GRIP Nº1 - English Version

N.潞 01 路 April 路 2012

Ash Chaplen interview

CEP

scenario

Big Games Europe scenario

In锚s Braz miss grip

St. Tropez Millennium

1

16-43 Millennium

14-15

Profile

58-71

54-57

Gallery

Interview - M. Margott

index 16-43 Millennium

54-57 Interview

St. Tropez

Marcello Margot

44-45

10-11 Highlight

Rules

58-71 Gallery

Domingos Leitão

Get a Grip!

Strange love

46-50

74-86 Interview

06-07 Team 08 Editorial

12-13 News

Tactics

14-15 Profile

51-52

88-91

Patrick Wrobel

Nuno Lourenço

Hailey Adrienne

02

index

João Anjos

Drills

Ash Chaplen - Nexus

Girl Paintballer

74-8

Interview A. Chapl

86

w len - Nexus

108-119

CEP

102-106 Big Games Europe

90-101

134-137

Miss grip

Review - Etha

92-101 Miss GRIP

124-127 Review

102-106 Scenario

128-132 Review

Inês Braz - Though Girl

Big Game Europe

108-119 CEP Centro Expedicionário

Scenario Paintball Manual

Hugo Domingues

149

Thanks

Hoya HD - The strength of paint

Portugês - PAINTUGAL

134-137 Review

118-123

138-139

Backstage

140-141 Chronicle

Etha

Prizes

COVER CREDITS

Photo: Photopaintball

index

03

04

05

the t RICARDO CAMPOS

RITA PEREIRA

PEDRO SIMÕES

HUGO DOM

Co-Director of GRIP

GRIP Magazine’s Art

GRIP Magazine’s

Our “opinion

Magazine. He’s a pho-

Director. She works as

photography editor.

who doesn’t

tographer and breathes

a professional graphic

He’s also an accredited

introduction

paintball.

designer.

photojournalist.

best Portugu

ball player ev

JOÃO ANJOS

RAUL TAVARES

ANDRÉ FARIA

He will be GRIP Maga-

He’s Grip’s reporter. He

The scenario man. If

zine’s resident teacher.

will be there to ask the

we’re talking about

Tactics, work methods e

questions that no one

camouflage, gun repli-

game mentality are his

else has the courage to.

cas and lots of fun, then

specialties.

that’s where he is.

NUNO “OSSOS” LOURENÇO One of the top Portuguese players explains you how to train and improve your performance.

06

team

JANI ANDER Photographe Paintball Ph brings you t of the light Nordic Coun

team

MINGUES

DANIEL TEIXEIRA

n-maker”,

GRIP Magazine’s kid.

t need any

He’s responsible for all

n. Easily, the

of the news from the

uese paint-

“world of paint”.

HAILEY ADRIENNE The pretty face of paintball shows us the feminine side of our sport.

ver.

RSSON er of the hotography, the vision of the ntries.

DUARTE GOMES The mechanic in charge. Very few understand paintball markers and accessories as well as he does.

GIL BELFORD With such a name he could only be a translator… or the owner of a waffle shop.

RITA RISCADO Our teacher corrects, translates and has to put up with all our doubts.

DOMINGOS LEITÃO Head Marshal at the Millennium and Portuguese League.

He explains you the basic rules.

DIOGO ALMEIDA He´s GRIP’s Journalist.

Professionalism and truth in one single person.

team

07

editorial

By André Garrido Director GRIP

F

irst issue, at last.

A lot of you don’t know us yet, but those who have discovered us in the last months have loved the magazine and have given us excellent feedback.

We would like to thank all our readers, and we guarantee that we will do everything not to disappoint you. For the ones reading our pages for the first time, we hope that you find what we wanted to create: quality information, excellent photography and a lot of European paintball.

With our initial publication we bring you many new things, amongst them our new writers, who will help to explain specific components of our sport, like refereeing, for example - with Millennium Series and National Championship head ref Domingos Leitão - or maybe other areas which are more technical, explained by Nuno “Ossos”.

We also count with the help of Hailey Adrienne, world famous girl paintballer, who will give us a female insight on the European scene.

In this issue we would like you to get to know Ash Chaplen, who explains Nexus’ history and ambitions for the future. Besides that, we interviewed Marcello Margott, who tells us a little bit about his life and about the American experience in the old continent.

Scenario paintball lovers should bookmark this issue, as we are giving you the dates for all the Big Games this year. You will also get to know the Portuguese Expeditionary Corp and find out more about the book that all paintballers should own.

But the best is left for last: in this issue of GRIP, we inaugurate the contest section. Enter it and get the chance of winning prizes and products.

May this be the start of a year filled with adrenalin and paint!

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editorial

09

10

Photo: PhotoPaintball

Strange Love

— Have your matches finished?

— Yes... But... ermmm — But what?

