Singapore Paintball Series 2012 Post Event Report

“They say if people don’t know about your game, bring your game to them” and that is exactly what the organizers of the Singapore Paintball Series (SPS) did on 6^th and 7^th October 2012 at The Promontory@Marina Bay.

In partnership with Buona Vista Youth Executive Committee (YEC), the SPS was held next to Singapore’s busiest finance hub in the Central Business District. For the first time in Singapore’s history, the sport of paintball was introduced to the city dwellers and our boys and girls stepped up to the test and gave their best shot on the paintball field. Presented as the SHOOTOUT! Sports Carnival, the SPS together with Singapore’s newest futsal centre, Golazo, collaborated in this sport awareness carnival. The aim of the project was to showcase the best of both paintball sport and futsal. Witnessed by Mr. Chan Chun Sing - Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports & Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, players were in high spirits as they competed in this 2-day event. A total of 29 teams participated in the 2^nd series of the SPS and amongst these teams were players from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Thailand and Taiwan.

Red Sevens, which won the Open Division Championship Title in 2011, fielded a roster with an “international flair” for Leg 2 of the SPS with players from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan. Playing for their first time together, the Red Sevens II team scored a clean sheet throughout the tournament without dropping a single point to its opponents. The Open Division Finals against Team Ballistics saw a close shave to their 100% win when Ballistics put up an amazing display of paintball techniques and strategies to counter the Red Sevens II team. Team Ballistics, led by Benny Neo and Hiroyuki Hosokawa, had a strong international flair with support by notable players from Grammaton Clerics (current Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit 2012 Division 2 Overall Champion) and Nicky Lim from Malaysia. With an exciting line-up, Team Ballistics was determined to fight for the Singapore title. Eventually, it was the Red Sevens II team who took the honour and defended their Championship Title making them the first team in Singapore to win a back-to-back Overall Champion Title in 2011 and 2012.

8 teams participated in the Division 3 category and amongst them is Team Kingdom from Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Team Kingdom is a newly formed team and, with most of its players working in Singapore, it was a unified decision to make Team Kingdom the first overseas team to compete in the full tournament of the SPS. While new to the Singapore paintball scene, Team Kingdom was quick to adapt to the cultural differences and made an impact in their debut. Ranked as the 3^rd qualifier after 5 rounds of high intense Race-to-2 Format with local teams, Team Kingdom outplayed The Outlaws II and Team Enraged in the Semi Finals and Finals games respectively making them the first ever overseas team to be crowned the Singapore Paintball Series Division 3 Champion.

In Division 4, 10 teams took on the challenge including newly formed teams such as Decerto, Raging Phoenix, Blitzkrieg Strumtruppen, Red Sevens D4, Heartbreakids and SP Delta. Chaos Killers who had a quiet outing on Day 1 and ranked 4^th from SPS Leg 1 made their way to the Finals against first timer team - Red Sevens D4. Eventually, it was game experience and teamwork which prevailed and led the team to win their first Championship title in Division 4.

“We are delighted to see the great turnout for this event. The Promontory@Marina Bay is a great venue for us to promote and create awareness for the sport of paintball. Throughout the 2-day event, we have many curious passersby who stopped in their tracks and watched the competition. We are proud to have Singapore’s most iconic setting – Marina Bay Sands - as the Singapore Paintball Series backdrop which adds to the beauty of game.” said SPS Tournament Promoter, Ben Seow.

SPS is also supported by several vendors who showed their generosity by providing free samples and complimentary services for participants of the SHOOTOUT! event and they are (in no special order): Force 21 Equipment, Advantage Sports Therapy, Banana Boat, Aquarius Isotonic Drink, THORB, Dye Asia, Bottle Tree Park, PaintballNewsAsia, Red Dynasty Paintball Park, Buona Vista YEC, TILT, URA, Marina Bay Link Mall, Golazo and Ministry of Football, King Ang Images.

