My paintball story

Shared this too many times and thought I pen it down so that people who chance upon this blog can also see the light of this game we love. I have been playing competitive paintball since 2006. In a few more days, I will be going into my 6 years of competitive paintball. Similarly, one thing that is always doing the catching up is my age... I will be 34 years old in a few days. I started the game in what I considered as a out-dated age for any athlete, at the age of 28 years old, you will roughly have an idea if you are going to treat sport as just a recreational hobby... and this was what I thought until I found out about competitive paintball. I have been playing sports my entire life... I did a little bit of everything but seriously a master of none. I had my first taste of volleyball at the age of 10 and knew that volleyball was not my cup of tea. I ran in National events when I was in primary school and thought that running was all that I knew. In secondary school, I was crazy about basketball and played a lot until I saw my results at the final exam. Then I took up running again... but this time, I did a longer distance. Although I am an asthmatic, I considered myself to be a pretty good long distance runner having been one of the very few to cross the finishing line early when I was an officer trainee in the army. Short and long burst of 5km, 10km, 15km, 21km was a daily affair. Running stopped after I started working and I returned to my first love, basketball. I was working in a tertiary institution back then and sports was easily available. I started playing recreational soccer and did a little bit of running here and there just to keep myself fit for the annual IPPT. And of course, being a social runner and with the growing popularity of endurance events in Singapore, I tried my hands on the Osim Triathlon. Well... just say that I finished the event with many unforgettable memories. My love of sports persuaded me to find out more about this wonderful social invention and soon enough I was going back to school again and took up a part time Sports and Exercise diploma in Singapore to further my interest. I graduated in a pretty well known university in Australia with an Electrical Engineering honours degree. When I was studying in Australia, I was playing a lot of weekend soccer and was very impressed with the sporting culture downunder. Sport is not just an individual affair, it is a family affair. People will come and support friends and family members who are playing sports. When I came back to Singapore, I wasn't ready to accept the fact that most of the buddies that I used to play sports with are now setting different life priorities and commitment which leaves them with no time for sports... I suddenly had no one to run with, no one to play basketball with, no one to talk about sports except to watch them on TV, usually with a bag of chips. And I seriously thought that things are going to be so dull and all my aspirations of being a good sports fan had to die a horrible death. But my life soon change after I found out about competitive paintball, speedball.

It happened at the end of 2006 when I was on a trip to Malaysia to find out about the Paintball World Cup Asia. Very soon enough, I was already playing this sport. But surely of course, no one else in Singapore was playing competitive paintball back then and so I had to recruit people of the same interest and it didn't help that there wasn't many videos on the internet for us to relate the sports to anyone who might be interested. Every weekend, I will have to travel 640km back and forth to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to learn more about this competitive sport. Trust me it wasn't easy travelling this distance every weekend for a period of more than 1 year. I have to miss precious time with my family and was constantly on the road. But most importantly, I found a new sport which took me to a new level that I never knew existed. I was like a crazy man thinking about paintball almost every single minute of my life. I would look into the mirror, pretending that someone was shooting at from the other end and dodging my way out of the shot. I would do nothing at times but to "run my fingers" like I was going to pull the trigger at the fastest speed that I can ever attain. I was looking out for information about the game and how to perfect my posture and movement. I was constantly searching videos and spent hours watching, talking and thinking about paintball. It changed my life again but more importantly, I found the real essence of playing sports again.

6 years down the road, I am now still an avid paintball player with a Division 2 Champion title under my belt. I have coached countless number of paintball players who are now far better and more skillful than me. I have affected everyone who crossed my path and was as crazy as myself 6 years ago. There are still a lot to be done for the sport in Singapore. While we now have a large community of players and the right development plans for paintball in Singapore, we are still very far away from achieving flexibility to the restriction that will give many 2nd life to many "athletes" like myself. I believe every paintball player have their own story to tell and I wish that by writing this paragraph, I am able to stimulate the passion within each and everyone of you to write something about paintball. Something about how you first started playing this game about how you met the many players and friends that you never knew existed but will always carry a thought about them when you don't see them playing paintball anymore. Paintball is not just about passion for sports, paintballers live their life thinking about their fellow comrades all the time.

