 2

Red Sevens from Singapore played in the Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit Division 2 two weekends ago. This is also the first time a Singapore based paintball team has played in the Division 2 category. With the change of game format in MPOC (raceto2), "speedball" has a new meaning to the team. Re-joining the team is Azlan who was absent for a year (playing in My-NPL with Wolverines). We would like to thank all who have supported the team since 2006 without you, there will be no Red Sevens... for the many many years of paintball, cheers! Next up... Reds...

Red Dynasty Rookie Challenge 2010 - HEARTBREAKERS Champion!

Heartbreakers - Champion of Red Dynasty Rookie Challenge

Participants of Red Dynasty Rookie Challenge

6 teams participated in the Red Dynasty Rookie Challenge on 31 Jan 2010 and as the competition name suggest the challenge was held in Red Dynasty Paintball Park. This is the first time that such challenge is organized and surely not the only one in 2010. The objective of the rookie challenge is to establish a competitive platform for the purpose of introducing the game of speedball to new paintball enthusiasts who have recently picked up the sport. With a 4 versus 4 format and a limit of 100 paintballs per load, the game pace of this challenge is rapid and provides the same competition intensity for all paintballers.

The 6 participating teams who took part in this challenge are Phobos and Deimos, Black Aces 2, Raving Lunatics 1, Raving Lunatics 2, Dare Devils and Heartbreakers.

Playing a round robin format during the qualifying rounds, it was Raving Lunatics 1 who topped the table with a impressive run of 4 wins and 1 lost. They were followed by Semi Finalists, Heartbreaks (2), Phobos and Deimos (3) and Black Aces (4). In the Semi Final games where the best of 3 games format is adopted, the Heartbreakers took an early lead by getting 2 wins from Phobos and Deimos. The Black Aces 2 and Raving Lunatics 2 took a game each with the event winner meeting Heartbreakers in a Finals. Eventually, it was Black Aces 2 who adopted a defensive strategy against the Raving Lunatics 2 that went through. The final game was settled through a 1 versus 1 by Ben Junior (from Heartbreakers) and Joshua (from Black Aces) when both teams were tied on a win each and a draw in the earlier game which saw no surviving players on the field.

The Heartbreakers eventually won the challenge with a patience approach during the 1 versus 1 game and saw them clinched the first Red Dynasty Rookie Challenge title. Congratulations Heartbreakers... and as the Head Marshal, Fuzz concluded about the challenge: "Keep the fire burning...", we hope to see all players developed themselves into better players and help to spread the love of paintball in Singapore.

Singapore teams in MY-NPL 2010!

This weekend will be the start of MY-NPL 2010... and yes, there will be a few Singapore based teams playing in this league. Regarded as one of the major paintball league in Malaysia, MY-NPL started in 2006 and has since developed numerous renowned international paintball teams, the like of Nemesis Legion, Delta Rovers and Macdev Ronins are just some of the most fear teams that have come through the ranks in the region. With the participation of Raskals and Demonz Red make this year's Division 1 games more exciting to watch this year as the Championship title can go to any house.

Singapore teams participating in this leg of MY-NPL as follows:

Xtreme Estrogen - Division 4 team with mostly female players... but don't be fooled by them.

Seekers Inc - Division 3 team with committed players who are ready to make an impact in the Malaysia scene after participating in SPNS 2009.

Team Karma - Division 3 team who was recently promoted from MY-NPL Division 4. Team Karma has been a house team with the league since 2008 and has gone away with several podium finishes in 2009.

We wished them all the best for this weekend and may them do Singapore proud too!

TEAM ZOO wins MPOC Div 3!

Photos from Team Damnation

You might have not heard of Team Zoo... but surely Team Damnation does ring a bell. The senior team of Team Damnation has won Leg 1 of Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit (MPOC) Div 3 tittle last weekend. This is by far the highest Divisional win from any Singapore based team, CONGRATS guys.

Team Zoo has come a long way from the original Team Damnation who participated in the Singapore Paintball Novice Series (SPNS) to clinch this champion title. The team trains regularly in Malaysia and has a growing legion of players under its belt. We wish them all the best in remaining legs of the MPOC and fly the Singapore flag high!

Players: Grant aka Houdini (Capt), Marcus (Nabelrock), Allen, Brian, Abdullah, Shakil (Krank).

Missing from the squad is Robert who is down with hernia... DUH!

Semi automatic and ramping...