— We need to watch the teams playing now and the ones after that.

— But I want to go to the beach, we’re in the Côte D’Azur!!

— You can go alone, honey, I don’t mind! highlight

11

Crossover

EPBF Championship The Ladies Cup, the Nations Cup and the Youth Cup are now called EPBF Championship, but they are still three separated categories.

The Ladies Cup now is called European Championship Women, which will occur on the 25th, 26th and 27th of May in Bitburg.

In turn, the Nations Cup will see its name changed to European Championship and it will be held between the 29th of June and the 1st of July in London. In Paris, the European Championship U19 will take place between the 12th and the 14th of October.

Tippman presented his new marker – The Crossover - at Paintball Extravaganza. This electro pneumatic high performance marker is very light and it will cost 340₏. It will be in the market between March and April. The Crossover has a 0.68 caliber that can shoot between 8 and 15 balls per second as far as 46 meters.

The shooting modes available are: autoresponse, PSP, NPPL, Millennium and semiautomatic.

All of this in a 1,08Kg marker.

New Rules The first stage of Millennium Series 2012 is marked by the change of some rules.

Coaching from the pit was banned and the false start rule was changed, now allowing the player to touch-back the gate. By 2013 the European Paintball Federation wants to ban some equipment and some ball colors.

12

news

Champions Paintball Series The 10th and 11th of March marked the beginning of a new European paintball tournament, the Champions Paintball Series. This first stage was held in Venice and it had 25 teams, divided into two leagues, and with the visit of hundreds of fans and curious.

Empire Venice was the winner of “Super League”. In “League One” the winners were Consilium Dei 2.

E-Flex The new Empire mask was presented at Paintball Extravaganza and it will be a mix between the E-Vents and the Proflex. The chosen name was E-Flex. It has a fast lens exchange system typical of E-Vents, foam in the zone of the ears for better comfort and thermal lens.

Proton Proton is the name of the new marker that is being developed and produced by a Valken and Mokal partnership.

There isn’t much to know yet, but the company announced the base price will be approximately 230€.

Clone GT MacDev will launch a new high competition marker named as Clone GT, ending the rumors that led to the release of the Cyborg.

Clone GT should be launched at end of March and it will be the marker that will equip teams like Russian Legion, Explicit Syndicate, Uprising and San Francisco Explicit.

news

13

Patrick Wrobel

P

CAPTAIN OF SYNDICATE

atrick is one of those players that we used to see in the European circuits, in Millennium or Centurio, actually known as Grand Tour.

He started playing for Instinct and changed to Syndicate in 2005, where he has been playing since that day. He had already participated in 8 Millennium full

14

profile

seasons, being his high point the first place in CPL Malaga.

He is still known for his appearances in some MAXS’ videos, due to his position in this company.

Very recently Patrick created a school of paintball with new training methods, that promise to revolutionize the sport.

NICKNAME Precision Pat

BIRTHDATE 29/03/1983

PROFESSION Marketeer for MAXS

STARTED PLAYING IN 2000

PLAYING FOR Syndicate

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS Millennium, DPLs, Centurio/ Grand Tour

EVENTS THAT HE’S WON AND WITH WHITCH TEAMS 4x German Champion and 1st place Malaga CPL 2009

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT New paintball Schooll which will revolutionize practices done together with Kirill, from Russian Legion (www.dasprojektk.com)

Text: André Garrido Photos: PhotoPaintball

profile

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millennium

After a 5 month stop, the benches were assembled, the carpets unrolled and the nets were stretched.

The south of France was the chosen spot by Millennium’s organization.

Text: AndrĂŠ Garrido Photos: PhotoPaintball

millennium

17

Millenium Series, the biggest European Paintball competition event, both in quality and quantity, went back on the road for another high standard season.

The place chosen for the first stage was Puget Sur Argens and not Saint Tropez or Cannes, on the contrary of what was announced. This small village, with more than 7000 inhabitants, welcomed most teams in Oasis Village estate, which allowed creating a real paintball community – as if it was a true festival. The

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millennium

mingling between teams was constant and everyone saw the tree that gives cans instead of fruit.

The Milennium complex was located right on the side of the estate so most players walked to the games.