How much does a paintball marker (gun) cost in Singapore?

Thought that this might be an interesting awareness entry so that everyone is aware about the cost of a paintball marker (gun) in Singapore. I have heard this so many many times and thought that it might be good to clear the air so that everybody is on the same page. From hereon, I am going to use the word "gun" instead of "paintball marker" so that it will be easier for you to relate to this topic though in the world of paintball, the word "marker" is often used for the promotion of the game to mummies and daddies. We wouldn't want to see a kid relating his paintball experiences with his family using words such as "guns", "kills", "dead", "bullets". While some might disagree with the use of these industry naming convention, we are pretty clear about our direction for paintball which is to make it more welcoming for everyone to play. Paintball is after all one of the safest activity in the world!

But isn't it illegal to possess a paintball gun in Singapore? Yes, you can't own a personal paintball gun in Singapore. I hope this does not kill your interest to continue reading this article as I am about to share with you what if it is entirely legal to possess your own personal marker in Singapore? Not that it is already legal (though we were very very close...) but WHAT IF....

Before doing that, let us take a step back to understand that if this regulation does change, it doesn't mean that you can own the world. It only means that you can individually possess a personal paintball gun in the eyes of our law enforcers. So what does this really mean for you? Firstly, congratulations, the paintball gun is now lawfully yours. So what's the catch now? Simple... you are now entirely responsible for your paintball gun, meaning if it is stolen, damaged or lost, you are the main man who is now responsible for its safekeeping, repairs and whereabouts. Spiderman says "With great powers come great responsibilities". Surely, there will be terms and conditions that you will have to follow since you are now the licencee of your own personal paintball gun. Let me remind you again that a paintball gun is considered as a firearm in Singapore so quit asking if you are able to take your paintball gun home and keep it at there. I am sorry but it doesn't work that way. But surely, this might be a redundant condition in years to come but we'll never know what lies in our future.

This exact question was asked: "I want to own a Dye NT, let me know what you can do for me? I have budgeted $800.00 for it". No offence to this question, it is definitely legit. So what must you know about owning a paintball gun in Singapore, IF it really happens for us. I am also going to draw a comparison to our daily activities so that it will be easy for everyone to comprehend.

1) Membership. To possess a paintball gun in Singapore, you will need to be a registered member of the paintball field. There is a annual membership fee. Taking Red Dynasty Paintball Park (www.weplaypaintball.com) for example, this paintball field has an existing incentive membership program for regular players which cost $150.00 per year and $95.00 for subsequent renewal. Being an incentive program, regular players pay for discounted game packages at the paintball field. The common question: "Cannot you not be a member but purchase a paintball gun in Singapore?" The answer is, not possible. This is a directive.

Comparison = You can only borrow books from the library if you are a member of the library.

2) Cost of a paintball gun. Simple, just google it. Pick up a calculator and multiply by a conversion rate. Add another couple of cents to round up a more realistic figure. For example, if the conversion rate is USD1=SIN1.29 (based on XE.com, 26 Dec 2011), add another couple of cents to these figures in relation to bank charges, credit card conversions, etc. A reasonable figure in will be USD1 = SIN1.35.

Comparison = Petrol prices that you pay for at the petrol station is surely different from the market value at the stock exchange.

3) Shipping charges. Unlike conventional postage charges. A paintball gun is a firearm as such it cannot be posted like a conventional mail. Charges include shipping, handling, registered mail and custom clearance. A good estimate for one unit of paintball gun is about $450.00. Again, this is just an estimate and might be cheaper or more expensive depending on your shipping agent and the quantity of guns shipped.

Comparison = Imagine yourself in the shipping business and you are shipping a fleet of cars into Singapore. Surely, you cannot do it through parcel post. Unforeseen charges such as GST, handling fee, delivery fee, etc do apply.

4) Licence fee. Unlike other countries, you will need to possess a licence for your gun and yes, you will need to pay for this licence. The cost of this licence is $220.00 for 2 years. Who do you pay this amount to? The governing agency of course, in this case, the Singapore Police Force. Consider it with 730 days (2 years), you are effectively investing $0.30 a day.