One guy came up to me the other day and asked "if semi automatic is something like firing a machine gun"... seriously, I don't know what to say but just nod my head. I was thinking maybe he got confused with the word automatic... which in the first place why do people call it semi automatic? and why not just "non-auto"? Its clearer and easier to understand. In paintball, as long as you are shooting a non-electronic marker (forget about those with upgraded board or response trigger etc), you are shooting in semi-automatic mode... or in my world "Non-automatic". You pull the trigger once and one paintball comes shooting out of the barrel. You pull the trigger 5 times, 5 paintballs will be shot out. You pull the trigger 12 times, 12 paintballs will be.... you get what I mean.

On the other hand... automatic in paintball means ramping mode. So what's ramping mode? Think of you holding a AK 47 and you press the trigger and bullets come shooting out of the barrel like there's no tomorrow... that's ramping. There are several different modes when it comes to ramping, PSP, NXL, Millenium... but doesn't differ too much. Recently in Malaysia, the ROF was changed to 13 bps for all divisions using electronic markers, well that's a pretty good move considering that a low ROF allow players to maintain survivability and thus its more paintball skills than just high ROF and plain shooting. More action helps paintball to grow... plain shooting is just plain stupid.

So what has this change got to do with paintball in Singapore? Lots! For a start, players who are intending to play in ramping mode division will need to ensure that their markers are good enough to go on ramping... which translate to higher investment. Gone are the entry level markers. The good thing is... you might save some money after all... get a good marker. Yeah... just buy one damn good marker!

Singapore paintball on TV this Friday, 10 pm

Paintball fans tune in to Channel 5 this Friday, 10 pm for Sports@SG, a show that feature some of the best local sporting action and the latest in the international sporting scene. Hosted by seasoned sports presenter Kui Jien and MediaCrop artiste Jade Seah see them in some paintball action! The 2 local teams which are featured in this show are Red West and Contract Killers! Catch our very own paintball spokesperson, Ian Berzerk talk about paintball developments in Singapore too!

Singapore Polytechnic FTW!!!

Once again, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) has gone where no other polytechnics in Singapore has done before... introducing paintball to their students!!! Last year, SP became the first institution in Singapore to host a paintball exhibition game during their CCA fair and this year, they did the same to introduce this growing sports to their prospective students. The paintball booth was overwhelming and always fill with students wanting to have a go at shooting some paintballs!!! Venting frustration some said... More than just a shooting gallery, the booth was designed like a battle course where students were briefed on the 10 facts of paintball in Singapore, snapshooting, gunning while running and OH MY GOD!!! Changing hands to shoot! And yes, for that run while shooting and that change of hands, they get double the points! Winners went off with a SP t-shirt or a yo yo... yes, yo yo... dont ask me why...

SP FTW? Definitely!!!

2010...

Another year... this makes it 11 years since paintball was first introduced in Singapore. Let's do more for Singapore paintball in 2010. More exposure perhaps? Hoping for these to happen in 2010 but let's see if they do materialized:

1) 2 playing divisions in all Singapore paintball tournaments. Novice (Div 4) and Open division.

2) Average of 20 participating teams in all Singapore paintball tournaments.

3) A Inter-school paintball tournament consisting of at least 6 institutions.

4) At least 10 Singapore based teams playing in World Cup Asia 2010.

5) More collaboration with industry stakeholders.

Singapore Paintball Championship tied up with MPOC!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit - MPOC, in collaboration with Red Dynasty Paintball Park and Paintballer's World in Singapore would like to announce that the following will be implemented for the 2010 and 2011 season.

- Recognition of the Singapore Paintball Championship (SPC) as an associate league in Singapore - Feeder status in 2010.

- Paintballer's World to be MPOC representative office in Singapore - Where all registration and MPOC matters can be attended to. Singapore teams that register via the Red Dynasty Paintball Park and Paintballer's World will get registration discounted by 50% for 2010 and 2011.

With immediate effect:

- SPC Player ID will be recognized in the MPOC and vice versa.

- The Champion of the SPC will receive free entry and waived ID into the World Cup Asia 2010 (Either D3 or D4).

Red Sevens - Developing paintball in Singapore

Red Sevens conducted a "Paintball 101" session last Sunday at Red Dynasty Paintball Park. This session was attended by 18 participants, all of whom have some playing experience but would like to know more about playing paintball competitively. This is also the first time since Red Sevens was established that a workshop was conducted.

Red Sevens was formed in 2006 by a group of paintball enthusiasts who wants to promote and develop the game of competitive paintball in Singapore. Often known as the first competitive team in Singapore, this team has participated up to 30 paintball tournaments in the region and will be playing in the Division 2 category in 2010. Highlight of the team was when they were invited to represent Singapore in the Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament (APIT) 2009 in Kao Hsiung, Taiwan as a part of a demonstration sport in World Games 2009 and the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) Asia Invitational 2008 where professional paintball teams such as Dynasty, Infamous, Bushwackers and XSV were present to promote paintball in the Asia region.

