Good showing for Singapore teams in MPOC Leg 4

This post came a little late... but better late than never. 2 weekends ago, 5 Singapore based teams participated in the MPOC Leg 4 and all teams put on a decent showing for Singapore. Red Sevens playing in the Division 2 clinched the 4th position, Zoo which is playing in Division 3 clinched the 2nd position and all Division 4 Singapore teams, Ragdolls, Dark Militia and Raving Lunatics all qualified for the 2nd day of the tournament. A commendable results for team Raving Lunatics in their first paintball tournament in Malaysia with a 12th position out of 19 participating teams. Ragdolls which was former known as Black Aces in the MPOC put on a good display of team work and aggressive moves when the beat Rock n Rolla (current Division 4 series leader) during the qualifying games. Dark Militia who was playing their second MPOC was playing with experiences gathered from the former leg when they finished with a 4th position after day one. Indeed it was good to see Singapore teams coming out of Singapore to play in Malaysia tournaments. In Singapore, we are still very much restricted by the firearms law with many perceiving paintball as a sport that promotes violent and expensive. With the formation of the new PBAS interim committee, we are now hoping for the regulations to change soon as we have now a good community and local tournament to showcase that paintball can be a regular mainstream sports for many unlike a few years ago where there are only a handful of active players.

Noob Wars - The first step to paintball!

The Noob Wars is the 2nd series of mini tournament organized by Red Dynasty Paintball Park to promote and develop the sport of paintball in Singapore. The 1st series in 2010 was titled "The Rookie Challenge 2010" and was held in Feb 2010 with 6 participating teams, many of these teams went on to pursue the game further by joining overseas paintball tournament and also to introduce this adrenaline rushing game to their friends and family. The Noob Wars saw a total of 8 teams namely, Ballistics, The Outlaws, Dark Militia, Troop 53, Seven3zero, Hitman Inc, Team Generation Kill and Explicit. With the recent flash floods and high volume rainfall, there was doubt that Noob Wars will be starting on time. I say god must love paintball today as the rain subsided leaving a breezy weather to kick start the tournament. Noobs they might be... but what we saw were some defying moves with somersaults, cartwheels and some high speed crawling in the field (we are serious!). All in all, the tournament provides a wonderful platform for teams to play against players about their same playing standards. Dark Militia faced Ballistics in the final of Noob Wars with the former winning the Noob Champion. With a recent display of good paintball by the Dark Militia senior team in the Sultan Kedah Cup and the MPOC, one would feel that the Noob Wars is the perfect platform to get some experiences for their newly recruits. Ballistics, which had an impressive start throughout the tournament and going into the final undefeated met their match when they were unable to make the final punch of winning the champion medal.

In view of the good response, the Noob Wars seem to be staying in the paintball scene for quite a while. "I am surprised by the support and turnout. We have a few teams coming to show their support for our local event and at the same time allowing them to gauge their level of play amongst the community" exclaimed Ben Seow who is one of the marshals for the Noob Wars.

Until next time when the folks of Red Dynasty decides to organize the Noob Wars again... up next is the Singapore Paintball Series 2010! Transform from noobs to novice we shall...

Are we NOOBS or are we NOOBS?

8 teams have signed up for the Noob Wars on 1st August 2010 organized by Red Dynasty Paintball Park. This is the 2nd series of the rookie game which provides a platform for beginners of the sport to play against teams of their own rightful standards. Since joining the RD Rookie Challenge, participating teams such as Black Aces 2, Heartbreakers and Raving Lunatics are breaking into the international scene venturing for more blood tasty competition such as the Sultan Kedah Cup and the MPOC series. The aim of the Rookie Challenge remains to be growing the paintball community in Singapore and allowing everyone a chance to participate in a organized tournament scenario. For Noob Wars, we have the following teams who have confirmed their registration:

1) The Outlaws

2) Ballistics

3) Team eXplicit

4) Se7en3zero

5) Hitman Inc

6) Dark Militia

7) Troop53

8) Team Generation Kill

May the best team wins!

We are not ready...

Well... just like to comment on this "We are not ready" statement. A few years ago when we were introducing speedball and encouraging people to play paintball, often than not, we always hear this phrase: "We are not ready". I mean when are we really ready?

Received an email a few days ago from someone who is new to the game and telling me how hook he is after playing paintball and wanting to join a paintball team and even considering the option of starting his own paintball team. He mentioned that he knew of a paintball event in October (pretty obvious he was talking about the SPS) and how much he wanted to take part but ended up saying perhaps "We are not ready". The question is are we always ready for anything? Teams are always asking themselves... are we ready? The answer is... you are ready if you have:

1) Played a few paintball games. Doesn't matter if it is woodsball or speedball... its still the same. The only major difference is understanding the rules and regulations.

2) A group of enthusiastic friends who are keen to pursue the game.

3) Open minded about learning. Embrace the learning...