Comparison = In Singapore, you need a licence to do anything and everything.

5) Storage fee. Surely you are unable to keep a paintball gun at home so you will NOT be able to bring it home as such you will have to store it at a paintball field. A reasonable fee will be $150.00 a year which works out to be about $0.40 a day. Slightly more expensive than a packet of tissue.

Comparison = Just consider this as parking your car at a shopping mall. A space is allocated for your car and thus it is only reasonable that you are charge a fee for using the space.

So if you are still reading this article... let's do an example for a Dye NT11.

A Dye NT11 with a free Rotor cost USD1350.00 on the internet.

Membership = $150.00 (to the paintball field)

Cost of the marker = USD1350.00 x 1.35 = SIN1822.50 (to whom you buy the gun from)

Shipping charges = $450.00 (to the forwarding agent)

Storage charges = $150.00 (to the paintball field)

Licence fee = $220.00 (to the Singapore Police Force)

Total investment = $2792.50.

And say if you use this gun for a span of 2 years (which is a normal lifespan of a paintball gun), you will be paying about $3.87 a day. Yeah, we made assumptions that you have your own paintball tank.

Will you be ready when it is time to buy your own personal paintball gun?

Time of the year again... Paintball in Singapore

Let's take a look back for 2011 and make a quick assessment of the things that have happened for Singapore paintball. But before we go into that, I have attached an entry of last year's version so that we can make a quick comparison for 2010 and 2011, http://singaporepaintball.blogspot.com/2010/12/so-whats-next-for-singapore-paintball.html

I was hoping for 20 participating teams for WCA 2011 but we had 12 Singapore teams. Guess we didn't make the cut for 2011. One possible reason could be due to the expenses of travel since the WCA is not held within mainland Malaysia. If the dates are already locked in the calendar in the beginning of the year, there shouldn't be any doubt for non-attendance in Asia'a biggest paintball event. But hey, we can only improve from here and I don't speak on behalf of everyone.

So...what have we achieved in 2011? The Singapore Paintball Series was held over 2 legs in April and October. We managed to invite a government official to grace the tournament which is a first in Singapore. In addition, for the first time in Singapore history, we have a total of 38 participating paintball teams and among them are 2 overseas Division 1 paintball team from Malaysia. On the contrary, we had to cancel the Inter Tertiary Paintball Championship (ITPC), a paintball competition meant for tertiary institution at the beginning of the year and the SPS Friendship Cup which was organized to commemorate the good friendship within the paintball community. Both events were cancelled due to poor response which I felt was a waste considering the fact that paintball tournament is not a frequent come by in Singapore.

Year 2011 saw many local teams winning overseas honours for the local community and making their mark in overseas tournaments. As the saying goes: "Winning is a habit". To continue this winning trend, we must not forget about the hard work that has been put in. Winning a tournament is easy, defending the win and keeping it consistent is the harder part. Teams must continue to improve and train to better themselves if they want to continue the winning ways.

Unfortunately, the local community did not receive confidence from governing authorities in the possession individual of paintball marker; however, we remain highly positive that this will change in 2012. The question remains are we ready to embrace this change? I hope we are. I really hope so...

SPS Friendship Cup 2011

The inaugural FRIENDSHIP CUP is a NO FRILL paintball tournament which will be held on the last weekend of every calendar year. There is no registration fee to participate in this tournament but there is a lot to play for and that is friendship. The FRIENDSHIP CUP marks the closure of the Singapore paintball season for the year as we recognize the strong camaraderie within the paintball community and what a better way to celebrate the new year with some adrenaline pumping action!

As this is a no-frill tournament, there will be no prizes but just bragging rights! Being an informal tournament you do not have to play together with your team (you can if you wish to). You can either take this opportunity to try out your any potential recruits or to allow the newly joined players to play with the senior players and not be wary of any positional rankings. The main aim of the Friendship Cup is to allow everyone to come together on the last weekend of the year and have some fun! For teams that are new to the Race2 Format, this is also a good chance to have a go at it and work out your best strategy for the new year! This annual tournament is only limited to the first 8 teams which register with us. If you are interested to have some fun and "mark" the new year with a bang! Why wait?

