Splat! Splat! (November 26, 2004)

In paintball battles, the winner is the last man standing
by Teresa C. Brown

Patter-pat-pat-pat. Splat!

A creamy pink spatter mushrooms across a young man's facemask, partially obscuring his view through the clear plastic guard. And with that hit, a fast-action game of paintball ends.

The players look like battle-worn knights in their armor. Wearing the long-sleeved protective garb, both sides trudge through the obstacle-laden field and out of the net-enclosed arena, while the next set of teams take the field to try their skill at this rapidly growing form of tag.

Because it is so physical, the sport appears daunting. Not so, said Lucia Alviar, manager of Sunol Paintball, a 10-acre outdoor field located south of Pleasanton. "Anyone can play," she said.

At 51, Karl Berenbrok said he is proof of that claim. He has been playing the sport for the last dozen years and said less agile players can hunker down behind one of many massive obstacles and stay put. Leave the running, diving, jumping and crawling to the young players.

A person must be at least 10 to play at the Sunol field, said Alviar. Many paintball enthusiasts are father-son teams, she said, adding that most players also have typical interests, such as playing golf.

Berenbrok, who is a weekend regular, agreed. While the sport may seem to attract young teens, he was the one who got both his son and daughter, now adults, playing when they were younger.

While it is arguably a male-dominated sport, girls do not shy from it, Alviar said.

Berenbrok said he loves to "ref" the girls. "They usually outshine the guys. They really get into it."

It is not unusual, Alviar said, for girls, as well as boys, to celebrate birthdays at the paintball field. Even bachelor parties have been held there.

While it has become better known in the last couple of years, paintball as a game first appeared some 20 years ago and has its roots in ranching. Ranchers marked cattle with paint shot from marking guns, Alviar said. "That's why they are called markers."

The markers do resemble guns and can be dangerous if handled improperly, which is why, Alviar said, safety should always be stressed and is the first consideration in game play.

Sunol Paintball has been incident free since it opened several years ago. No player is allowed on a field without proper safety wear and without supervision, Alviar said. Referees monitor players for proper gear, and they enforce rules such as not shooting at anyone who is less than 20 feet away.

Players must respect the rules that extend not only to fellow players but also to the environment.

Although the paint is biodegradable, Berenbrok said, destructive paintball shooting, such as at wildlife or at buildings outside the fields, is not allowed. The players are good about self-policing the rules, he added. A neighboring building - or a squirrel - with paint on it would certainly show someone is not cooperating.

Like any sport, there is proper attire. Players should wear covered shoes, long pants and layered clothing. Hats, gloves and neck coverings are required as well as knee and elbow protection, Alviar said.

Like for other sports, specifically designed clothing can be purchased. But many players wear military-style camouflage pants, layers of short-sleeved shirts under long-sleeved ones, along with gloves and a full-faced mask.

The crown of all the gear is the marker, and they can be impressive. The markers range from simple to sophisticated models, and in price from the low hundreds up to more than $1,000.

They use compressed air to expel the balls, some up to 18 balls or more per second, said 14-year-old Mike Pearson, an avid player.

The markers are loaded with dozens of colorful marble-sized balls. The balls, a brittle gelatin shell filled with a water-soluble vegetable dye, are designed to burst on impact.

At the Sunol field, where there are three different arenas, rules require that players must test their markers before entering the paintball field. Firing a single shot into an electronic calibrating cylinder, they make sure their guns are not shooting faster than 280 feet per second, said Berenbrok.

The games are simple. "Basically, it's like playing tag," he explained. With a referee overseeing the match, two teams, with between one and 15 players per team, take the field and players try to eliminate the opposing team by tagging them with paintballs.

The balls usually shatter readily under pressure. If a person is hit, the paintball will leave a creamy, colorful splatter on the player. One color splatter and the player is eliminated.

During the game, players can advance closer to the other team by using the field bunkers, or obstacles, for protection and to keep them out of the direct line of paint fire.

It is a fast-action game of gaining position, shooting and ducking, while trying to eliminate the opponent before becoming one of the eliminated.

On an average, Berenbrok said, the last-man-standing games last about eight to 20 minutes.

In the case of one-on-one stalemates, a five- to 10-minute countdown is called to increase the pressure on the players to end the match, he said.

The referees try to evenly match the teams, Berenbrok said, putting experienced players on both teams with beginners. Often, he said, beginners want to play on a smaller field where there are a lot of obstacles, because they want more barriers to hide behind.

What they do not realize, Berenbrok explained, is that the protective barriers also making shooting more difficult and it is not as much fun.

Paintballing can be a cheap date or an expensive one. An average daylong rental of eye protection, a marker and 100-200 paintballs can cost about $35.

But the paintballs can dig into the wallet. Shooting several balls per second can deplete a 200-count supply quickly.

Sunol Paintball recommends about 500 paintballs for beginners. Its paintball price list ranges from $25 for 500 balls up to $70 for 2,000; compressed air is another cost, $12 for the day or $5 for refills.

Markers take the player into another expense realm. Berenbrok has a sophisticated model with different barrels to choose from, depending on what type of paintball he uses. Prices run the gamut and can jump into four figures quickly.

In spite of cost, it is a sport that has been gaining popularity through the last 20 years. Since the first college club was organized at the U.S. Military Academy in 1986, other colleges have been joining the ranks.

According to the National Collegiate Paintball Association Web site, Penn State, Michigan Tech and Purdue University followed the Military Academy with their own organizations by 1992.

In the last decade, many other schools have included paintball organizations, and in 2001, the NCPA was formed.

Since then, high school clubs have been added to the roster and the NCPA regularly holds college and high school tournaments throughout the nation.

Pearson, a Foothill High School student, has played the sport since he was in sixth grade. "It's really fun and it gives me a good workout," he said, plus he likes the people at the field.

His parents approve of his chosen hobby, he said, adding that it keeps him out of trouble.

When asked the obvious question - does it hurt? - Pearson, wearing his dusty paintball jersey and pants bearing scars from past battles, replied that usually it does not. Sometimes it stings, he said.

But in this game of dodge, duck and shoot, Pearson tries to avoid that sting as well as the one of defeat - to become the last man standing.

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