In 2008, I made a grave mistake when I commented about Singapore teams being not ready for the bigger stage i.e World Cup Asia 2008. I think those comments were selfish, ignorant and indeed not welcoming. I want to apologize to any Singapore teams who might feel affected with my snobbish comments. My reasons being: due to our lack of resources, lack of training time and lack of tournament experiences, teams should not go to World Cup Asia just for a mere representation as teams are going there to win! In 2009, there were 7 Singapore teams who went for the event and one team even went on the podium. And so... my concerns were unnecessary. This year... I am rallying for more Singapore teams to go and play in World Cup Asia 2010! My target is to rally 15 Singapore teams to the World Cup! And I believe we do have the numbers! If indeed this wish comes true... we will be the next last contingent other than the host country, Malaysia to have the most number of teams playing in the World Cup Asia.

I did mentioned that Singapore teams will do well in Division 4 games and I still stand by this comment. I am also encouraging Singapore teams to venture into the higher divisions and give it a go! If you have never try, you will never know... So yeah... to hell with "We are not ready"... WE ARE!

Why you should join the Singapore Paintball Series 2010?

Since announcing the Singapore Paintball Series 2010. We have several queries about the event and so I have decided to list down a few considerables on "why you should join the Singapore Paintball Series 2010?"

1) SPS is a homegrown paintball brand. Similar to MPOC, My-NPL or the CPCL which are major leagues over at the Northern coast, SPS was the transformation of the SPNS which was the pinnacle paintball event of the Singapore calendar in 2008 and 2009. This homegrown brand has transformed from a 3-on-3 paintball competition using scenario paintball markers to a 5-on-5 paintball tournament using electronic markers and up to 4 divisions for people of all ages and playing standards.

2) SPS is a professionally run paintball tournament with dedicated individuals who wants to make paintball a successfully sport in Singapore. With a combined 20 years of experiences in the sports industry, events management industry and marketing industry and more importantly the paintball industry, the SPS will be an event not to be missed.

3) SPS will be held in the East Coast Park. Forget about the Singapore Padang or the Marina Floating Platform, this is definitely one of the best location to showcase your team and get together for a fun filled weekend.

4) SPS combined with sponsors and industrial partners will produce the biggest payout in cash and prizes for participants of the SPS. A free spot to the World Cup Asia in November 2010 for the eventual winner of the SPS Open Division is already worth more than USD200! We are working towards bringing the biggest paintball brand to the Singapore paintball community.

5) First electronic marker division in Singapore is the first in Singapore and possibly the first in Asia! We will be using Proto Proto Matrix Rail markers as house markers for the tournament! If you know of any similar arrangement in Asia, please write to us... as far as we know, we are the FIRST!

6) Paintball prices have been adjusted to accommodate to the paintball community. This is one of the most significant adjustment to date for the Singapore paintball tournament scene. We are making this affordable for everyone and cost of playing at such a wonderful event should not be an excuse no more... This adjustment is inline with SPS's objective of working towards an international platform.

7) With up to 4 playing divisions, you no longer have to worry about people calling you a beginner, noob, expert, sandbagger, professional... just play in whichever category you deem fit.

8) SPS is working towards making the series a professional outlook with team profiles, up to date information and announcement. We have make use of social platform Facebook, websites, forums, posters, banners, etc to make this event known to every possible single lead. Making way into the SPS are merchandises such as T-shirts and lanyards to promote our branding.

9) Get your supporters to come along as there will be fun games engaging park goers and the public. Get your supporters to try out a game of paintball and let them experience the feeling of being in the field. All this at ZERO cost... SPS will be sponsoring this initiative to make paintball more receptive to the public. SPS will be putting up banners educating the public about competitive paintball and there will be a dedicated booth cater to any paintball queries from the public.

10) Working with the Asia Ref, the SPS aims to facilitate a unbiased competition with some of our SPS referees who will be certified to officiate in paintball tournaments endorsed by the Asia Ref. Certification courses will be organized to ensure that all referees are up to standards in officiating the biggest paintball event in Singapore.

I can go on and on and on... but if these are coming true and becoming a reality. All we need is your support to make all these happen! SPS will not be a one off event and we have vision to stay on track in bringing the best paintball event to the Singapore paintball community! Keep the fire burning!

Singapore's Biggest Paintball Event - Singapore Paintball Series 2010

The Singapore Paintball Series (SPS) will be held on 16 & 17 October 2010 in East Coast Park (Angsana Field, next to carpark E2). From the same organizers who brought you the Singapore Paintball Novice Series (SPNS) in 2008 and 2009, this year's tournament will feature a 2 day event for participants with up to 4 different participating divisions. New to the tournament scene will be the Corporate and Tertiary Division which is targeted to introduce the sport of paintball to corporate companies and schools as an excellent form of teambuilding activity. "After taking a break from organizing paintball tournament in Singapore, the committee felt that it is time to introduce a new wave of Singapore paintball to the general public. Our focus for the SPS will be creating paintball awareness to the masses and to create an opportunity for people to try out paintball games in the park", exclaimed Jane Koh who is the SPS Tournament Director and the former President of the Paintball Association (Singapore). With the introduction of the Open Division which involved the use of electronic markers, the committee hopes to bring about a completely new tournament scene to the paintball community to Singapore. This is also the first time that electronic markers competition will be showcase to the crowd.