It is undoubtedly a luxury that few competitions are able to have, but we easily realized it is organization policy, because London, Bitburg and Paris’ Disney are other events based on the same concept. This makes it possible for players to rest more and better and

to somehow save in travel expenses. harder to bring paintball to a wider The entrance to the event was in audience. the back and hidden, which could have The fields were place in the way made it difficult for those who Millennium has accustomed us wanted to visit the event. We to, with the two main fields know very well that our together and sided by two sport is a niche and that seating areas. The other Everyone the audience is mainly two fields were located on saw the tree players from other teams the back of the circuit, that and their accompanying separated by the main gives cans people. This is mostly fields and the shops. instead due to the difficulty in In the commercial area of fruit. finding places with easy there were brands like DYE, access for other visitors. Even competing with GI Sportz over though – and especially because of the biggest stall; Celtic Paintball, it – if a more facilitating approach isn’t Maxs, Vanguard, Eclipse, PaintXtreme, considered for broad visitors, it is even Tippmann, Paintball Valley, Spyder and

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19

On this day it’s still possible, like in style gurus HK Army and Anthrax. previous years, to train in the existing Thursday is always the usual mess, fields. There are lots of teams that where the need to buy a player accept to pay 400€ to train on the card creates long queues, for fields they will play the next the players who haven’t What is the day. You can see names like previously registered. purpose Nexus, Amsterdam Heat, It is hard for us to of paying Art Chaos Moscow or even understand the reason a player teams of lower divisions, for the payment of a card worth like RMG Bratislava or player card worth 45€ 45€?

Scorpions Milano. when teams pay very The following day, Friday, expensive registration fees it gets serious. With the sky to enter this competition. anticipating rain, walking the path Wouldn’t it make more sense to the fields is enough to realize the to have that price included in the nervousness of the players – that registration fee?

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millennium

21

listen to music and stay isolated to and that increases substantially the concentrate, or they shout in group in a good running of the games. kind of ritual to show the willingness Corridor talk was mainly to win. From this point on we about three teams: Northern know Millennium has another American Damage and Corridor competition ready to start.

Dynasty and obviously the talk was The calendar system twice European champions focused is still the same of last Art Chaos. on Damage, year, in which two teams As for Damage, it Dynasty confront each other was a competition to and alternately with other two forget, staring with a Art Chaos. teams. This is not an easy victory of 5 to 4 against system and it sometimes causes a renewed Benfica that has small misunderstandings with less again Hugo Domingues as man of the prepared teams. However, it seems a team and two kids who – if able to good change to us which came to stay keep the performance levels revealed

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millennium

– leave no doubts about the success they can achieve: Sven De Weerdt and António Mestre. On the first point against Damage, Sven is alone with J-Rab and without shaking wins the

point for the public’s rejoice. A public that is increasingly moving away from supporting northern American teams to support European teams. At the end of the game, the opinion was

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millennium

unanimous: the Portuguese team flaws. This first day was also marked by should have won. a mediocre performance from Damage, However and unfortunately for clearly below the level shown last year. them, that wasn’t their destiny.

This was probably due to an After this result against an inefficient adaptation to the inferior team, the next Fedorov rules of Millennium. game against Dynasty was thanks Dynasty did what expected to be difficult.

Dynasty everyone expected, with And expectations became for having two victories: against a reality after the lost the Syndicate, which have result was fixed on 5-1 in first place.

Kirill this year for 5-2 and favour of the team of the against Damage, for 5-1. dragon. It was an extremely As for Art Chaos, they calculated and incredibly seemed in shape more than technical game, in which ever. On one side they had Fedorov both teams were always and on the other Knyazev: the first waiting for each other’s one with fantastic creativity and

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quality of game; the second was a move is achievable by only a few! real headache for any opponent who On this day Tontons’ consistency dared to challenge him. Fedorov easily was also a highlight. This team, earns the title of best European supported by the French player and the proof was a audience, played fantastic move – probably the best Nexus had games. It is undoubtedly a of the entire competition the help very promising team for – when he was on snake of an evil Jay this year.

1, jumped to the inside Ford and a very One of the teams of the field, killed snake consistent causing doubts because 2, protected himself Ash Chaplen. of their new roster was in the snake temple and Nexus. However they immediately after threw showed some instability at himself on snake 2 again; as if it certain points of the games, they wasn’t enough, he shoots the opponent had the help of an evil Jay Ford and a snake 1 and left base, touching the very consistent Ash Chaplen, being able buzzer like a real hero. This kind of to overcome all obstacles coming on

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millennium

their way. Despite the defeat against Art Chaos, Nexus ended up winning against Ranger by 5-3.

Saturday is the day the third division starts, when there are very short games, one after the other, played best out of three. Because this method is a bit different from the other divisions – that swap sides on the field after two points, while in division 3 the swap happens after each point — there was some confusion.

This is an entrance division, for all those teams that wish to try the Millenium format. However, that shouldn’t be a reason to have so many poorly prepared teams, in what knowledge of the rules is concerned.

On this second day, Benfica was a surprise again in the game against Dynasty. They were able to score the two first points, although the second was annulled due to penalizations. It was also noticeable that the team

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in red annulled Alex Fraige, who got to the aimed obstacle very few times, which did not stop his team to win the game by an expressive 5-1.

In the other game of this group, the Syndicate were literally beaten by Damage that won by 5-0.