Official Website of Singapore Paintball Series: www.singaporepaintballseries.com

Official Facebook Page of Singapore Paintball Series: www.facebook.com/SingaporePaintballSeries

Singapore Paintball Series 2012 Leg 2 Results

Open Division Overall Series Champion 2012

Cherry Credits Red Sevens II

Open Division

1st Cherry Credits Red Sevens II

2nd Ballistics

3rd Cherry Credits Red Sevens I

4th ZOO

Division 3 Overall Series Champion 2012

The Outlaws I

Division 3

1st Team Kingdom (Malaysia)

2nd Team Enraged

3rd The Outlaws I

4th A.C.E.S

Division 4 Overall Series Champion 2012

The Outlaws II

Division 4

1st Chaos Killers

2nd Red Sevens D4

3rd The Outlaws II

4th Blitzkrieg Strumtruppen

Corporate Division

1st Pumperz CSC (Singapore Civil Defence Force)

2nd SG Frontiers (Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore)

3rd Team Sharks (Singapore Aero Engine Services Pte Ltd)

4th United Shooters (United Shooters Paintball)

Best SPS 2012 Leg 2 Referee

Lum Hui

*All photos are taken by TILT

Playing in the PSP!

Ben Seow and Jane Koh will be travelling to the PSP for MAO (Mid Atlantic Open). Having played with Team Tyranny in Division 2 of last year's PSP World Cup, Ben and Jane will be extending their game experience with Team Headhunters in the Division 3. While at the PSP, they will take chance to meet up with Red Sevens teammate, Zachary Hagy who is now part of the Palm Beach Vipers in Division 2. They will also meet up with Ryan Stoll an ex-team mate who played a part in the formation of the Red Sevens. Ben and Jane became the first 2 Singaporeans to have played in the PSP in 2011.

Ben is currently planning to form a team for the PSP World Cup 2012 in October. If you are interested to be part of this team, please drop him an email at info@redsevenspaintball.com. Estimated budget will be USD5K for a week of travel to experience the PSP!

Singapore Paintball Series 2012 Leg 1 - Farrer Park

15 July 2012 (Singapore) – Held in new location, Singapore Paintball Series 2012 Leg 1 concluded the 2 day paintball event with a resounding success as Team ZOO clinched the SPS 2012 Leg 1 Champion title over Red Sevens II in a nail biting Final. With a total of 25 participating teams, the SPS introduced several changes to the 2012 edition with the RaceTo2 Format as the most significant change. For the first time in Singapore paintball history, Open Division and Division 3 games was held in the ever popular RaceTo Format which is accordance to International paintball regulations such as the Paintball Asia League Series (PALS) and the Millennium Series in Europe. New to SPS2 012 is the introduction of the 2012 version of the Millennium Series bunkers which has 3 new bunkers, the Elbow, the Mini-M and the Beam. Led by SPS Referee Azhar and SPS Referee Manager Idi, the SPS Referees took on the role of “Big Brother” to officiate in their first national paintball tournament without the aid of overseas guest referees. “Our SPS Referees understand their roles and responsibilities in the development of paintball in Singapore and stood up to the test. The SPS Referees belongs to an important part of the overall competition growth as we continue to improve their involvement in the series” exclaimed SPS Tournament Promoter, Ben Seow who is also an advisor for the SPS Referees. SPS Referee, Muhd Razak who is commonly known as Zak was selected as the SPS Referee of the tournament when he displayed commitment and precise judgement when officiating. The SPS Referee medal is newly introduced to acknowledge our referee’s competency in paintball refereeing during the event.

 Contract Killers SG took the third spot as they outplayed Red Sevens I in the 3^rd/4^th placing playoff. In Division 3, it was Team Blitzkrieg which took the Champion title against an exhilarating matchup against The Outlaws I which has been on a winning form in 2012. Blitzkrieg which many claim to be one of the most hardworking team in Singapore stormed through the qualification round as the second qualifier behind The Outlaws I. Raving Lunatics claimed the 3^rd position when they outclassed Heartbreakers in the 3^rd/4^th placing playoff. Heartbreakers which was named the Overall Champion for SPS 2011 played in their first Division 3 tournament and showed their class as a worthy opponent.