With a strong restriction in the firearms law in Singapore, the organizers will be working closely with the governing authorities to ensure that there will be no hiccups to the tournament. With a combined industrial experience of more than 15 years, the SPS committee will be ready to rock the nation with Singapore's most exciting paintball tournament to date. For more information on how you can register for the tournament, please contact: info@singaporepaintballseries.com

Red Sevens Basic Paintball Course - 6 June 2010

Red Sevens conducted a Basic Paintball Course in Red Dynasty Paintball Park on 6 June 2010. A total of 13 participants showed up for the course and was greeted with a day of snapshooting, snapshooting and more snapshooting... The whole entire Red Sevens gang (less Jane, ELLE) was around to conduct the course with the help of a few "veterans" paintballers from the local community. A surprise visit by Bryan Judas who used to play for Team Redlords and Kamikaze was around to grace the session as well. Bryan is currently on his paintball break and was with Team Shootin Rage (SIR) a Johor before he declared his holiday. Division 1 player, Farid Zainol otherwise more well known as Cyrus was at the field too... he is currently playing for Team No Mercy and was featured in teams such as Johor Pirates and Team Warriors from KL. Yeah, he is a Singaporean too. And even a more surprising visit by the SUPAstar from KL, Mr. Werdnahol, Andrew Loh was in town as well... WHAT A CROWD!

The Basic Paintball Course is becoming a regular affair for Red Dynasty Paintball Park as they continue to organize paintball courses and clinics for beginners to break into the game. Since establishment, Red Dynasty Paintball Park has conducted more than 20 paintball courses and clinics and continue to be a forerunner for paintball development in Singapore.

Red Sevens newest recruit - Lester WING

Red Sevens is proud to introduce their newest recruit Lester Wing. Lester plays in the front position and will be feature in the Red Sevens team playing in Division 3 and Division 2 games. Lester will command a regular spot in the team in 2011 as the team continues to expand its players roaster. Lester made his debut with the team in the Malaysia National Paintball League Leg 3 in Malacca where he was featured in 6 games including the semi finals and 3rd/4th placing games. "We are happy to include Lester into the team. His learning attitude towards the game of speedball is commendable. We are working with Lester to provide him with more playing opportunities" exclaimed Ben, who is the current captain of the Red Sevens.

Red Sevens Basic Paintball Course - 6 June 2010

Red Sevens, Singapore's first competitive paintball team will be conducting a basic paintball course on 6 June 2010 at Red Dynasty Paintball Park.

If you are new to the game and would like to know more about playing competitive paintball, this course is just for you.

Red Sevens is the current Division 2 Paintball Asia League (PALS) Champion and a strong contender for the Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit (MPOC) 2010 Division 2 Series Champion. The team has travelled to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan for regional paintball tournaments since its establishment in 2006.

Read more about the team in www.redsevenspaintball.com

Venue: Red Dynasty Paintball Park
Date: 6 June 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 1 pm - 5 pm
Cost: $55.00 per pax

All participants will be given 300 paintballs for shooting practices/skirmishes + Red Sevens stickers + Course Certificate. 5 lucky participants will receive a Red Sevens T shirt each. Payment for the course to be made at Paintballers World located in Shaw Towers.

Limited to only 20 participants. So hurry and sign up!

To register for this course, please email info@redsevenspaintball.com or info@weplaypaintball.com with the following particulars:

1) Name
2) Age
3) Email
4) Paintball experience

Good read for the Singapore paintball community

Thought I post this article on the blog since this has a significant influence to to how paintball as a sport is being developed regionally and thus affecting paintball in Singapore. In summary, it is a case of a new paintball league being formed known as the "Millennium Series Asia". A statement by the new league was released but later retracted due to what many seen as a case of unauthorized use of name and logo of the Millennium Series. Happy reading... it is always good to keep politics away from paintball and just focus on enjoying the game but this article is too good to ignore.

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
05:00PM 24th MAY 2010



MATTERS REGARDING THE “MILLENNIUM SERIES ASIA”

The Paintball Asia League Series, as partner of the Millennium Series Europe since 2004 when we first started, would like to clarify that the recent press release from the so-called “Millennium Series Asia” is not factual, but based on the vivid imagination of a few individuals.

We have sought clarification with Millennium Series Europe and have been informed that no such agreement exists, and we on our part have not been notified of such a move. To our knowledge, the Millennium Series name and logo has been used without prior authorization and they have been requested to deactivate the website and to remove all references to the Millennium Series Europe by the Millennium board.

The press release by these parties should be deemed misleading, with an agenda that is detrimental to the great growth of paintball now enjoyed in the region. PALS remains a firm partner of the Millennium Series Europe in promotion of sports within the region and will remain so in the future.