Information for Friendship Cup

Date: 31 December 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 9.00 am - 2.00 pm
Venue: Red Dynasty Paintball Park

Game Format

Format: Race2 Format (Race to 2)
House electronic markers will be provided (ETEK3 AM and/or Proto PMR) for Friendship Cup
12 balls semi automatic
Team roaster of up to 8 players
4 Race-to-2 games for each team if we have a total of 8 participating teams.

Game format will be as such (based on 8 participating teams), randomly drawn:

Round 1
Group 1 - A, B, C, D (Round Robin)
Group 2 - E, F, G, H (Round Robin)

Round 2
Based on ranking after Round 1 where if your team is ranked 2nd in your group after Round 1, you will be playing against the 2nd rank team from the other group.

Registration Fee - Not Applicable
Players ID Tag Fee - Not Applicable

Paintballs will be sold at SPS box rate of $(To be disclosed) for a box of 2000 paintballs.

Please email to info@singaporepaintballseries to register your interest! Closing date will be on 28 December 2011. All registration will be based on first come first served. For more information, please visit www.weplaypaintball.com/forum

Rumours...

With the new year approaching, we went around the field and asked for some insider news of some local paintball teams. We choose to spread these rumours to make the local paintball scene a more exciting one... but since these are only hearsay from the community, take it with a pinch of salt. It is entirely up to you to believe or to call it a fake.

1) Singapore will have a new Division 2 team in 2012. Following Red Sevens and ZOO, this local outfit will add a twist to the 2012 season by participating in the Division 2 category... My gut feel tells me that this is a decent team that has been around the paintball scene for a couple of years. Some call them the boys in blue...

2) Ballistics Origins will be history, the founding members of the team is combining the entire Ballistics roaster into one. We will see a stronger Ballistics Aftermath team in 2012 which this movement. We heard about a week of training camp with the MacDev Ronins from Malaysia... sources tell us that we might see a few Ronins in SPS 2012.

3) The boys that go around breaking hearts are having a few new inclusion into the team. Rumour tells us that they are "catching lost souls" and putting them into a completely new team. More heartbreakers perhaps?

4) Due to player movement and retirement from the game and to adapt to the changes to the regional league, Red Sevens Division 2 and Division 3 team are joining forces for 2012. Division 1 or Division 2? The truth remains unfold. As a ongoing recruitment, we will see a Division 4 team forming from the Red Sevens. Talk about recruiting youngblood... keep a look out for this team in 2012.

5) Blitzkrieg has recently added a few new players to its 2012 roaster. Our molly mole, tells us that we might see Blitzkrieg participating in a Thailand competition in 2012. PALS or TPOC, we cannot confirm as of this release.

More juicy news as we approach 2012!

If you have exciting news about your team and would like to share it with everyone... please find your ways to contact us. Surely, we will make it juicer so that it fits our local taste.

A brand new year! Here we come 2012!

Photo from Tilt and taken during Singapore Paintball Series 2011.

A brand new year with brand new hopes. My personal wishlist for Singapore paintball:

1) De-regulation of paintball marker from the Firearms Act by the Singapore Police Force.

2) De-regulation of paintball marker from the Firearms Act by the Singapore Police Force.

3) De-regulation of paintball marker from the Firearms Act by the Singapore Police Force.

and the list goes on...

Congratulations Team Generation Kill!

Photo is shamelessly ripped from Team Generation Kill's facebook page.

Well done team Singapore! Another podium finish in the final leg of the My-NPL 2011 held in Melaka. Team Generation Kill fought with gusto and clinched the 1st Runner Up position in the Division 4 category. This team which was formed in 2009 is made up of students mainly from Singapore Polytechnic. Playing in the 2nd MY-NPL tournament which the team won a 2nd Runner Up position in the previous leg, this team is ready to make a strong impact for the future of Singapore paintball. With good fundamental training and a good spirited team, we can only see this team going very far in the sport of paintball.