In the rest of the groups, the surprise came from Carnage, which made us forget about last years’ results and brought to memory the team of 2010. By the end of

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millennium

Saturday, the eight teams cleared for the quarterfinals were: Art Chaos, Instinct, Dynasty, Breakout, Tontons, Damage, Carnage and Nexus.

In SPL four teams distinguished themselves, although they weren’t always considered favourites: Vision, Dogs D Amour, Hulk and Hellwood.

Vision was always the strongest team, showing a consistent type of game and leaving no doubts that they were in Saint Tropez to win. Dogs D Amour

that have Chad George, lost only in after. It is undoubtedly an example the preliminaries against an inspired to follow at the level of consistency, Empire Venice. As for Hulk, they revealing that the will to score showed a hard to convince game, points isn’t always enough; it is also losing some points that they necessary to know how to defend could have got, but nothing and to wait for the right that comp romised moments.

Carnage passing on. Hellwood From the 16 teams that want were at the same level, went on to the elimination to remind compromising 3 point in us about stage, highlights for the their victories against the team following, not only for Graffiti and 7eme of 2010. their victories but also for Compagnie. the good fight put up in the In division 1 highlight field: Redball, PB Club 2, Gold for RMG, which were able to Coast, ML Kings, Coyotes, RMG, suffer no more than one point in their Desperados, Collision and Lardi. victories up to the rounds and even In division 2 we obviously have

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to highlight the former CPL team, Ignition, that pass on preliminaries with a perfect result, winning all games by 4-0. However, they felt some difficulties in the game with Manchester Firm 2, which ended with 3-2, with a victory by Ignition.

In this division we also have to mention Scorpion, a very stable team

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that was always showing their strength and also Rentless, which was able to show the quality of their strong game against teams as Dagnir Dae 2, Valkyries and MPA Blackout, although they lost against NPP. In division 3, as we said before, the result is best out of 3. This may seem easier for the teams at this level, but it can also be very hard for a team that carries a penalization, that has a low

marker or that has any distraction that can kill the game. The only exception to the rule is the dispute for the final and for the third and fourth places, which are best out of 7.

At this level it is very hard to assess average performances, because it is also extremely good or bad. However, it is easy to perceive the stability, game consistency and supremacy of both GFY and Evolution teams.

On Saturday night the teams

already in the final and the ones no longer in the game are easily identified. The noise during this night is constant and it lasts until late; this is why this is known by many as the Loser Party – in general the defeated celebrate all night long!

Sunday starts: it is all or nothing day. The ones who lost pack their bags and who won moves forward. It’s a real show to see benches full to appreciate the best teams in the World and some

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33

lucky ones can get a broader view from DYE’s VIP tent. However it is weird that some teams that lost in the way are no longer present to learn from the best, but that is Millennium’s flaw for organizing competitions in such desirable places.

The best moment of the morning was the game between Tontons and Damage, in which the French, with a fantastic support from the

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audience, taught a lesson to the World champions on how to play paintball.

The final result was 5-2. There were no surprises in the rest of the games; Dynasty won 5-2 against Breakout, Art Chaos beat Instinct by 5-0. The other remaining game had Carnage facing Nexus and it ended with a deserved 5-3 in favour of the French.

Thus, two French teams, a Russian one and a northern American team

went on to the semi-finals. For Tontons’ infortune, they faced Art Chaos that won by 5-1, while Carnage lost with the same result against Dynasty. The finalists were known and the most awaited game was reserved for the final between Art Chaos and Dynasty.

The fight for the third and fourth places was up to the French teams.

In SPL there were the teams in evidence throughout the tournament, although Hulk had some difficulties against Consilium Dei, winning by 3-2. Hellwood won by 4-3 against Ugly Ducklings.

In the semi-finals, Dog D Amour got a place in the run for the first place,

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beating Hulk by 4-0, while in the other counter-coaching from Vision; this wasn’t game Vision did what they should, however the reason for the victory by 4-2 with the help of the currently British against Dogs D Amour. In the dispute for best player Clint Moore and won by 4-1 the third and fourth place Hellwood also against Hellwood. won by 4-2 against Hulk.

In division 1 Collision won by 4-3 The CPL finals are without a doubt against Redball, while ML Kings from the highest moment of the whole Prague beat RMG by 4-1. tournament. This year, struggling for In division 2 Relentless dominated the third place, Tontons fought until the Aggression by 4-1 while Ignition had to end with the result of 5-4. It was a very fight hard to beat Scoprions Milano by 4-3. tight game between two French teams In the last division both Paris’ playing at home and with the audience teams, GFY Evolution, got to the finals clapping each point. with immaculate victories, which led The last game of the event ended to a final between two teams up being a final repeated with the same insignia. In throughout the years in the final, the first team of Millennium: Russians on Tontons GFY Evolution won by 4-2, one side and northern thaught while in the third and Americans on the other, a lesson to fourth places Argonauts almost as a reminder of the world lost by 4-3 in a tight the hatred of the Cold champions on game against the French War times. how to play Brakassees.

