The final event of the NXL Europe ’ s 2024 schedule took place just outside of Paris , France in the beautiful city of Dreux the last weekend of August and into September . With just over 30,000 residents , Dreux is a small multi-ethnic city and industrial centre that has grown exponentially in recent years because of its proximity to Paris . Dreux is a mix of old-world European charm , modern city living and industry . There ’ s much to do and see in Druex , including the beautiful Gothic Revival architecture , the incredible centuries old churches or eating at one of the many cafés in the city . But for this particular Wednesday through Sunday , the National Xball ’ s European Championships , including the IPBF Nation ’ s Cup , was the main event in town .
The event featured six Xball divisions , a 7 vs . 7 Open division , three 3 vs . 3 divisions and the wildly popular Men ’ s , Veterans , Woman ’ s , Under 19 ( U19 ), and Under 16 ( U16 ) UPBF Nation ’ s Cup divisions . For those not familiar , the UPBF Nation ’ s Cup features “ all star ” teams from around the world , including the United States , France , Germany , Norway , Poland , Italy , Mexico , Belgium , Brazil , Great Britain , Portugal , Switzerland , Bulgaria , Malaysia , Finland , Netherlands , Spain and Lithuania . It is truly the closest thing we ’ ll see in our lifetime to paintball in the actual Olympics .
Although the UPBF Nation ’ s Cup were on the docket for Wednesday and Thursday , the first two days of the event , we ’ re going to start our coverage with the Xball , 7 vs . 7 and 3 vs . 3 .
028 paintball . media magazine Photo by Danny Knuit