We shall be seeking clarification in the proper manner from the parties responsible for the announcement before deciding on the next course of action.

For clarification and more information regarding this matter, you may contact Mr. Laurent Hamet of the Millennium Board at lh@millennium-series.com or board@millennium-series.com

For more information regarding this matter in relation to the Paintball Asia League Series, please contact Mr. Paul WY Lam at paul@palseries.org or info@palseries.org


PAUL LAM
Founder & Director
Paintball Asia League Series

Lucky Sevens for Singapore teams!

"Prestige" is the word use to describe the Kedah Sultan Cup 2010. Supported by the Sultan of Kedah, this tournament saw a total of 35 teams participating in 2 divisions: Open and Novice. There were 6 teams from Singapore and they are: 1) Red Sevens, Contract Killers and Zoo 2) Dark Militia, Heart Breakers and Rampage Onslaught who played in the Open and Novice Division respectively. Being the Open Division, there were 15 participating Division 1, 2 and 3 teams, all competing for the top honours. After the qualification round, Red Sevens was ranked 5th, Contract Killers was ranked 9th (losing on the 8th spot due to elimination difference) and Zoo was ranked 10th. Kudos to Contract Killers who was playing with only 4 players and managed to beat the Red Sevens with the latter suffering their first loss of the day. The Red Sevens concluded the tournament with a 7th position after failing to qualify for the Semi Finals. In the Novice Division, Heartbreakers and Rampage Onslaught got their first taste of an overseas tournament and did fairly well with a couple of winning games but it was Dark Militia who overcame the odds and won the 7th position after qualifying for the Quarter Finals spot. Playing in a stadium able to fill 35000 spectators is more than what a paintballer could ask for and we wonder if we will ever get this kind of luxury in Singapore. The hospitality and support given by the local organizers were amazing. The refereeing was good and the atmosphere was a blast! The players party ended with the royal highness, a princess from the royal family giving out the prizes to the winning teams.

Congratulations to Red Sevens and Dark Militia. This event matches the World Cup Asia 2009 with 6 participating Singapore teams... so when's the 3rd lucky seven?

More photos later...

Sneaky indeed! EXKAY ONG from XFOX in Singapore!

Red Dynasty Paintball Park and the Red Sevens (Singapore) invited Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit (MPOC) Division 1 XFox snake player, Exkay Ong to Singapore to conduct a "Sneaky Snakey Paintball Clinic" and the turnout was good...17 budding snake players... well... not all turned up to learn a trick or two from one of the best snake players in Malaysia. More photos will be uploaded later... well, even I learnt something about being a snake. It was surely an eye opener for most who attended his clinic. But hey, for those who missed out his clinic, here's a post interview to find out more about this "sneaky" player.

1) What made you decide to come to Singapore to do a clinic at Red
Dynasty Paintball Park?
I've started off paintball with the seniors sharing what they know
with me, hence I believe in giving back something to the sport we love and decided to share my experience with Singaporeans after much discussion with Ben over the years as I think new talents could use a lil' help and assistance. Also it was a great experience and privileges for me to be able to conduct a clinic in somewhere other than my own country not to mention that I get to make new friends at the same time !


2) How do you find the standards of Singapore paintball?
I think it is doing pretty well seeing that it's been only a few years
since speedball was introduced into Singapore. Given the correct
guidance, support and infrastructure, it would be exciting to see how fast it could catch up with neighboring countries in the South East Asia where paintball is more established.


3) Do you think Singapore paintball development will one day be on par with Malaysia?
Without any doubt, definitely.


4) What do you think of the gun laws that we have?
While it is a hindrance to the growth of the sport for the time being,
it is also something that could get paintballers united to work
together and get the Government to look into the Firearms Law issue.


5) Give us 3 words to become a good paintballer. 3 words...
Practice, Practice & Practice.


6) Name one of the toughest game that you have ever played in... and tell us why?
I think every game is equally as tough as everyone tends to try their
best during tournaments and it is always a good fight. If I would
really have to name one, it would be the times in 2008 where I was
still with Xmenz and have to go against Xfox. Having to go against
those who teaches you how to play paintball does mess with your head a bit, giving you extra pressure on the shoulders. I still remember how dreaded i feel every time we have to go against them back then.


7) What is your favourite paintball drill?
Snap shooting. It's the most fundamental skill in speedball.


8) Will you come back again? and what do you hope to see in your next trip.
Of course I will come back again ! I would love to see more players
turn up ( if there is ever a 2nd Clinic ), less heat ( Singapore is
really HOT ) and maybe a Division 1 team ?

A teaser for the Singapore Paintball Series 2010 - 16 & 17 October 2010

Singapore paintball is moving away from being a novice league! The organizers of the Singapore Paintball Series (SPS) has decided to drop the word "novice" bringing Singapore paintball standards to a higher level. There will be an introduction of a new division for the local lads.