Once again, congratulations and thank you for flying the Singapore flag high!

Where to buy paintball gear in Singapore?

Are you looking for the cheapest paintball in Singapore?

This might be one of the most common search phrase in the search engine. But if you are looking for paintball gear, look no further than Paintballers World located at One Commonwealth Building, 1 Commonwealth Lane, #03-03, Singapore 149544 (5 minutes walk from Commonwealth MRT). Established in 2009, Paintballers World is the only paintball proshop in Singapore that are managed by active paintball enthusiasts. Don't know what to get? Don't worry, all you will need to do is to ask! Visit their website at www.paintballersworld.com

*Paintballers World is having a festive sales from 1st - 31st Dec where more than 150 items are up on sales! Make use of its FREE 7 days local delivery service!

Paintball possession in Singapore remains status quo!

New release from Red Dynasty Paintball Park about individual marker possession. After months of planning and development, it seems that more needs to be done for the Singapore paintball scene. Paintball marker is classified as a firearm under the Firearms Act and possession without a licence can face a penalty of up to $100000 fine or/and jail term. This regulation has been a hindrance to the development of paintball sports in Singapore. However, we remain positive and optimistic that this regulation will be lifted in the near future. Coincidentally, the people behind Vision 2030, a platform created for the everyone in Singapore to voice out about the future of sports in Singapore is taking a closer look into the development of non-traditional sport, http://vision2030.uservoice.com/forums/141295-how-can-we-promote-and-develop-non-traditional-s Make some noise and have you say in this.

World Cup Asia 2011 - A Family Affair!

A family affair indeed. A closely knit family is how I will describe this paintball event that was held in Langkawi, Malaysia on 11 - 13 November 2011. Many describe this paintball event as the biggest paintball event in Asia and I couldn't agree more. A weekend of travel to one of the world's most mesmerizing beach resort to paintball is what every paintball could ever wish for. This paintball event attracted more than 130 paintball teams from over 22 nations with several semi and professional teams from Europe and US plying their trade in the ever popular Inter-Continental Cup (ICC). Ton Ton from France walked away with the silverware edging out Ironmen from USA in the ICC. Both teams displayed perfect athleticism and won the respect of many for their performance. To see a professional team playing in this part of the world was simply amazing. There were a few complains about lightings, air, scheduling, players area, etc but none of these complains outweighs the significant and successful completion of this indoor event. Kudos to the organizers for putting on such a good show. Comparing with world class tournaments in USA to the WCA, I can confidently say that Asia paintballers are simply one of the best spoil child in the entire paintball scene. The good show that was put up by the organizers are second to none in this world. While there might be some hiccups along the way but which human do not err? With the organizers confirming that WCA will be held in the same venue for the next 2 years, I am sure they will do a better job the next round.

I am delighted to see many friends coming together again to play paintball. Paintballers are one of the most welcoming people around. Once you have made acquaintance with them, there is a certain belief that this friendship is going to last forever... I call this the Christmas where family members come together to celebrate the festive season and to see and say hi to one another and after the event... to remain in contact until they see one another again the following year. Singapore team, Rampage Onslaught is one team that took my attention away. As Liverpool fans would like to say: "You'll never walk alone". This team went to the event in full force with uncles, aunties, girlfriends, friends, cousins, everyone!!! A family affair indeed! Another team from Singapore, SKIN went to the event with a lineup of family members and found valiantly in the Division 3 category. When blood is thicker than water, the passion never die. A.C.E.S played with true dedication even though the team had to play with a lineup of only 4 players. While some may call it a last minute preparation but to be out in the field gunning down teams with an outnumbered situation is not everyone's best desired wish. I salute you! 2 other Singapore teams, Blitzkrieg and Outlaws decided to co-op on the final day to participate in the Command and Conquer Series and won a podium finish to add to the families roll of honour.

For those who were unable to make your presence at the WCA, you will get another chance to be part of the family!

A total of 12 Singapore teams participated in this year's event and each came home with a taste of international paintball at the very best!

Photo from www.residentevilchef.com