Division 4 was won by The Outlaws II with Pumperz coming close in the 2^nd position. Natural Born Killers took on Chaos Killers in the 3^rd/4^th placing playoff and emerged the eventual winner. Division 4 saw a total of 8 participating teams with Team SP Paintball, SPainters Revolution and Blitzkrieg Jugend making their debut in the SPS.

“We would like to thank all participating teams, supports, spectators and sponsors who took part in this leg of the tournament. Over our many years of development and promotion, the SPS has been constantly progressing with better infrastructure and expertise. The SPS is definitely a signature paintball event in the Singapore calendar of international standards. Only with the consistent support and right progressive development are we able to make this sport mainstream and popular.” said Jane Koh, Tournament Director of the SPS.

Corporate Division which saw a taste of corporate rivalry and strong company identity has Pumperz CSC walking away with the Champion title. SG Frontiers which was formed by a group of staff members from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority took the 2^nd spot in their first ever SPS experience.  SAESL Sharks and Alpha Avengers took the 3^rd and 4^th placing respectively.

SPS2012 Leg 2 will be held on 6 – 7 October 2012 at the Marina Promontory. Teams which are interested to be part of the SPS can visit the SPS website for more information, www.singaporepaintballseries.com

Inaugural SPS Dialogue Session

22 May 2012 (Singapore) – Organized by the Singapore Paintball Series (SPS), the inaugural SPS Dialogue session saw a total of 26 participants from the paintball fraternity. This dialogue session which was organized as a “by invitation only” event has team representatives coming together to put in place a developmental path for Singapore paintball. Views were shared and topics were debated upon with the primary aim of getting Singapore paintball to be recognized by the local authorizing agencies so as to allow more Singaporeans to be involved with paintball sport in Singapore. “The idea behind this dialogue session is to get everyone together to talk about burning issues that are faced by Singapore paintball teams. Teams that are registered with the SPS are invited to share their comments and suggestions to further improve the current state of paintball sport in Singapore.” said Ben Seow, SPS Tournament Promoter.

This inaugural SPS Dialogue session was attended by representatives from Blitzkrieg, The Outlaws, Ballistics, ZOO, Heartbreakers, Buona Vista YEC, SP Paintball, Contract Killers, ReaPers, Alpha Avengers, Red Sevens and SPS Referees!

Heartbreakers Paintball Team goes a mile to show their love!

Hans


Team Captain, Kenny Leow

Yazid

Clair Laire Faire, Derek

They might be known as the Heartbreakers but these boys sure do know how to show their love! Inspired by Team Captain Kenny Leow, the team decided to go for a day out not at the regular paintball field but to Woodlands Bloodbank... yes, to donate blood. A unique outing I must say. On why the team decided "to give" instead of "to inflict", Kenny exclaimed: "This is a good opportunity for everyone to come together and contribute to the society, this is for a good cause!" And yes, we do agree. Perhaps the Heartbreakers can initiate a blood donation drive for the local paintball community to showcase the warmth and love amongst the local players.

Having won the 2011 Overall Novice Division Champion, the Heartbreakers is one of Singapore's most promising paintball team. The team meets up regularly at sport stadium for core exercises such as long duration exercises with short explosive drills. When asked about promoting to the Open Division, Kelly exclaimed that something is in the works and they will soon be playing in the higher divisions. Preparations are underway to move to the big stage.

We wish them all the best and hope that every team in Singapore can follow this healthy and meaningful trend!

SPS Rookie Challenge 2012 - Champion Paint Demonz

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!

NTUC Eldercare Paintball Challenge at Red Dynasty Paintball Park

13 March 2012 (Singapore) – Paintball may sound like a game for the young generation being typically described with words like adrenaline-rushing, fast-paced and crazy fun. NTUC Eldercare folks proved the stereotype thinking rather wrong on 13 March 2012. 40 young-hearted senior citizens stomped Red Dynasty Paintball Park with a great sense of determination and a tinge of curiosity – being curious on what exactly paintball is and whether they can do what the young people are doing too.

