 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
War in the Woods
Tiger Stripe Paintball facility packs plenty of fun for the whole family.
Over the hills and far away, lay a patch of land that is designed for one purpose and one purpose only, human head hunting, with paintballs of course! About five miles south, off of exit 34 on I-87, is a paintball course called Tiger Stripe Paintball. "Alls you’ll find here is an exhilarating rush and a great time with friends and family", says owner and operator, Ken Eckhardt. Ken has owned Tiger Stripe Paintball since the place first opened its doors in the mid-1990s.
|
The entrance to Tiger Stripe Paintball |
When one first arrives at Tiger Stripe Paintball, he or she is greeted with respect and a smile by Mr. Eckhardt and his employees. Any and all are welcome but if you are under the age of 18, you must have a parents signature to play. Many of the players that arrive at Tiger Stripe bring their own equipment, but if that is not the case for you, there are plenty of rentals available. In fact they have anything and everything you would need to rent, from full coverage helmets to camouflage jumpsuits.
"Alls you’ll find here is an exhilarating rush and a great time with friends and family."
Once you get suited up and ready for play, all guns that are going into the playing field are filled and tested. First off, all guns are properly filled with carbon dioxide gas by the referee. There is even a separate little hut for the filling process, "We keep the filling station separate to maintain safety and to keep the flow of "traffic" moving", says Mr. Eckhardt. After the guns are filled the referees take you to the target practice area where guns are test fired and checked for speed. All guns have their velocity checked with a chronograph and are properly set to shoot at 285 feet per second. This is done so that everyone is shooting equally while on the playing field and so that no one gets hurt. "I’ve been to a place before, south of here, where kids would turn up their velocity to about 400 feet per second and when you got hit with their paintballs you would actually bleed", says paintball player Mike Wilson from Oneonta. The referees are very strict over safety because of these reasons and if you have to be told the rules several times over you are forced to sit out for a few rounds. Once all safety precautions are taken, it’s time to go to the playing fields.
Since its opening, the outdoor paintball facility in Keeseville, New York, has turned into a respectable meeting place for paintball players in the surrounding area. "When we first opened the place all we had were a few courses with minimal bunkers for players to hide behind…". There are now a total of seven courses to play on, one of which is a "speedball course", which is the kind of course that professional paintball players play on.
|
|---|
The other six are different settings that take place in the woods, also called "woods ball". "It feels like you’re in a real war..." says paintball player James Young from Plattsburgh. James has been to Tiger paintball before and explained that there is a course called "D-Day", which is a slight replica of the scenario that took place in World War II on D-Day. "The course is meant for two teams, the "Germans" and the "Americans"…there are actual gates that drop to replicate the doors of the boats dropping on the beach in Normandy". Several other unique ideas for playing areas are available to play on, including a helicopter landing zone, a village of huts, and a swampy bog.
"It feels like you’re in a real war..."
Within these fields, all different types of games can be played. Some of these include; capture the flag, center flag, elimination, re-entry capture the flag, etc… There usually two referees that are there to guide you and your group of players but it is mainly the players choice on where and what kind of game they want to play.
Being one of the only paintball facilities in the area, Tiger Stripe Paintball is widely recognized and receives a fair amount of business. The land for the paintball facility is Mr. Eckhardts, and his actual house is within walking distance of the place. "I enjoy watching everyone that comes through here have a great time and as long as I’m around and well it will be open to the public", says Ken.
Have you ever gone paintballing before?
Paintball Pointers:
Even though Tiger Stripe Paintball has been around since the mid 90s, the history of paintball dates back to a decade before that.
Paintball is a nation wide, and even internationally known sport that gains plenty of attention from all different age groups.
The "speedball" course at Tiger Stripe Paintball is a commonly known layout for tournament style playing. Tournament paintball can be played either indoor or outdoor on different variations of these "speedball" courses. Even though speedball was a later addition to the paintball community, it has seemed to dominate the competitive circuit.
During speedball, the layout of the field is composed of air filled bunkers, each side mirroring the opposing side. This is done so that each team has an equal opportunity, and therefore creating a better scenario for a competitive sport. Each game played usually consists of teams of 3,5,7, or 10 players.
Though that is the standard for tournament style playing, variations of paintball can consist of unlimited amounts of players per team. One game that seems to dominate the northeast area, which is located on Long Island, New York, is called "The Big Game". This game is a three-day tournament event where two teams verse each other in a war-like scenario, sometimes reaching numbers of eight hundred verse eight hundred. Paintball tanks, gun-mounted go-carts, and even helicopters are just some of the extreme variables added to the game.
The sport is rapidly growing and has a huge fan base. It will be interesting to see where the future takes this thrill seeking activity.