Paintball and the Olympics

With many of today’s growing sports, understood or not by all, finding their way into the prestigious Olympic games, one of the deserving has been undoubtedly left out- Paintball. The Olympic games are a battleground for the world’s elite athletes. Its purpose is to showcase the many team’s ability, as well as athlete’s own personal talent and skills.

Paintball was statistically the fastest growing extreme sport in 2003 beating out snowboarding, and only surpassed in participants by skateboarding. Notably, paintball is also one of the safest sports in the world, having fewer injuries per one thousand participants then bowling, fishing, rowing, and even golf, none of which have many injuries. Paintball is indeed an international sport now having several crossover leagues, and being played in over two hundred countries by every walk of life, from your average teenager to today’s popular entertainers and well-known executives. Anyone can play paintball competitively on any level of play, from the small, young preteen female participant, to the old, graying, obese, male participant. All can still play without having to fear for their safety or being at a severe disadvantage.

The sport of paintball is misunderstood by most of those who do not play it, or know anyone that plays it competitively. Paintball has long since evolved from its “playing army” like state. It has moved out of the woods, now residing in a world of aggressively played air ball fields (multi-colored blow up bunkers that come in many shapes and sizes that are arranged in a mirrored fashion on both sides of the field) and brightly colored jerseys and equipment. Contrary to seemingly popular belief, paintball is no more a war game than the widely popular sports of football and chess. Players do not run around in the woods wearing camouflage and throwing grenades, all-the-while using known military tactics to defend bases and complete missions. This is a common misconception that only stands to hurt the ingraining of paintball into the world of mainstream sports as we know them today, due to the somewhat negative light it sheds on paintball, showing it to be a war game rather then the competitive sport it truly is.

Team sports have become a large part of the Olympic games due to the teamwork and camaraderie between participants and countries alike; paintball is no exception and is the embodiment of both. Communication and teamwork are vital parts to the sport that is paintball, if you do not get along well with your team, and communicate effectively, you will be placed at a great disadvantage on, as well as off the field. Paintball can best be described as a fast paced hybrid sport; a cross between the strategy and anticipation driven game of chess, and the old, school yard game of tag that depends upon one’s speed and agility, except that the chess masters remain on the field unrelentingly shouting and shooting nonstop in an unwavering struggle to push their players up the field to eliminate the opposition and claim victory.

In conclusion, there is no question in the minds of the participants of the great sport of paintball that it should find its way into the Olympic games in the near future, and I for one can find no reason why it should not, indeed, be placed in its’ rightful position among the greatest sports in the world and be shown as the positive, team oriented sport that it is. The world of international sports is constantly expanding to fulfill the needs of growing sports around the world, it is of the utmost importance that one of the world’s fastest growing sports not be forgotten in the woods were it was born.