Before this game paintball.

Back to division 2, the you could see the teams two games of the finals were a gathering to study new tactics, show of complete dominance by both to hear the last motivation words and Ignition and Scorpions, winning by to have a bit of rest to be the best 4-0 against Relentless and Aggression prepared possible. The strength of will respectively. of these two teams is exceptional, Division 1 had similar results, this time having both spent the whole of 4-1, with a victory of ML Kings against tournament studying fields, observing Collision and of RMB against Redball. flaws even during victories so that In SPL games became a bit more they could get to this game and failing serious. In this case, there is a different the least possible. game organization and some lack of fair Blue on one side, purple on play gets to be visible, allowed by the the other and the audience start rules. This was the case of the excessive supporting their favourites. A thing is

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for sure: at this moment lots of people already support a European team, something that it would have been unthinkable some years ago. Assala, the biggest Dynasty supporters’ group, are the liveliest team in Saint Tropez.

With their clown wigs they cheer up entire benches, chanting Oliver Lang and his team players’ war cry.

This was by far the most calculated game, the most studied and nervous game on that field. There were few

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movements, always favouring the player alive instead of risking to eliminate the opponent with a constant search for the blind areas of the field.

The team led by Fedorov gave a show and proved Dynasty that they no longer rule Europe. The double Fedorov/ Knyazev really hurt and was able to win the game by 5-1. The result was

somehow unfair for what was played, but at no time there were doubts about the winners: Europe 1- USA 0.

Looking at the past, we believe these are clearly the two candidates for the European title. There is the possibility of Tontons, motivated by the celebration of their 20th anniversary,

getting in the middle and ruin the party for the other two teams.

However it is still early to make a definite statement, it seems to us that after PSP and now Millennium the new snake makes the game more static.

Lots of players have difficulties in surviving with such a low snake and

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IS EVOLVING

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millennium

ADAPT

AD0005

are still on. At the time of the podium the ones that survive can’t play much. almost all shops were already closed.

It is still soon to understand if this is It is still part of the event that all positive or negative, but it was clearly Dynasty gear is sold at the end of each a pleasant change. competition. It is a great opportunity The big novelty of this year was to buy unique and collectible material. the new DYE ball. Several teams spoke The tournament was over and wonders of this ball and we couldn’t help overall we think it happened in a very noticing all spoiling DYE presents, from interesting place, almost as if the shapes on a more resistant box it was a paintball festival, to the famous zipper standing but very distant from bags.

Fedorov everything and too dusty.

The award ceremony thanks We don’t even want to is long, partly because Dynasty think about what would there are five divisions for having have happened if it had and everyone wants to lost the first rained: we would clearly thank their sponsors and place. have had serious difficulties supporters. It is relevant walking in the shops’ area and to mention the camaraderie in the passages to the fields. We between all players, even when have seen much better, as it was the Fedorov as a joke thanks Dynasty for case of last year’s Longchamps. having lost the first place. Once again Next competition is in Bitburg, a the Assala team showed their great mood when Dynasty went to the podium, which place with some tradition in welcoming Millennium events. It will certainly be deserved an acknowledgment from Alex another great competiton. Will Dynasty Fraige that had everyone shouting the be able to get the first place and have name of Gabon team. things cheered up? Or will Art Chaos We found it a bit strange that the remain chasing victories? • shops are disassembled when the games

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41

new season, new rules

By Domingos Leitão In the USA, the PSP has recently presented its rule changes for 2012. We didn’t see any significant changes; instead we saw a reinforcing of the rules that were introduced in 2011. Rules regarding the regulation of players from the upper divisions playing in lower division teams and also a harmonization of the rules to address the issue of teams ranked in the same position, across all divisions. The NPPL hasn’t mentioned yet if they are going to introduce any changes, but I think we aren’t going to see any major changes, taking into account that its first event is upon us.

In the old continent however, the EPBF has announced the introduction of new rules to be applied to the 2012 season and also some rules that will be applied for the upcoming 2013 season.

Here, we see some deeper changes that may very well influence the gameplay and the speed of the games, as it is the case with forbidding “coaching” on the pit side. Players will also be allowed to

touchback to their starting gate even after a false start, as long as they respect the conditions expressed in the rules. Also, paint manufacturers will have one year to get rid of all their orange paintballs, which will be disallowed starting next year.

Regarding the prohibition of using orange paint, I think we are going to lose one of the colours that make the referees’

“Players will be allowed

to touchback to their starting

gate even after a false start.”