Paintball is a team sports which involves specific skills sets in shooting and athletic ability. It is typically played in teams of 5 persons with a roster of up to 7-10 persons in a standard-sized field. The objective for each team is to eliminate the opponents through shooting paintballs which mark the opponents and capturing the flag to win the game. Competitively, it is a sports that is played in over 40 countries in the world and, recreationally, in over 60 countries. In Singapore, this game can be played at Red Dynasty Paintball Park located in Bottle Tree Park which is famous for its live seafood, fishing activities, corporate venue for major events and kampong-style concept village.

Red Dynasty Paintball Park organized a unique event – NTUC Eldercare Paintball Challenge 2012 – for the members of the centre under NTUC Eldercare which takes care of a group of senior citizens. In collaboration with Bottle Tree Park, this event is a reflection of the strong commitment of both organizations in helping the less fortunate. As an initiative in corporate social responsibility, Red Dynasty Paintball Park hopes to promote the values of voluntarism and proactivity in encouraging active aging among the paintball community.

About 40 senior citizens signed up for NTUC Eldercare Paintball Challenge 2012 and stepped into a paintball park for the first time for all of the participants. The participants were shown around and briefed on the rules of paintball challenge. Once the challenge started, the participants got all excited about the idea of shooting paintballs and displayed eager faces. The participants with the higher scores began sharing tips on how to shoot better while the rest were more interested in cheering their friends on. The top shooter of the NTUC Eldercare Paintball Challenge 2012 was an unsuspecting, kind-looking female Malay elderly above 60 years old, beating the rest of the participants including her male counterparts by a clear margin.

In support of Vision 2030, the adapted paintball program launched by Red Dynasty Paintball Park aims to help more senior citizens to stay connected and engaged through sports, and, most importantly, to stay active. Given the success of the first event with NTUC Eldercare, more events of similar nature targeting the senior citizens may take place at Red Dynasty Paintball Park to build it a choice venue for sports engagement for the senior citizens, working class adults, youth and the less fortunate in the Singapore society. Let’s share the love!


Article by Jane Koh
Red Dynasty Paintball Park
www.weplaypaintball.com

Rumours and news for Singapore paintball

1) A few local paintball teams are getting ready for the Singapore Paintball Series 2012 Leg 1 in June 2012 by securing their paintball markers with Paintballers World. This is a sign that more teams from Singapore will be playing in international paintball events in 2012-2013.

2) Top local paintball team, Red Sevens secures a $5000.00 cash sponsorship through Cherry Credits and will be participating under the banner as Cherry Credits Red Sevens. A completely new team will be featured and will compete as early as March. A few new players will be introduced by April 2013.

3) PBW made an announcement last week featuring a paintball sponsorship program for up to 5 special individuals. Having supported local teams such as The Outlaws, Blitzkrieg, Heartbreakers, A.C.E.S and Red Sevens, this sponsorship program will be awarded on individual basis. Keep a lookout for more news on the facebook page of Paintballers World.

4) At least 9 local paintball teams will be participating in the Johor Paintball Straits Paintball Cup 2012. More information can be found on http://www.facebook.com/groups/sirjohorcup/.

5) Not much news has been heard about the Singapore Paintball Series 2012 Leg 1 as the SPS Committee is looking out for a new venue for the event. If all things goes well, the local community will be introduced a totally new venue with great view of the Singapore skyline.

Paintball has a strong influence on him!

Read about Ahmad Sophian, one of Singapore most prolific paintball player about his life and how paintball has an influence on him. Every paintball player has a story, what's yours? http://www.todayonline.com/Sunday/EDC120226-0000002/Fighting-for-his-dream

Watch "Act of Valor" Movie for FREE!

Red Dynasty Paintball Park in partnership with Golden Village Singapore presents FREE movie tickets and FREE paintball game packages for up to 10 persons! This is one of the best movie deal to date and is open to everyone! Just last week, 10 pairs of movie premiere tickets were given away to fans of Red Dynasty Paintball Park when they took part in a mini facebook contest by naming the launch date of the movie and this week, both parties took a step further by giving away 60 movie tickets to customers of Red Dynasty Paintball Park! This is part of the initiative to award game organizers who took the effort to organize paintball games for their friends! WHAT A DEAL! For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/RedDynastyPaintball

