Have you ever dreamed of playing paintball in paradise? This place might just be the closest thing to that distant image in your mind.
Twenty-five years ago, when I first picked up a paintball magazine, it wasn’ t long before I was reading about the“ Road to Aruba” and Aruba Open tournaments. If you were to put a map in front of me back then and ask,“ Where is Aruba?” I’ d struggle to even find this tiny island country. Being only 21-miles long and 6-miles wide, it ' s remarkable that such a small place could make such a big impact on the tournament paintball scene.
In the year 2000, the mega paintball retailer, Brass Eagle, hosted the first major 3-man event on the beach in Aruba, directly in front of a resort. Teams that won the“ Road to Aruba” qualifier events in the U. S., was given an allexpenses-paid trip to come compete in a fully enclosed inflatable arena.
In 2001, the first Aruba International Open 5-man event was held in a sports stadium with teams flying in from all over the world for the chance to go for gold. That was more than two decades ago, when paintball was breaking out and sponsors were chomping at the bit to get involved. Things have changed quite dramatically since those early days, but ask anyone who was lucky enough to experience those historical tournaments( 2000- 2011), and they’ re stories might just have you booking your flights and packing gearbags. And for good reason.
Now, after more than a decade, the Aruba International Open is back, baby!
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