The Singapore Paintball Series (SPS) 2010 will be held on 16 & 17 October 2010 at an undisclosed venue. More details to be released soon in www.weplaypaintball.com/forum. Mark a date with us. The SPS logo is a trademark of the Singapore Paintball Series, usage of the logo will have to be sought from the SPS organizers.

Noob Wars - 1 August 2010

Red Dynasty Paintball Park will be organizing the NOOB WARS, a rookie challenge for all paintball beginners to taste the game of paintball in a competitive format. As the name implies, it is a competition organized for newbies or noobies... however way we call it, it is a tournament for people who are exploring paintball as a regular sport. Form a team of 6 players (4 players and 2 reserves) and sign up for the NOOB WARS! Oh... and watch out for the Noob killer...

Venue: Red Dynasty Paintball Park, Field 3

Date: 1 August 2010

Time: 8.00 am - 4.00 pm

Cost of registration: $450 per team of 6 players

This tournament will be conducted in a "hopperball" format where 100 paintballs will be allocated to each player per game. Prizes and medals will be given away as part of the nooby deal. For more information about Noob Wars, please login to www.weplaypaintball.com/forum and search under the thread "Paintball Events and Tourneys"

PS. This tournament is ONLY for players without competitive paintball experiences... yeah, a fair game basically...

The above event poster is designed by Zai and Rina

Singapore team Dark Militia looking for 2 guest players for Kedah Sultan Cup

If you are interested to participate in the Kedah Sultan Cup 2010 held 21May - 22 May 2010 , there are 2 available slots in Singapore based team Dark Militia. Dark Militia will be participating in the Novice Division and they are looking for 2 more players to make the trip. There will be free registration... all you need to do is to show up and pay for paintballs. Interested parties, please contact PaintBallGixxer at www.weplaypaintball.com/forum. Dark Militia is the SPNS 2009 Leg 3 Champion held in Singapore and a regular paintball force in Singapore.

Kedah survival kit

As some of you might already know... there will be a few teams which will be travelling to Kedah for the Kedah Sultan Cup 2010. To date, the following Singapore teams have indicated interest to participate in the tournament, they are mainly, Team Zoo, Team Contract Killers, Red Sevens, Rampage Onslaught, Heartbreakers and Dark Militia. With a strong Singapore contingent heading North, most are planning to travel together on a hired bus. And I thought it will be interesting to put up a survival kit as this is the first time Singapore paintballers are setting foot on Kedah... so here it goes:

1) Money - Money makes the world goes round. In paintball, this is one of the most essential weapon. It is always good to have the extra dough in your pocket for assurance. Try to maximize your pocket if you can... plan for food, drinks, transportation, accommodation. And if you have that little extra, you might want to bring along some money for the event t-shirt (if any) or paintball souvenir. Factor in money for the shared drinks that you will be buying during the competition days.

2) Ammunition - A long journey indeed... 10 - 12 hours of bus travel and that's almost half a day. Read magazines, eat sleeping pills, play PSP, listen to Ipod... whatever you can do keep yourself busy on the bus. Buy a neck rest if necessary, this is a must buy!

3) Camera - Bring along a camera if you have one. Take tons of photographs and publish them on your Facebook or blog and help promote paintball awareness... we need that in Singapore. And if you are on the podium, you want to be able to pass that camera to someone who will be able to take some nice photos of you receiving the prizes.

4) Passport - The number 1 thing for travel... keep it safe. If you forget to bring it... good luck and see you next year!

5) Paintball t-shirt - Paintballers are stylist people, put on your best attire for field walking... if you don't have a paintball t-shirt, get one now! It is a form of identity and for easy identification among paintballers. We are family!

6) Team banner and national flag - You can use it on the podium or hang it by your resting tentage. Tell people where you are from and create a name for yourself... it is very rare that there are tournaments in Kedah so leave a good impression.

7) Your heart - Play your hearts out in the field and do your best to win every games.

All the best to Team Singapore!

Exkay in town!

EXkay from Team XFox (MPOC, Division 1), Malaysia will be in town on 16 May 2010. Xkay started playing as a snake player since 2004 and has been featured in Team Xplosive, a junior team from Guns and Bruises which is commonly known as Xtioneers today. With the Xtioneers, EXKay was part of the team who won the World Cup Asia 2008 Division 1 3rd placing. In 2009, EXKay with his group of Foxes won the MPOC Division 1 Series Champion. Currently 4th on the MPOC Division 1 table, XFox is also a Dye sponsored team and one of the most prolific team in Asia.

More information at www.weplaypaintball.com/forum

PS. Exkay is a SEED user. Photos from Exkay's Facebook and belongs to rightful owner.

Please take a look at our sport and do something...

If this means anything to anyone... I am writing this topic in hoping to get the attention of influential authorities in Singapore to take a look at the sport that we all love. As it is, paintball guns (markers, that's how paintballers like to call it) are consider as firearms in Singapore and illegal for individual possession, meaning unlike conventional sports such as football, archery and wakeboarding, etc, where interested individuals can participate the sport using their own equipment and enjoying the game at specific location, paintball is often classified as an unfriendly sport. Major parts of this being the fact that serious paintballers are not allow to possess their own personal paintball markers in Singapore.