For those who have missed this paintball workshop, do keep a look out for the next one in March/April 2010.

I have a dream...

With reference to Martin Luther King "I have a dream" speech:

I have a dream. I say to you my friends that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment. I still have a dream. It is a dream to make paintball more accessible in Singapore.

I have a dream that one day, Singapore will be able to have our own paintball league of up to 4 playing divisions.

I have a dream that for this to happen, we need to work together to make this happen and playing in different paintball leagues will slow down the process. We are too divided.

I have a dream to see Singapore teams compete in the same league so that we are represented by one voice.

I dream... and we all have dreams, so let's dream about the same thing. We are the ones who can make things happen. Whiners will be whiners forever so let's do it instead of whining and waiting for others to make it happen. I have done my part, have you?

I still dream...

What's for Singapore paintball in 2010?

*Photo is owned by respective owner

An interesting question about 2010 but seriously, no one has a right answer for this. I hoped for a e-marker division in 2009 but it didn't take shape. Looking at how things are progressing... I don't think this is going to happen in 2010, or is it? Let's take a look back at 2009:

1) First mobile paintball arena was set up in Singapore Polytechnic. The first time that paintball was played in a school.

2) First paintball tournament that took placed outside a licenced premise - Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009 Leg 2 was organized in Pasir Ris Park.

3) First Singapore paintball proshop, Paintballers World was set up catering to awareness promotion.

4) First time a 5 vs 5 format was adopted.

5) Removal of centerline condition under Singapore Police Force regulation for licensed operators.

6) 20 unique teams took part in Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009.

7) 7 Singapore based teams took part in Paintball World Cup Asia (WCA) 2009. Contract Killers winning the 2nd position in Division 4.

8) First Singapore based referee to officiate in WCA 2009 and certification by Asia Refs.

9) Paintball workshops by Daniel "Junior" (XFox), Ken Tsuda (Oakland Blast), Francis Lucena "Kiko" (Real Pinoy), Junaidi (Malaysia Marshals).

10) Podium finishes by Singapore teams in a) MPOC (Div 3) - Red Sevens and Team Damnation b) My-NPL (Div 4) - Red Dynasty Boys and Team Karma.

Well... that's a lot of achievements considering that competitive paintball was only introduced to Singaporeans in the early months of 2008. So... what's left for 2010?

Plenty.

YES! Year End Sales!!!

Red Dynasty Rookie Challenge 2010 - 31 Jan 2010

Mark a date with us. If you are new to paintball and would like to try out competitive paintball, you have to sign up for this event.

Event: Red Dynasty Rookie Challenge 2010
Date: 31 Jan 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 9.00 am - 2.00pm
Venue: Red Dynasty Paintball Park Field 3
Format: 4 vs 4 Hopper Ball (100 paintballs per game), minimum of 5 qualifying games

Registration closes on 27 January 2010, 12 pm

Eligibility: All participants must be 14 years old and above. Strictly rookie players only
Team: Team can register up to 6 players (4 field players + 2 reserves)

Registration forms will be available at Red Dynasty Paintball Park and Paintballers World Proshop

Registration fee: $450.00 per team (paintballs used during the tournament are covered in the registration fee)

Prizes: 1st - $200 cash prize + $200 Paintballers World vouchers + 6 medals
2nd - $100 cash prize + $100 worth of Paintballers World vouchers + 6 medals
3rd - $150 Paintballers World voucher + 6 medals

Teams that are interested can register your interest with us at info@weplaypaintball.com

*Tournament will proceed if there is a minimum of 6 participating teams.

Paintball in SEA Games?

Recently, someone asked me if I have spoken to anyone from the Singapore Sports School about promoting paintball in the school. When faced with this question, I felt amused and helpless. With a few years of working experience in sports development, I have worked with people from the Singapore Sports Council, Singapore Sports School and several sporting associations and I kinda knew where this conversation will be going... nothing...

To find a footing for a new sport in Singapore is one of the toughest thing that can ever happened in this part of the world.

A few years ago when a student first approached my department about starting a Bossaball interest group in the school... 2 thoughts came to my mind: "What is Bossaball?" and "Who plays this game?" Then there were other considerations: 1) How big is the Bossaball community in Singapore? 2) What are the resources that are needed? 3) How much money does this sport need? 4) How can Bossaball contribute to school sports? 5) How "huge" is Bossaball interationally? When we compared Bossball with paintball... I do see a few similarities. No offence to the Bossaball people, I think you guys are doing a good job introducing this sports to Singaporeans. But seriously, how has it been so far? The same is for paintball...