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rules

job easier. There is not much that can be said against this. Regarding the other two rules, it’s obvious that they are going to have a deep influence at the refereeing level. The lack of coaching on the pit side is going to make the game slower, which will allow for some key decisions to be made with a lot less pressure. In regards to the new touchback rule, I guess we will have to see what happens

in the first events.

In Asia, where they choose mainly to follow the European model, you will also be able to find some rules of their own, different from the American and European rulebooks.

Basically, we have the USA setting the pace, Europe trying to homogenize its rulebook with the American model and Asia trying to converge with the European model.

The main question here is the following: When will we have a unique rulebook for paintball worldwide?

Regardless of the different formats that exist in competition paintball, the remaining rules can be homogenized

worldwide. At a first glance, it would allow players that are playing abroad to focus mainly on playing and strategy, without having to waste time trying to

“Paint manufacturers will have one year to get rid of

all their orange paintballs.” adapt to the rule differences between countries and continents.

In this edition, we are asking our readers if they are able to name 3 rules that are different between the American and European rulebooks. •

Send your replies to magazine@grippaintball.com and we will publish them in GRIP’s next edition. rules

43

dirty tactics

By João Anjos It is well known that Xball came to revolutionize the way we play paintball. There is no longer a place for players who aren’t in shape. The game demands that all players have the necessary athletic capabilities and they also need to know how to play every spot on the field, as well as every bunker. But these tactical and technical changes have extended to the outside of the fields also, directly into every team’s emotional management.

Nowadays, a team that has excellent capacity in terms of managing the group’s dynamic, has very good chances to keep the team united and is capable to fight for every point up until the last second.

In the 7 man and 5 man formats, after a smashing defeat, it was easier to regroup and organize, and to come out on top to win the next game.

With xball that has become a lot more difficult to accomplish. After getting beat down on the field, the time you have in between points is minimal and it becomes very hard to be able to get a whole team with their head held high and focused on the final objective: winning!

In these moments, to fall prey to emotions of frustration, shame or even rage is to hand the game to the other team on a silver platter. Having a

“Not to be confused with a lack of fair play, it is just a way of

instigating disorder in opponents.”

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tactics

coach that can assist in this emotional management is a great help, but at the end of the day it’s the player that has to have the capacity to deal with these situations. Time and experience help to develop this skill in a paintball player, but above all, they supply him with a

number of dirty tactics that can help to rebalance the emotional scale in these key moments.

What I’m about to list are a series of tactics which a lot of players resort to in these moments. Do not confuse these actions with cheating or lack of fair play. Above all these are tactics designed to try and instill some disorder and disharmony in the opposing team.

We’ll start with the famous “overshooting”. Overshooting is perhaps the best known dirty tactic in the book, and is often associated with the malice of the players on the field. But the truth is that it is an excellent pressure point on the opposing team, forcing them to spend more time cleaning themselves up in the pits, sometimes stopping the player from playing in the next point, because he couldn’t get himself clean on time. Be smart when the moment comes, especially about the area that you’re shooting. Choose the harness, as it is a lot harder to clean. It will require a second person to help with the cleaning and a lot of the time.

The player will just come back with those same hits on his pack. The only drawback about this technique is that it becomes rather hard to accomplish when you’re getting beat down point after point.

Identify the mentally weakest player on the opposing team. When you spend an entire season playing against the same opponents, you start to get to know their personalities

“When you overshoot aim

to the harness. It is needed

a second person to clean it.”

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and the way they’ll react to different situations. Even if you don’t know your opponents, watch all the games they play. Identify this person and try to put a lot of pressure on him off the break. After the third point he gets shot off the break, he will crumble and frustration will start to take hold.

He will ask his team to change his spot or to change the game plan so that he can stay alive. If you can get the other team to change their tactics because of just one player, then you’ve achieved your goal. The drawback of this trick is that it will require concentrating more than one gun on an opposing player off the break.

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Make the opposing team lose their cool. You don’t need to get into the business of insulting them, but small things are able to brew a storm in the midst of the opposing team. Celebrate the winning of a point effusively, say goodbye to an eliminated opponent as he’s walking towards the dead box, pretend that you’re going to steal their pods, especially if they’re just in front of their pits. Time outs, often wasted due to lack of organization, are also a very good tool that you can use. Asking for a timeout when the opposing team is starting to pick up steam, can be a great help for your team.

Force the opposing team to give

up the point, gather in the center of the field to talk, don’t show a lot of interest in scoring. In these situations you will need to be able to evaluate what is best in the moment. If it’s beneficial for the opposition to be able to catch their breath and reorganize, then you will want to do precisely the opposite. Score quickly and show full interest in returning to the field as soon as possible.

Take a chance with a risky run-

through. Today’s modern layouts usually allow for a safe run to the center of the field. Find this route and stretch it into the opposition’s

“Celebrate the winning of a point effusively, say goodbye to an

eliminated opponent. Pretend that you’re going to steal their pods.” side of the field. Don’t worry about whether that player will stay alive or not, just worry about him being able to shoot one or two opposing players,

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and create chaos amongst their ranks.