It is not hard to understand that if you want to do bowling, you will need to go to a bowling alley and if you want to play squash, you have to go to a squash court and if you want to do boxing, you need to step into the boxing ring. Likewise for paintball, if you want to paint, you will have to go to a paintball center... Well, that's a given and most people are very clear about this. The truth is... before paintballers become hardcore players, they are often introduced to recreational paintball using house rental markers and making progression into the sport. However, if these players decide to participate paintball at a competitive level then problems start arising. In the past, there used to be a center divider in the middle of the field which restrict players from going across to the opposite side thus preventing players from getting into body contact... tell this to any hardcore paintballers and they will tell you that paintball is a non physical contact sport. This restriction was enforced in Singapore for the last 11 years and was officially removed in November 2009. Kudos to the authorities for doing that... seriously, it meant a lot to Singapore paintball as we are in the midst of doing "catching up" to our neighbours, Malaysia. Many players around the Asia region highly regard Malaysia as the "Paintball Hub of Asia" which I have no complains about... Malaysia is indeed the paintball hub of Asia! Just look at the number of tournaments, the number of people playing paintball and the number of paintball field sprouting across the country in the last 3 years. Surely, Singapore paintball is in no comparison to Malaysia’s development as the latter has received tremendous support from its grassroots and all the way to government sectors such as the sports ministry and the tourism board. With the welcoming of the sports also see a level of flexibility in the possession of paintball markers. This being said... Singaporeans were actually introduced to paintball earlier than Malaysians (told to me by one of the seniors of the industry). That's the kind of "catching up" that I am referring to.

With a restriction on individual possession in Singapore, is this the end of competitive paintball for Singaporeans? Seriously, I don't have an answer; I don't think anyone has an answer to that (well, at least for now...). Ask anyone in Malaysia about paintball and they can describe to you what it is... well, at least the part of the game causing pain and bruises. Ask any Singaporean on the street and you might end up with "Ping Pong" (Allan, if you are reading this, I am not talking about you). So what is preventing paintball from getting the same level of awareness as in Malaysia? I really don’t know... perhaps it is our typical Singaporean attitude of being “bochup, don’t care, don’t know” attitude. What we really need is to make paintball more informative and please if you are serious about promoting paintball in Singapore, don’t go around showing off your battle scars to people who have not played the game before... don’t take photos of your scars and post them on Facebook... that is 100% not the right way to introduce people to playing the sport.

Providing facts of the game is what we really need now... what we need is a good piece of study paper supported by reputable universities stating the advantages of playing paintball, the safety aspects of participating in paintball, the number of people playing paintball, the development and progress of the game... maybe until we have a good compilation of these facts and figures then somebody from the authorities might bother to look at our sport. Still... it is not the perfect solution. We still need a very supportive representative who is also a good presenter who is willing to put his job on the line for the good cause of paintball. He/she will need to present the studies to his higher management which are very likely to know paintball as a recreational sport and it being dangerous. At least that's how it works in Singapore... Of course during the meeting, when you get questions like "where are the risks assessments?", "how can it benefit us?", "how safe is safe?”, “how many people are we catering this sport to?", “who watches paintball?” all the representative need to do is to throw his arms wide open and goes "TAAADAAAAHHH!!!!", shouting out loud "THERE YOU GO! I CAME PREPARED!" That's not all...you have to convince him to do the same thing when his boss ask him the same questions later. And we all know that it might never come...

Something that always puzzled me... and I am not saying bad about other sports but drawing some comparison against other sports in Singapore. For example, archery... well, school kids participate in archery, living the Robin Hood in them (yeah, I am stereotypic). You see them carrying their bow and arrows around the school... on the MRT... and you think it is safe? Think again...

Well... firstly, for paintball markers to work, we will need air pump into these markers and trust me, air doesn’t come easily without the right equipment and knowledge of tank filling. Second, kids will always be kids... shooting an apple off my friend’s head is something I always wanted to do... but of course, my sub conscious mind will tell me that it is very dangerous to do that so you never see that happening. Arrows are sharp; they pierce through things... like human bodies DOH! Compound bow arrows can travel up to 300 fps... hey... similar to the speed of a travelling paintball. Er... but paintballers are smart, we put on paintball goggle. Paintballs break on impact, paintball doesn't stain and it is biodegradable. So yeah!!!! We are more concern about the safety of the sport and we are a safer sport! We even have an age restriction to participate in paintball games!