About Red Dynasty Paintball Park

Red Dynasty Paintball Park was established in 2007. It is currently the biggest paintball park in Singapore. With 3 playing fields and a shooting gallery, Red Dynasty Paintball Park caters to the best paintball teambuilding experience for schools, corporate organizations and for friends and families. Located in Bottle Tree Park (Yishun), Red Dynasty Paintball Park is only 10 minutes walk away from Khatib MRT which provides great accessibility to everyone! Participants can take part in other activities such as remote controlled car racing, long kang fishing and prawning and other fun and exciting activities for people of all ages. Red Dynasty Paintball Park is also the most frequent paintball place for competitive paintball players. This is where competitive paintball was introduced and brought into Singapore in 2007. Many paintball teams that you see today have train and practice in Red Dynasty Paintball Park making it the best place to learn the art of playing paintball. There are paintball coaches who will guide you along and teach you the basic fundamentals of playing paintball just like when you first attended school! For more information, please visit www.weplaypaintball.com

Pictures published belong to rightful owner.

Cherry Credits signs Red Sevens paintball team!

This is an historical milestone for Singapore paintball as Red Sevens paintball team becomes the first paintball team in Singapore to secure a corporate cash sponsorship from a top leading Asia micropayment company, Cherry Credits for the year 2012. We jumped on the opportunity to interview Ben Seow who is a founding member of the Red Sevens to find out more about this sponsorship and how this initiative can change paintball sports in Singapore.

1) Ok... go straight to the point, what's the deal with Cherry Credits?

A: Cherry Credits is a leading company in Asia which manages global micropayment solutions on online platform. As a top industry organization, Cherry Credits wanted to initiate its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative and paintball was selected due to its focus on teamwork and strategies which have similarities to the online gaming platform. Red Sevens as one of the top paintball teams in Singapore was chosen to represent its brand.

2) Let us know the specifics... what is in this sponsorship deal?

A: Let's just say that we have got a few paintball events covered for 2012 and the team will be adopting the name of "Cherry Credits Red Sevens" in 2012. But it doesn't mean that we will get to play for free... though we will be getting a new customized jersey in the promotion and marketing of our sponsor's brand.

The winning team from 2011.

3) Red Sevens which was the Overall Series Champion for Division 2 in Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit (MPOC) 2011 did not attend the first leg of MPOC 2012 in January... what actually happened?

A: After winning both overall championship titles in the Singapore Paintball Series(SPS) and MPOC Division 2 in 2011, the team is currently undergoing a complete restructure. In 2011, the team participated in all legs of MPOC, SPS and Paintball Asia League Series (PALS) and cost of participation and time of travel has taken a toll on everyone. As soon as the season was over, everyone went back to their daily routine. Work, studies, money and family were some of the main reasons why players left but I guess these are the norms in every team. In paintball, it is common for players to come and go, we'll just have to recruit more players into the team.

4) So...when will we be seeing the Red Sevens on the field again?

A: With the revamp, we will have a couple of new faces this year. The team was build in the direction where each and every player in the team has a good foundation in the fundamental basics of paintball. Our new players whom we have been working with in the past 1 - 2 months are acquiring these skill sets before they are picked for games. These progressions will be carefully monitored and critiqued upon. We hope to instill the newer players with more game experience before sending them to the real stage. We will most probably formed a mix team in the Division 3 ranks to initiate these new players and make an assessment of how far we will go from there. Following on, we will proceed to Division 2 which is where the team should be playing.

Zac Schick was newly recruited to Red Sevens and will be representing the team in 2012.

5) We were under the impression that Red Sevens was going Division 1 in 2012.

A: Yes, the MPOC organizers announce about our possible promotion to Division 1 in 2012. In fact, this request was put forth in 2010 for the 2011 season but we were not ready for the bigger stage. In the early 2011, we had some players who left the team which was the reason why we couldn't give Division 1 a go. The same thing happened again this year... and so we had to stay in Division 2. Hopefully, we will have a Division 1 team in 2013.

Training in progress for new players of the Red Sevens

6) How many players are there in the Red 7 roster?

A: In 2011, we had a roster of 20 players but as of now, perhaps about 10 players. Half of the Red Sevens team had to deal with life issues and couldn't compete as much as they would like to in 2012.