The typical Singaporean will understand that unless we stand a good chance of winning some medals in the world stage, we might not want to "pump in" resources into the development. Surely we understand the reasons behind supporting these core sports (swimming, table tennis, bowling, sailing, athletics (1.2 MILLION!!!))... these are the medal winning sports and yes, we should concentrate on what we do best! But I am also urging the good people of the Singapore Sports Council to embrace other sports... and paintball is one of those.

This year, there are 7 Singapore based teams who participated in the recent World Cup Asia as compared to 2 teams in 2008 and only 1 team in 2007 so surely the numbers are growing... and we are not even counting the number of teams who want to be there but couldn't due to travel expenses. We don't need 1.2 million dollars to kick start paintball in Singapore... and $3000 is definitely too little. Singapore teams have proven time and again that with proper resources, a review of current firearms law and support from relevant parties, we can bring back the medals!

With sports such as dancesports, woodball, ice hockey, contract bridge, bowls, Muay Thai, pickleball and powerboat recognized as a National Sports Association, I am sure paintball as a sport (not recreational) will surely fit the bill and we are talking about a team sport which require players to possess agility, quick decision making skills, teamwork, speed and accuracy. People from different gender and ages (14 years old and above by Singapore Police Force regulations) can participate in paintball. You can pit a 14 years old student to play against a 45 years old man and the results can go either way!!! You can pit a female player against a male player and yes the results can go either way too!!! To the good people who are behind sports development in Singapore, please have an open mind towards the game... and yes, we have helped ourselves since 2007 and its about time...

Okay, will paintball in Singapore be as popular as Malaysia? Most probably not... We do not have available Datuks or Sultans who are ready to support the game just for the reason of community building. Just look across the straits... and the number of tournaments, that's what I call support! But again, Singapore and Malaysia are 2 different countries. Will paintball be in the SEA games? That's possible... when Malaysia host their next SEA games... Big bosses of the paintball industry, if you are reading this, please MAKE IT HAPPEN! Medal contention is indeed promising...

Tournament paintball rules and regulations

A couple of months ago, when a new player wants to know more about paintball rules and safety... they took the Basic Tournament Orientation (BTO) conducted by the Paintball Association (Singapore), PBAS, which comprised of a theory and practical test. Most of them who came for the BTO knew what they were in for and would usually prepare for it. Once a while, there will be a few who came for the BTO without really knowing what they were in for. Part of the objectives of the BTO is to allow new players to know more the game and develop their interest towards competitive paintball.

With the cessation of BTO by PBAS and the removal of the center divider sparkle an interest for people who always wanted to play competitively but do not want to go through the hassle of a BTO (trademark to Singapore...). So where do they go now?

1) Attend paintball clinics

2) Read and understand the rules of the game, http://www.xtionpaintball.com/doc1/PALS-RULEBOOK.pdf. *Take note that different tournament has different game rules e.g. ROF, hand signs, field exit after elimination, etc.

3) Join an existing paintball team

4) Play competitive skirmishes

5) Get someone to coach the team

6) Watch Youtube videos and try to understand the rules and format

7) Participate in a local mini paintball tournament

There you go...

Contract Killers Paintball Clinic @ Red Dynasty Paintball Park

Contract Killers had their first taste of organizing a paintball clinic cum paintball challenge at Red Dynasty Paintball Park today! The turn out was great with more than 20 pre-registered participants and up to 18 players who took part in the mini challenge. Contract Killers who won the 1st Runner Up position of the recent World Cup Asia 2009 has come a long way since their formation in late 2008. They have proven themselves time and again as one of the most well communicated team on the field and has won several accolades in the local scene. Having won the SPNS twice as the 1st Runner Up and a 2nd Runner Up position in 2009, the team will be moving to a bigger stage in 2010, plying their trade in the Asia paintball hub, Malaysia. Resources tell us that they will be playing in the My-NPL as a Division 3 team with a completely new name. Sponsors who are looking for a break into the paintball scene, this might be a team to look out for. On the other note, its good to see another Singapore team breaking into the Malaysia scene.

The mini challenge was won by Thomas Liow's team, who coincidentally is the younger brother of Ivan Rickard Liow whom we have featured a few weeks ago... talking about the same blood. Contract Killers was kind enough to offer their WCA prizes (4 Proto EL Goggles) to the winning team, moving a step ahead in the promotion of paintball in Singapore.

This clinic is part of the Reds Team Support Program offered by Red Dynasty Paintball Park to promote paintball in Singapore.

What good is SPLAT?