So then...it leave us with the word “intention”... ask any serious archers to go around public places carrying a bow and some arrows and "play Robin Hood" in HDBs or parks and they will tell you that you must be crazy. Reason is simple, they don't do that. They love the sport too much to be acting like fools playing “Robin Hood” in public. Likewise, ask any serious paintballers to go around shooting paintballs in the public and they will tell you go "Frack off" because they know that it is not right. So what's the problem of having individual possession? Didn't we do it for real guns... like guns stored in gun clubs? Hmmm.... I just don't understand the differences, since when are paintball guns more lethal than real guns or it is a case of not wanting to embrace the change of the paintball? Paintball has come a long way from playing in the jungle to a multimillion sport business. Millions of people have played paintball before... a child in his teens has played paintball before, a senior person has played paintball before, a lady who leads a sedentary lifestyle has played paintball before... and they all came out fine. Not only that... ask them about their first paintball experience and they will be tell you details as though it just happened yesterday. Because paintball is fun!

Paintball is dangerous! Surely a sweeping statement... if the sport of boxing and wrestling can be in the YOG... how dangerous can paintball be? I don’t participate in recreational boxing... and I don’t do recreational wrestling... but I am sure millions of corporate office blue and white collar workers have played paintball before.

Let's put this into perspective... if you are a boxer, would you be afraid of receiving punches from your opponents? If you are a wrestler, would you be afraid of your opponents twisting your arms and legs? I think the answer is obvious... if you are a serious paintballer or for the matter of fact someone who pays to play paintball with your friends, would you be afraid of being shot? Well, yes... I would. But no I don’t if I know that this is part and parcel of getting into the sport. So what is so dangerous about paintball? You might have heard of people getting injured from playing paintball... broken ankle, twisted arm, blar blar blar... well... I am sure you have also heard of stories where people died while boxing, people who drowned while swimming, people who fought during a rugby match (well... yeah, those are kids from reputable schools)... its part and parcel of participating in a sport and not just any sport, it is an adrenaline rushing sport, aren’t we talking about promoting extreme sports in Singapore? I read articles of kids driving go kart with the recent go kart hype... we are talking about teenagers who do not need a driving licence to kart... I am not sure about you; I have done karting a few times but everytime I stepped onto the track... I feel vulnerable. And I am a licenced driver.

And recently, there's MMA... "that's so dangerous!!!" tell that to the people who love it... surely, there are some misconception in paintball.

We need to change... we need to adapt to changes. Haven’t we heard this long enough? Tell that to my granny and she will tell you that she needs to learn how to surf the net to keep up to the changes. Paintball has evolved... it started as a recreational game and now it has evolved into a sport. We need to change the regulations to keep ourselves relevant to the changes. One of the most classic examples... the casino. Not only do we have one casino... we have two casinos! We need to embrace the change guys... look into your system and change the regulations accordingly or fall into the mistake of being outclassed.

Enough is enough... we have heard of your invalid excuses of “How many people in Singapore plays paintball?”, “How many spectators can your sport draw as compared to F1? We have a total of 50000 runners!!!”... I will be the first to tell you not to compare apples with oranges. Both are different in nature. Don't compare the S-league with the BPL... you will not convince us. I am actually flattered when paintball was compared to a local marathon in terms of the number of participants.

Sometimes we need to be realistic too. It takes 2 hands to clap... so we understand the need for everyone to work together to make things work, especially in Singapore. We would love to have the biggest paintball event in Singapore, we would love to be allow to store our paintball markers in paintball centers (the word is “our” and not rentals), we would love to see students in school participating in paintball tournaments with all the different divisions. But we also need to be realistic... we need to ask ourselves: “What are we doing to achieve that?” Promoting and starting a brand new sport in a school is one of the toughest things in Singapore... we should be glad that there is a proper system that we can work towards to... the CCA branch’s door one that we should be knocking on. We will then be asked the same question again... “how many people are playing paintball competitively in Singapore?”... okay... say we allow you to promote paintball in our school, can you please appoint a coach for us? For those who are not really into sports, in order to be a certified coach recognized by the Singapore Sports Council, you will need to pass the National Coaching Accreditation Programme (NCAP) theory and practical. It is easy to register for the NCAP theory... where you will need to undergo classes such as sports psychology, sports nutrition, sports fitness, etc. But what about the practical part? Hmmm... paintball has only 30 years of history and as far as I know, there is no certification for paintball coaching in the world... so food for thoughts in a paper chase country like Singapore. Is this the end or the beginning? We will be there eventually... but let’s help ourselves to get this game going first.

As an ardent supporter and promoter of Singapore paintball, I would love to see progress for the sport. As mentioned in my previous entry, we will need the support of these 3 parties to make a transformation: organizers, players and government agencies. As players, we will also need to know that not only do we form the basis of the game; we are also ambassadors for this sport. Let’s help ourselves to get this game going... instead of relying on others. We have a new interim committee for PBAS, so please lend them your support too!

PS. If you are reading this article and you think that there are some truth to this writing, please help to circulate it to anyone whom you deemed fit, otherwise, just ignore the rumblings...