7) Back to the sponsorship with Cherry Credits. Tell us, why do you say that this is historical for Singapore?

A: Paintball is not a mainstream sports in Singapore. Mainstream sports in Singapore are widely recognized by corporate companies and governing organizations. Major sporting events held in Singapore are often supported by a big corporate brand such as the OCBC Cycling and the Standard Chartered Marathon. With this sponsorship and due recognition from Cherry Credits, we are taking the first step in getting the involvement of corporate companies to promote paintball. We have hopes to leverage on this sponsorship to create awareness for the sport so that more people are aware about paintball sports and clear doubts about paintball being a dangerous activity that can only be played in a forested environment. With greater awareness, we are hoping to garner the support of more corporate companies to support the local paintball scene so that more local paintball teams can follow our footsteps to gain recognition and support. This might also create an opportunity for governing authorities to review the current regulations that are binding the progression of this sport.

8) Cash sponsorship is never an easy feat. Tell us more about this.

A: I couldn't agree more. Getting cash sponsorship is never an easy task but it is not entirely impossible. The way to go about doing this is to manage your paintball team as professional as possible. Every team wants the best for themselves but not all are willing to do their best in getting these sponsorship. By that I mean drafting a good sponsorship proposal. A good proposal sets the tone right for everyone. All sponsors want to know how the team can best represent their brand whether they are on or off the paintball field. A team has to be playing enough tournaments to gain recognition and in order to do that, the team has to put in a considerably amount of time in training before competing. When competing, the team has to win. No sponsor would want to sponsor a non-winning team and in order to win, team has to train. It is a chicken and egg story but many fail to see that.

Red Sevens winning the Singapore Paintball Series 2011 as Overall Champion

9) What are the plans for Red Sevens in 2012?

A: Revamp, Restructure and Reconstruct. The team was formed in 2006 and 6 years on, we are going into a new phase. We are currently recruiting players to form a D2, D3 and D4 team in each of the category. And if we do well in 2012, we will try for a D1 spot in 2013. We do have some major plans lined up from now to end of the year and if all goes well, we will create many more historic milestones.

10) Tell us more about these milestones.

A: I prefer to keep mum and see what happens from here. It is going to be very interesting, I promised.

11) Any last words?

A: Anything is possible. Never say never. Keep the hopes high and continue doing what you think is right. There are ups and downs but the sun will still rise after every night. Stay positive.

Interview conducted by Jane Koh

All photos belong to rightful owner. Photos from www.residentevilchef.com

The art of pressing the buzzer

Photo from www.residentevilchef.com

4 Singapore based teams will be travelling to My-NPL next weekend for the 1st leg of the Malaysia tournament. These 4 teams are Raving Lunatics, Team Karma, SKIN and Team Enraged and they will be participating in the Division 3 category which is newly revamped in 2012 from a M5 format to a Race-2 game format. This is indeed good news for Singapore based teams as they challenge themselves to playing the Race-2 format. The Race-2 game format is widely used in the USA and European countries and is very popular with paintballers where game strategies are involved. Gone are the days where you have one single game plan for the entire tournament. With the Race-2 format, there are a couple of things that teams will need to be aware of in order for them to shine before the rest. In view of this new Race-2 adventure for these 4 teams, I have listed a few things which might be useful for everyone's reference:

1) Buzzer is KING

It is not about shooting all your opponents on the field but who is faster in pressing the buzzer. Don't get disillusion with shooting everyone out of the game. The faster hand to press the buzzer is the winner.

2) Make sure you have 2 of everything

With back to back games, it is important for the team to have enough paintball equipment. Make sure you have 2 paintball markers, 2 paintball tanks... well... basically 2 of everything. Teams with limited budget can use a common pool of equipment by sharing. Do remember to have a squeege if you are returning to the field for the next point.

3) Air vs paintballs

If you have no more air in your tank, you cannot shoot anymore paintballs. Therefore, it is important to fill your air first before looking around to fill your harness with pods of paintballs. You can bring in loads of paintballs but without air in your tank, you are nothing.

