:: Is Paintball Safe? ::

Safety is highly stressed at all fields. At the beginning of each session, referees/staff members on hand oversee the players. Where they discuss rules and regulations. Majority of the fields require goggles be worn at all times unless in designated areas. In addition to this, fields also require that barrel plugs (plastic inserts that prevent projectiles from leaving your gun’s barrel) be used while players are in the designated areas. Fields also limit the velocity of a fired paintball to less than 300 feet per second. Players who disregard any of these safety instructions are usually removed from the game and sit out the next. Fields which don’t enforce safety requirements should be avoided.

Does it hurt when you get hit? First off, paintballs won’t hit hard enough to cause an injury. Also, advocate paintball players say that with your adrenaline pumping, it’s likely you won’t notice getting hit. But you still must follow the rules and regulations to ensure a safe and fun filled day.

Paintball games are safer than all the major sporting activities. The following are statistics comparing various sports:

INJURY is defined as one which results in some degree of permanent impairment, or renders the injured person unable to effectively perform his regular duties or activities for at least one full day beyond the day of the injury.

YEARLY INJURIES PER 1000 SPORT PARTICIPANTS*

*Source: National Safety Council.

:: Paintball Markers are not Firearms! ::

Although a paintball marker may look like a firearm, there are many very important and significant differences, among them:

• Firearms are designed to fire a lethal projectile that penetrates flesh.
• Paintball markers are designed to fire a non-lethal projectile that breaks up on impact and does not penetrate.
• A bullet fired from a firearm is propelled by gunpowder and exits with a muzzle velocity of 500 to 4,000 fps (feet per second).
• Paintballs fired from markers are propelled by compressed gas and muzzle velocity is restricted to a specific limit (generally 300 fps for outdoor fields and 220-250 fps for indoor fields).
• A 240 grain bullet fired from a .44 magnum handgun at 2,300 fps can deliver nearly 2,500 foot/pounds of energy at 25 yards.
• A 3 gram paintball fired from a marker at 300 fps delivers only about 10 foot/pounds of energy at 25 yards.

:: Does Paintball Encourage Violence? ::

Many people have heard of paintball and developed stereotypes of the sport. Some people say that paintball is disruptive to our youth. This misconception is far from the truth. Paintball is a good way for people to learn some good basic skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and social skills.

Team Work

When playing paintball, it is important that you have good teamwork skills. If you don't work as a unit with the other members of your team, you will not succeed in paintball. Paintball teaches this concept to kids, adults, and even business corporations. Many businesses schedule paintball outings just to build teamwork skills.

Problem Solving

In paintball, you will learn problem solving techniques. The objective in paintball is to capture the opposing team's flag and return it to your home base without getting marked or tagged by a paintball. Along the way to capturing the flag, you may encounter many problems. You may be outnumbered, have gun problems, or have your own flag captured. You must come up with a way to overcome these misfortunes. This concept is known as "problem solving" and is very valuable in everyday life.

Social Skills

Another thing paintball can help younger players develop is social skills. A lot of kids have trouble talking to adults about problems they are having. Sometimes they are embarrassed to talk about something because they think adults will think it is stupid. When you play paintball you are constantly talking to other people on your team. If someone has problems with their gun, there are usually people (adults) who will be more than happy to help them out. Adults at the field work with younger players, encouraging them to become better players, constantly giving them helpful ideas that will make them better players. When young players interact with adults in positive ways, they will overcome their fears and develop good social skills which they can use in life---the real world. As you can see, paintball can be the "terrible war-game" some make it out to be. By incorporating real life skills into a fast paced game, paintball can be a good influence for anyone. It's a great way to build many skills which can be taken from the paintball field and carried on to the real playing field or life.

Disclaimer: This page is not affiliated with any other business or company that is mentioned or shown on this page. This page is ONLY for information and educational use. It is NOT intended to harm or facilitate another company in any way. Some graphics, information, and applications has been borrowed from other sources and I give full credit for their work.

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