Valken Newsletter Winter 2013 | Page 11

R TE 3 IN 1 W 20 the mateship and great social scene surrounding the paintballing community. It might sound like a stereotype, but Aussies love a beer, a barbeque and to spend their time meeting other players and sharing ‘war’ stories. You will find at any given event, the average Aussie player is happy to lend a hand, even loan our gear or give away parts to help a fellow paintballer enjoy their day. With a country as big as Australia, you will find Australian paintballers, whilst used to travel tend to stick to their local areas and States to play the majority of their paintball. You will find all three major forms of paintball, Sup Air (also known as tourney or speedball), Woodsball (called bushball locally), and Scenario. There is no shortage of good quality events either, depending on what your persuasion is. For the Sup Air players they can check out the Super 7s Series in Sydney, PAVS in Victoria, NCPL in Canberra and the Perth Paintball League in Perth to start with. The Bushballers have the Australian Bushball League and a host of other smaller events and one off competitive events to look forward to. And for the Scenario players, there is W.A.R. (Warmongers and Rebels) held annually in Sydney, the Tippmann Challenge Tour of Duty (moving to two events annually in 2014) in Victoria, the Total War Series which has four events in Sydney and Perth, and then a whole range of local or independent scenario events hosted in between those bigger events. Outside of your events, many paintballers enjoy participating in their local Paintball Clubs, often operated in conjunction with local field operators, these are the generally regarded as the first stepping stone for new players and keen recreational players wanting to step into regular paintball. Many local Paintball Clubs offer a great social scene, some very good (if underpublicized) events and regular paintball days to keep the masses happy. In some States, you are legally required to have a membership of a Club or field, so there is added reason to be a member in the first place and help out at the grass roots level encouraging new players into the fold. Well hopefully after reading all of that, you have now decided that the long haul flight to the Land Down Under is worthwhile, and you’re going to pack some of your gear to take in paintball Australian style. Don’t forget the laws (and if you are bringing a marker, seek local advice before you get to Australia to make sure you have the correct permits!), enjoy your stay, Aussie hospitality and social life around our wonderful sport. In fact, if you were to visit Australia and want to play some paintball, now is probably as good a time as any, with the 2014 Australian paintball calendar rapidly filling up with events and weather which allows for year round play, you would never be short of an event to attend. Cheers Mates! Craig Lindley Valken Corps Regional Commander Australia 10