4) Watch out for statues

"Statues" are players who won the game but choose not to press the buzzer to declare the win. Often then not, the losing teams are busy podding and filling air that they fail to take note that "statues" are just standing in a freezing position next to the buzzer. What comes next is just seconds for you to win another point. Don't let them lose your precious time.

5) Understand the 30 seconds rule

The rule is simple. Get a penalty in the last 30 seconds of the game and the game is forfeited. Teams that are hungry to draw the game would usually do crazy things on the field. Crazy enough but keep the penalties to yourself.

6) The other buzzer

The coach buzzer is not for the faint hearted. We have seen teams losing precious points when the buzzer was wrongly pressed. Throwing the towel at the right time can be effective and surely time saving. Pressing the buzzer for the wrong reason can only see you regretting your decision in choosing a smart coach.

7) Crew

Call them whatever names you want but without them, you are screwed! Crew members are the most essential in any Race-2 game. They get you drinks, fill your pods, collect your empty pods, pump your guns and wipe your hits off.... all in the space of 2 mins (MPOC) and 1 min (MY-NPL). So make sure you treat them humanely and reward them whenever necessary.

8) Money, money, money

Don't plan for just enough, plan for the future... If you have no paintballs in the Finals, don't come crying for help because most of the teams would have already took off after a long day. And don't think your opponents are going to help you. 3 boxes per player budget is a MUST!

9) War map

Unlike M5 where you only play one game and rest of the next half an hour. In the Race-2 format, you will need to have multiple game plans. Plans for offensive and defensive strategies can bring the team a long way. With only 1 game plan and your snake will be wondering what wrong did he do to get shot out so easily... you have been warned. Hint: Don't waste time resting in the players area... take notes and watch some games will allow you to have a head start.

10) Coach

A coach coaches... he will provide the necessary instructions for the team. He plans the game and take his own notes so that he can always derive a counter measure plans for his team. A coach is not a reporter... A reporter tells you where your opponents are. "Snake 1, snake 1, snake 1... are things of the past. Be a coach not a reporter.

There you have it... 10 tips for the Singapore teams! Good luck to all participating in MY-NPL. Bring back the glory and lift your head high!

All good things must come to an end. A new beginning awaits...

This team was formed in 2006. The purpose of forming Singapore's first competitive paintball team was mooted with a sole objective of "representation". It was not long when a few strangers with a common interest came together and talk paintball all day long. There was no benchmark to follow, there was no pressure to perform and members of the team were just happy coming together every weekend satisfying their hunger for paintball games. Fast forward 6 years and this team has become a household name in the regional paintball scene. Having won the Singapore Paintball Series Open Division Overall Champion in 2011 and the Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit Division 2 Overall Champion in 2011, the team was on fire. Great battles were not won overnight neither were Champions. Members of the team took pride in donning their team jersey every time they step onto the field. Soon it was not just about being able to represent... it was about winning. It was about getting that difficult win every time we step into the field, it was about standing on the podium every time we represent, and it was about all the pride, glory and honour that make us a name to be reckoned with. But nevertheless, all good things must come to an end. Great teams fall after winning championships, great leaders pass after great battles... we knew that it was only a matter of time that all the good will start to fall apart. Like they say, all good things must come to an end. It takes great pain and suffering to see this fall. Once we were playing more than 12 paintball events a year and the next, we became strangers. Emails were sent with no reply. Dinners were arranged with no turn up. Trainings were scheduled with no players. Things just change. Life commitments start to hit the team hard... we had plans to move to Division 1 in 2012 but it never materialized. Players were going back to school, some had bills to pay, some chose to focus on work, some never really knew what's happening, some were out of jobs and lastly, some ended up being in a team without team mates. It is sad to see how things actually turn out for everyone. Well... life goes on. The world doesn't stop spinning. The sun continues to rise. The heart still continues pumping. It will be a matter of time that things will get back on track again. Until this day, we are ready to revamp the team like how a few strangers first got together. Perhaps, it is easier keeping things simple and gets everybody back to basics.

SPS Referees in MPOC 2012 Leg 1!