Singapore Polytechnic Paintball Team - Singapore's First Tertiary Paintball Club

Kudos to Singapore Polytechnic (SP) for the support of paintball development in Singapore! If you have been following my post for the past 1 year, you should have seen a progressive growth of this developmental initiative by Singapore Polytechnic. Paintball first set foot in SP on March 2009 when a shooting gallery was set up for its student enrollment exercise. Since then, paintball has been a yearly showcase for SP students in their annual CCA Fair. It is no different this year... Just last week, Red Dynasty Paintball Park was in SP again to initiate paintball as a sporting activity in the school. In the span of 3 days, we managed to sign about 100 students for a paintball trial at Red Dynasty Paintball Park with the aim of forming a SP paintball team. 45 committed students showed up during the trial and were instructed to undergo 2 drills: 1) suicide runs and 2) agility. Well, I have to agree that suicide runs managed to "kill" a few interest but knowing that commitment is all that we need from a future paintballer, some of the students had to be "axed".

By noon, we selected the best 32 students to stay on for the afternoon session where they will be going through skirmishes with one another. However, knowing that the skill of communication is one of the most important factors when players go onto the field, we had to facilitate a "icebreaking" session for them. Well indeed... the ice breaker games worked wonders.

Finally, the games... students were introduced to the game of speedball. God! It was fun... We divided the students into 6 teams and they have to go head on with 2 random teams. As most beginners of speedball, some "committed suicide" or couldn't comprehend the rules of speedball. But nevertheless, it is a good head start for these students and hopefully this team will truly be the first polytechnic team in Singapore.

A league of our own? Singapore style?

There used to be the Singapore Paintball Novice Series (SPNS) in 2008 and 2009. The SPNS was a platform for Singapore paintball enthusiasts to battle their guts out and to put their skills to the "test" before embarking on regional tournaments. I am using the word "test" because in Singapore, its all about "test" and more "test". Singaporeans need to "test" if the ERP works for road users before the full implementation, we need to "test" if the MRT will be overwhelmed before its opening, we need to "test" the YOG with the AYG, it is always putting things to the test... its the same for paintball. It has been pretty quiet around the Singapore paintball scene... Is this the end of paintball in Singapore? I beg to differ... as it is always peaceful before a storm so I am hoping this quiet period will be a good time for all to go back to the drawing board to rethink about paintball in Singapore. There are actually a few ways that paintball in Singapore can undergo a full revamp and I am going to share this in the later topics. While the local competition scene is quiet and some describing it as pins dropping, a handful of us are actually playing in Malaysia. With the last 2 weekends, there are a total of 8 Singapore teams participating in the Malaysia tournament scene. Not bad indeed...

Just last month, the Paintball Association (Singapore), PBAS was handed over to a new interim committee to oversee the promotion and development of paintball in Singapore. Change is always good... new ideas will be formed, new people will be involved, new support will be given... With only less than 30 years of history behind the sport, it will be an uphill task to develop this sport in Singapore given Singaporeans "testing" attitude towards committing to something new. Recreational paintball has been pretty well received across the borders with some gamers being featured in TNP and RazorTV. News like these are always good for creating paintball awareness. Competitively, Singapore teams are always giving their competitors a tough fight... podium wins from local teams such as Red Sevens, ZOO and Contract Killers are always good for the aspiring paintballers who are keen to take up the challenge of participating in regional tournaments against some of the best in Asia. In a recent blogging competition "Star Sports Blogger" organized by the Singapore Sports Council, local blogger and regular paintballer, Grant Harrison from team ZOO was awarded the 2nd prize. This is a big step for paintball as the sports need all the attention that it can get from governing bodies such as the Singapore Sports Council, the Singapore Police Force and of course the general acceptance of paintball as a sport.

In the planning is the Singapore Paintball Series (SPS), a tournament to takeover the responsibility of the SPNS. No longer are Singaporean players consider as novice players... so there must be a change in the naming of the tournament. Singapore players fret not... we will soon have our very own Singapore champion... Plans are underway and things are looking good so far. With a different approach to competitive paintball in Singapore, there are plans for a mechanical division, a tertiary division, an open division and possibly a SPLAT X division... we'll see... a big dream perhaps but something that is possible, we might not reach our target but it is definitely something that we are working towards to. Just be ready to lend your support when the dream gets going... we need all the support to create our own "test" bed.

Paintballers are the weirdest lot. We enjoy the game and we love the game so much that we sometimes become emotional towards the outcome of the game... we are so devoted to the game that it has become a religion to many of us. Others who are have not play the game do not understand our feelings. Its just pure devotion. Some people call it the plain shooting game, some call it cosplay, some call it dangerous, some call it no brainer... but hell yeah, what do they know? Its pure devotion. We just love the sport. I used to be one of those who asked "why so serious?"... it is serious to us cos we know. We spend hours watching paintball videos, we spend hours playing the game, we spend a whole chunk of our money to buy gears, we talk, eat, sleep paintball... we are always waiting for the weekend to come cos that's when we feel young again. We make tons of friends playing paintball... no other sports has that. We travel with strangers to competition hoping to bring back the glory... no other sports does that... We talk about the game with strangers and we talk like we have known one another for years! We are paintballers... its a religion and we are one.