“ My initial reaction [ at Gateway ] was , ‘ This is what woodsball is supposed to be .’” Easter said . “ The fields are all natural ; dips , highs and lows , mounds , trees . New York ’ s fields had all of the natural feel and the elevation changes , but this just felt like it played even better .”
Gadberry shared the sentiment , and spoke on how the the sport has come full circle , transitioning from woods , to hyper pipe , to air ball , and now back again .
“ I think it was around ‘ 98 when hyper ball was introduced . Now , they say that is ‘ classic ’,” he said . “ It is part of the classic era , sure , but it was only a couple of years that we were on pipe before everything transitioned fully out of the woods and onto the air ball field .”
For his part , Gadberry says he would rather be in the woods , where it all started . And ,
Gateway offered fantastic woods fields .
This event was not without its drama or struggles . As a burgeoning league , WCPL faces some real challenges and there is room for growth , particularly in the officiating department . The judging , or lack thereof , at this event played a significant role in both outcome and player safety .
Saturday saw some highly contested maneuvers by a player on Missouri Magic , and the frustration from other teams overflowed off the field . Twice , in two separate games , a player went over top of a bunker to eliminate his opponent at close range . Two camps quickly formed over the issue . Some said bunkering is just a part of paintball , but others thought the move was too aggressive for a WCPL tournament , and tensions and tempers quickly rose .
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