Lum Hui (third from top row) and Rudy (fifth from top row) with the rest of the MPOC Referees who are amongst some of the best paintball referees in the Asia region.

Shahirah (second from bottom row) with the MPOC Referees. Shahirah is the only female paintball referee over the MPOC weekend and did an excellent job as compared to the local boys!

As part of Singapore Paintball Series (SPS) Referees development plans for 2012, SPS Referees were on overseas assignment in the MPOC 2012 Leg 1. Officially formed in 2010, the SPS Referees is now a 20 men and women team which has an important role to play in the development and promotion of paintball refereeing in Singapore. As our continuous support to promote tournament paintball, it is imperative for our local referees to gain overseas and officiating experiences in overseas paintball tournament. Under the guidance of AsiaRef Manager, Mr. Junaidi Kalil and Senior SPS Referee, Ms. Shahirah, newly recruited referees Lum Hui and Rudy "Junior" were officiating in the Division 1 field during the MPOC weekend. "This is a very prestigious moment for our local referees as we do our best to give opportunities to every SPS Referees. Our aim is to ensure that the right culture and fundamentals are set up from the beginning and who else can we learn from except from the best in Asia" exclaimed Ben Seow, SPS Tournament Promoter, referring to the AsiaRef body as the top refereeing body in Asia. Headed by Mr. Azhar (SPS Head Referee) and Mr. Idi (SPS Referees Manager), the SPS Referees will be featured in several overseas tournaments in 2012 and will continue to develop the refereeing scene in Singapore. The SPS Referees will conduct at least 3 basic refereeing certification in 2012 and will work with AsiaRef to certify our local referees for the overseas scene.

For more information about paintball refereeing, please email to info@singaporepaintballseries.

Singapore paintball regular updates...

31 Dec 2011 - Local based team, Natural Born Killers took part in the recent 1NPS (Northern Paintball Series) held in Kedah, Malaysia and clinched a 5th position finish against teams from the Northern territories. The Natural Born Killers was formed in 2010 and made their first appearance in the Novice Division of the Singapore Paintball Series 2011 Leg 2. The trip to Kedah which is about 6-7 hours drive from Singapore is a showcase of pure dedication for these boys where paintball goes beyond boundaries and distance.

7 Jan 2012 - 3 Singapore based teams (The Outlaws, Team Enraged and ZOO) participated in the recent MPOC (Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit) 2011 Leg 1 held in Bukit Jalil Xtionpaintball Park, KL. Being the very first leg of the MPOC series, kudos to these teams to be able to make the trip up north and to represent Singapore. The Outlaws participating in the Division 4 category had a smooth sailing start when they were getting every points on the field but as the scorching sun sets in, the smooth ride became a little tougher with multiple 1for1 penalties. Qualifying as a lower tier team in the Quarter Finals, The Outlaws soon recovered from their field mistakes and took on the teams one by one. They were very close to entering the finals until a delayed call from a referee which them the possible champion medal. Nevertheless, it was a good outing for the team as they inducted 2 new players who were totally new to competitive paintball. The Outlaws was eventually awarded the 3rd position.

Team Enraged a Singapore Johor based team participated in their very first MPOC tournament. Competing in the Division 3 Race-2 format was entirely new for the team as they were used to playing in semi-automatic and M5 game format. With 2 guests players from Raving Lunatics, it was time to show their rage in the field. However, lady luck wasn't shining on Enraged the entire weekend and they were soon out gunned by the Malaysian teams who are more familiar and experience with the Race-2 game format. Team Enraged did not qualify into the next round.

ZOO participated in the MPOC Division 2 category. The format of the game took a change to become a Race-3 format this year and it can only means more paintballs and more games, however, with an additional inclusion of 2 players to the roaster, we might be able to find some equilibrium. ZOO finished 2nd position in their group after Day 1 and qualified for the Quarter Finals. In the Quarters, ZOO had to face Dark Knights but soon experience prevail and they won the game which set them up against another paintball powerhouse, Grammaton Clerics with their fast attacking plan took their games early with a score of 2-1 which ran out of regulation time. ZOO eventually settled for a 3rd position in the Division 2 category.

All photos from www.residentevilchef.com