In the next point, I will guarantee that the opponents will be worried about the possibility of that happening again.

If this happens and if they change their game plan to stop that from happening, then you’ve achieved your goal.

Force your opponents’ mistakes.

A few years ago I saw a North American Pro player pretend to score a point, pretend to get checked by the refs and start walking back to his pit (without actually leaving the field) while he picked up pods. A few seconds later, a pit crew member from the other team ran on the field to pick up his team’s pods.

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That resulted in an automatic penalty for the other team, who had to start the next game with only 4 players.

Many of these small tricks are used dozens of times during a tournament, and it is important to realize that they

“Force your opponents’ mistakes.” don’t make you a cheater, but rather an astute player, with a couple more tricks in his book. And believe me when I say that these tricks will make the difference on the field, time and time again. •

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back to basics

By Nuno Lourenço

Common sense tells us that no one run without having walked first, so we will start by the basics. There are some aspects that any paintball player should consider in terms of techniques, i.e. playing with both hands. There is no longer right hand or left hand players in paintball; that is a thing from the past and of guns in semi. With the ramping, fingers run at 5 and the gun shoots at 10 so there are no excuses to keep on playing always with the gun on the right. Force that in training; make yourself drill with the left, you will see that your aim and mobility behind an obstacle improve significantly and through it you will be able to help your team winning games.

Another basic aspect I still see happening is the “flag station”

positioning at the beginning of the game. It may seem a detail, but it is in the details that Pros do not fail and that you should not fail either.

Therefore, a player that will run to the left base, shooting or simply running, cannot, in any situation, have the gun on the right hand. By doing it, he is going against the natural movement of the body, which means that his legs

“There is no longer right hand

or left hand players in paintball; that is a thing from the past

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and of guns in semi.” will be running straight and the torso will be twisted, trying to point at the opponent, who will be more and more on the right. If the aim is to run to get there alive or faster without shooting, holding the gun on the hand

that is facing the balls coming against us is not a good option. Ideally you should always hold the gun with the hand that is the furthest from the opponent and position the body between the balls and the gun. If the ball hits the leg, it can bounce. It it hits the gun it certainly won’t. This is a mistake that costs one player and all players are essential. Still in relation to positioning, the easiest way to know if you’re correctly placed, you need to aim to where you want to go or want to shoot and then turn the gun to the base. The shortest way is always the best. •

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M

arcello argott

Used to playing in the best world teams, this year he moved to the best European team. Check his opinion about European Paintball.

Text: Diogo Almeida Photos: PhotoPaintball

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GRIP: How was you first contact with paintball?

Marcello Margott: I first started playing paintball when I was 9 years old with my dad. We played every weekend together. It was a great bonding experience that I never thought would turn into a full time job for myself.

GRIP: When did you start to play professionally?

MM: I started playing professional paintball when I was 15 years old with the team LA Ironmen.

GRIP: What are you expecting from this new experience with Russian Legion?

MM: I am expecting to improve my level of performance and to win many events.

GRIP: When was your first paintball experience in Europe and what were you thoughts on our level of play?

MM: I first came to Europe in 2008, when I was 17 years old. At that time the level of play was a lot lower than it is now. Over the past few years I have seen a dramatic increase in the talent and skills over there. Im glad to see it growing at such a fast pace.

Is Millennium an important part of your career at this point?

MM: I think it is. It is very important to be known internationally and beyond that I have many friends that I only get

“I have many friends that I only see when I go to Millennium.� interview

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to see when I travel to Europe for the millennium series so without it I would miss them and the great opportunity that the Millennium league offers.

GRIP: You’ve played with some of the best players in the World, with legends such as Oliver Lang and Nicky

Cuba and now the Russians. If you were playing 2 on 5, who would you like to have on your side?

MM:I would choose to have Alex “Mouse” Goldman with me. We grew up playing together and we have always been an unstoppable dynamic duo.

Mouse and me would win. Every time. •

“Over the past few years I have seen a dramatic increase in Europe.”

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“We won’t give it up without a fight.”

Ash Chaplen, the captain of Nexus, spoke to GRIP about the past, the present and the future of the team.

Text: André Garrido Photos: PhotoPaintball

GRIP: If we look at the history of Nexus we can see 3 different phases: Before Robbo sold Nexus to DYE; two years with Brandon Short, Mikko Huttunen and Hugo Domingues and until last year with Clint Moore, Jason Wheeler and Neil Campbell. All these names are huge European players. In this changing year, who do you think is going to become the next great name of Nexus in a year or two?

