Skirmish IoN should need no introduction to anyone who has been around the sport of paintball for any period of time . Boasting more than 4,000 registered players yearafter-year , Skirmish IoN , otherwise known as Invasion of Normandy , is a live-action role play of the Allied Invasion of Normandy in World War II . The event is played over the course of three days on more than 200 acres of fields , and over the course of 20 years it has become The Scenario Event of scenario events .
Beyond all of the scope and size of the game itself , IoN is steeped in legend for the shenanigans and the strength of the community around it . Driven mostly by efforts of the event participants , it has become , quite literally , a festival including live music , parties , and vendors of all kinds . For many , IoN has become a reunion and an annual tradition . And if you have never experienced this event , in short , you should .
On Field : The Beach , The Insert , The Victory
This year , on July 10-11 2022 , IoN celebrated its 20th Anniversary , and Paul Fogal , owner of Skirmish USA , along with his family and the team at Pocono Whitewater , did all they could to make it an epic event . Their focus was mainly on creating a Beach Battle for the ages . Unfortunately , this may have been a bit out of touch with the actual player desires and experience .
True to the actual history , the landing beaches are broken into five sectors : Utah , Omaha , Gold , Juno , and Sword . At game start , Allies are only allowed to access the field by one of two methods : either with an extremely limited number of tags given to airborne players for a specialized drop mission , or through the boats on the beaches .
024 paintball . media magazine