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

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

What lies in our future?

With 1 more day left to Asia's biggest paintball event, World Cup Asia... many are ready to enjoy themselves in the island of Langkawi playing paintball and making more friends from the game they love. As many embark on this journey to experience the best of Asia, many more remain rooted in Singapore only to envy those who make the trip. The question remains... what lies in our future? I am urging those who are making the journey to think and reflect about how paintball in Malaysia has grown over the years to where they are today. Do take note that all that what you are about to witness do not happen overnight and yet it only took Malaysians less than 8 years to achieve. So where are we now? With marker ownership regulation lifted recently, the ball is now in your court to implement the changes we have always wanted. You can now contribute to the growth of paintball in Singapore! We have open the gate for many great opportunities, the future lies in your hands. No more complains about centre line as we have clear that, no more complains about playing only at licenced premise as we have clear that, no more complains about marker ownership as we have clear that too... what else? The future lies in your hands...

If you are a registered SPLAT player, you have 7 days to let us know if you would like to purchase a 2nd hand ETEK3 AM at only SGD$499.00. Possession licence not included. First 10 buyers will get free storage at Red Dynasty Paintball Park for 1 year worth $160.50. Do your maths! No other hidden cost! Send an email to sales@paintballersworld.com

Changes to SPS 2012 - A big leap towards the future

SPS Announcement

Greetings my fellow Paintballers, It is indeed with great pleasure for me to make this announcement to the local paintball community which may possibly revolutionize or create possible future changes and opportunities to the way paintball sport is being played in Singapore.

We have just concluded the Singapore Paintball Series (SPS) 2011 in October with the highest showing of 38 local and overseas teams. This result would not have been possible if not for the staunch support that is given by the local paintball community. A flourishing paintball tournament can only be regarded as successful with a good turnout and likewise a good turnout will need a professionally run tournament to bring out the best of any paintballer. As an avid paintballer myself, I do understand the continuous commitment and effort that one has to sacrifice in order to upkeep a dedicated paintball team. Forming a team to play paintball is the easiest part; the hardest part in competitive paintball is keeping the team together. The cost of training and expenses that are involved in this sport have punctured holes in our limited budget in these uncertain times. As a result, teams do not train as often as they would like to and players are unsure about how they can contribute to make this sport grow in Singapore. With 13 local based teams participating in next week’s World Cup Asia tournament as compared to a few years ago when there were only one, Singapore paintball has seen tremendous growth in recent years. As Singapore’s premiere paintball event, the SPS is committed to the continuous growth of this sport in Singapore and will devote our limitless effort in creating awareness and publicity for the game we all love. In our effort to develop the sport, the SPS committee will be implementing several changes to SPS. These changes have been stoutly proposed, debated and reviewed where the final objective is to allow Singapore paintball to progress to the next level where we can benchmark our playing standards to our overseas counterparts. I am extremely thrilled to announce the following changes to SPS 2012 and would like to seek your incessant support in our new implementation:

a) With immediate effect, SPS Tertiary Division will ceased to continue and will not be included in future SPS events. Students from tertiary institutions can look forward to the Inter-Tertiary Paintball Championship (ITPC) which will be organized as a competition series in 2012.

b) Renaming of divisional category will be introduced to allow for wider classification of skill set level. SPS 2012 will see the renaming of Novice Division to Division 4 and Open Division to Division 3 classification similar to Paintball Asia League Series (PALS) classification. A new category catering to Division 2 and Division 1 teams will be introduced and named as the Open Division.

c) Along with the renaming of divisional category will be the introduction of a SPS pilot initiative to better classify all SPS registered players into their respective playing category. This is to allow players to be better classified according to their playing experiences in all paintball events organized by the SPS.

d) The newly introduced Division 3 and Open Division will adopt the Race-to-2 and Race-to-3 format respectively. Division 3 teams can roster up to 8 players and Division 2 teams can roster up to 10 players. Format for Division 4 (Novice Division) remains unchanged.

e) With the introduction of individual marker possession in October 2012, the SPS will cease to provide the use of electronic paintball markers to all teams participating in Division 3 and above. With this implementation, the SPS is taking a leap into standardizing the way paintball should be played across the world where participants have legal ownership to their paintball equipment. Rental of electronic paintball markers can be pre-arranged with additional rental charges from SPS.

f) Participants of the SPS Corporate Division can now have the option to use an additional 2 pods of paintballs on top of the 100 paintballs which will be allocated for each game.

g) To allow the SPS to better facilitate the smooth running of the event and to provide adequate game participation for teams, the following team participation ratio will be adopted as a guide in participation numbers, Open Division:Division 3:Division 4:Corporate Division – 8:8:16:8. However, this ratio might be subjected to change depending on the number of participating teams and number of allocated fields during the event.

h) In the event where a player’s ID tag is confiscated from a player by the head referee due to game infringement, the affected player will not be able to participate in the remaining games of the tournament. At this juncture, the affected player will not be allowed in/near the tournament area not limiting to the paintball fields, the players’ area and the technical area until his charges are cleared by the tournament director and the head referee.

i) A disciplinary panel will be set up for each event to oversee the management of errant players. We hope that with these changes and implementation, we will be able to bring Singapore paintball to greater heights and to allow teams to prepare for a very exciting year ahead. As we approach year 2012, we would like to thank you for your contribution to the progress of Singapore paintball, for without your display of passion and dedication to the game, we will not be able to reach higher achievement for this sport.

Thank you.

Jane Koh

SPS Tournament Director