SPLAT is an initiative by Paintballers World (Singapore's first paintball pro shop) in collaboration with Red Dynasty Paintball Park to develop and promote competitive paintball in Singapore. Due to restricting firearms law in Singapore, it is illegal for any individual to possess a firearm without a possession permit.This regulation will remain for as long with the authorities until paintball has evolved into a mainstream sports similar to the X Games or the Olympics (well bowling is not an Olympic sports too). Perhaps when paintball becomes part of the Youth Olympics (you lucky bastards wrestling and handball...) that due recognition will be given. We know that with the firearms law, paintball might not be as big as we want to in the next 10 years or perhaps longer.

Instead of whining and waiting for things to happen, we need to effect changes and SPLAT it is... It is the closest where one comes to participating in local or overseas competition using a rental e-marker riding on the establishment and management of a paintball field.

Spending tons of investment in this sport and not utilizing the equipment fully is definitely not the best investment plan one could think of... think of all the time that you can save if you can train with these rentals and get to use the exact rental in competitions after maintaining the marker a week before the event. And they say time is money.

No more cases of missing markers... no more cases of misuse. While some might disagree with me that SPLAT is the best plan but certainly the closest (and I have to emphasize again...) that we can get given the restrictions. With a good take up rate, an e-division in Singapore can possibly take form. Standards of play can improve and the sport can grow and develop. With SPLAT Exclusive, players can purchase a box of paintballs at exclusive rates. Pricing issue is a never ending story... there is no actual definition for cheap and how cheap is cheap? Cross the straits and you can still see players complaining about paint prices and after so many years of development, people are still complaining. Its the same story in Malaysia, its the same story in Taiwan, its the same story in the States, its the same story everywhere. Its a never ending issue... the realistic truth is, paint prices in Singapore can never match our neighbours. Things just cost different in Singapore and in Malaysia.

One of the most common question that I get with SPLAT: "Can I rent a marker out of Singapore for training?" Dude... it's not going to happen and I hope it was that easy... With SPLAT, accountability is highly regarded by the authorities, which is why only tournaments of elite status are regarded as legitimate. Ask the same question again but from a different perspective of a Malaysian player: "Can I bring a marker into Singapore?" The answer is no... in fact I would assume that no Malaysians in their right mind would want to do this since our currency conversion is double of our neighbours.

At the end of the day, its all about choices... while there are people who do not mind spending a little bit more time travelling while exchanging for savings. There are also people who do not mind paying more for less travel. We just have to start somewhere and we call the people who come aboard PIONEERS...

In 2 years time, we will have more than 10 Division 4 teams, 4 Division 3 teams, 2 Division 2 teams and perhaps 1 Division 1 team... all 126 of them keeping markers in Malaysia? Something to ponder about... we just need to start somewhere.

A personal view about SPLAT.

Setting up a paintball field in Singapore

If you exploring the idea of setting up a paintball field in Singapore, you can approach staff of Paintballers World for a cost quotation. We offer local expertise on licensing, field marketing, daily operations, equipment maintenance and paintball field supplies. You can choose from a range of basic recreational field package to competitive field package. Paintballers World has a wide distribution network across the regional countries and will be able cater to any of your paintball needs.

For more information on partnership, new start up or paintball supplies, please email sales@paintballersworld.com

"Paintballers World is Singapore's first paintball proshop and an authorized dealer for most major paintball brands. You should find all the necessary paintball accessories to get you started in the sport of paintball. We cater to individual players, recreational players, tournament teams and field operators. We also carry paintball lifestyle clothings to bring out your paintball personality when you are not playing in the field. Look good on the field and fantabulous off the field!

We are a one-stop paintball store that caters to the growing community and offers paintball consultation and supplies (even an all-in-one field package) to regional paintball startups. Our forte in planning and coordinating paintball events and tournaments in Singapore is highly regarded by our industry partners. We are always on a lookout for partners to promote and to develop this game in Singapore, if you are keen to be a partner or dealer with Paintballer’s World, get in touch with us!"

“Gett’in Poisoned Without Realising” is the tagline for our shop. So, if you are poisoned, you know where to find us.

We are located at Shaw Towers, 100 Beach Road, #02-21, Singapore

SPLAT - The last battle...

SPLAT - A new initiative for Singapore paintball... surely the last battle to develop paintball in Singapore. In 2008, we had MARK but it was short lived. A year of planning and SPLAT it is. Yes, it will be difficult, it will be tough and we need lots of support to get this going but given the restriction in Singapore... this could be a possible route to change paintball in Singapore. To be wise, we need to be stupid, to be old, we need to be young... we just need to start somewhere. Let's make up for the lost time...

E-marker Division in Singapore and overseas tournament? We'll see...