Ash: That´s a good question. There have definitely been some great players that have played for this team over the years. Right now we have a very young team that has the potential to stick around for a long time, so they might all become household names. You may have seen George Bruton playing in the

Millennium last year. He is just 15 years old and has great potential. We also picked up a new kid called Liam in the off-season and he has only been playing paintball for 18 months. He showed up at our winter tryouts and played out of his skin. Look out for those guys this year, and the rest of the team. We picked up 3 guys in total, and they all can play flat out. I’m definitely excited for the season ahead.

GRIP: Let’s be honest. A new team, with very young players, without three of the best European players on the roster, at the most competitive league in Europe… It’s a very hard task...

Ash: Yeah, it´s a pretty daunting prospect for sure. No doubt it will take

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some time for things to come together too. But there is no point dwelling on the fact that we lost some guys, if we spend all year thinking about that we cannot move forward. Nexus in 2012 is a very different team, but the principles are still the same. We train hard; we are all hungry to compete, to win.

GRIP: How did the remaining team of 2011 react to the exit of Clint, Neil and Jason?

Ash: Each player left under different circumstances, so it was different each time. Clint had privately told the team that he had intentions to stand down at the end of the year, although no one knew if he really would. I guess people were hoping he wouldn´t maybe... Jason has had a relationship with the Russians for a few years now but it never really came together for him before. We all kind of expected it by the time it happened and I’m glad he finally got the chance to live his dream.

With Neil we parted ways in the offseason. Neil has been a real solid player for this team and is one of the most unselfish guys on the field - every time Nexus was on the podium, Neil was the guy who controlled one side of the field to give the other guys the freedom to play and pull off superstar moves. I’m sad to see him go, but this is a team that is building

for the future now and that is our focus.

GRIP: The commentaries during your try-outs are public and some great names appeared. Names that didn’t need to show their skills. Why weren’t these players chosen?

Ash: There were some people that asked the question yeah, I guess you are referring to US pro players?

GRIP: At that time I didn’t see any names or countries. But Nexus doesn’t want US Pro players on the team?

Ash: We’ve had this discussion a few

“There were a few requests from some other people who

were basically asking to sneak their way into the team.”

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times. My point of view is that for every US pro we bring in, that denies a good local kid a spot on our team.

The UK tournament scene is declining, fewer players are reaching the top level of paintball, so we decided that if we didn´t start investing back into the UK players, Nexus would not have any English guys in the space of 3 years.

It could have happened already had we not decided this over a year ago.

We’ve brought 6 new guys on to the team in the last 18 months. Without

making that decision, there would be no Nexus.

didn’t want certain people to know. I don´t have time for that.

GRIP: And can you tell us what the names of the players you rejected were?

Ash: Rejected is kind of harsh. We were approached by some of the Ironmen guys who wanted to come and play in Europe and we explained our position to them.

They are all cool guys and understood our ideas. You might still see some of them pop up on other teams this year.

Besides the US guys, there were a few requests from some other people who were basically asking to sneak their way into the team without trying out as they

GRIP: This situation was that of a player that was known for saying bad stuff about Nexus and after that he wanted to play with you?

Ash: (laughs) There are always haters, most of them are jealous or think they know better. But then as soon as they see an opportunity to get their own piece of that pie, suddenly they are your best friend. It has happened a couple of times, but I’m not going to mention names.

GRIP: Why I didn’t you pick one or

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two names from Ironmen just to help the new and young guys to grow faster in this first year?

Ash: From my perspective, those guys will only teach our kids things if they are there at the practises, at the smaller events and are around a lot more. If that guy just comes to the event to play, then he is just pushing one guy to the bench and that player won´t get any experience.

There is no place to learn faster than in

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the trenches, in the heat of a battle. If you’re gonna play pro, you have to go out there and do it yourself eventually, so why wait? We have enough knowledge and experience around the team to teach these kids, and let them develop their own style.

GRIP: Nonetheless Nexus fetched Mikko Huttunen one more time. Why? Ash: In short, Mikko asked if he could help the team and be on the roster. I guess it’s

brings many responsabilities and many advantages. Can you tell us what the demands of DYE are?

Ash: Our main duty to DYE is to always promote the brand and products in a positive light. Firstly we are a top level competitive team that wants to win tournaments. But that’s not where it stops; we are ambassadors for DYE and Tournament Paintball in general.

You can win all the tournaments in the world, but if you are an asshole, not many people will care.

GRIP: But doesn’t DYE want you to be in Europe’s top4?

Ash: Of course they do. Winning pro paintball tournaments is the ultimate goal. DYE provides all we need to train hard and to make sure that when Sunday comes we are still in the mix. If you can consistently do that, then you always have a chance of winning.

like retirement denial for him as he is no longer playing for Ironmen. (smile) Mikko is a smart player, and more than anything else, he will help the team tactically from a coaching perspective. We don’t even know how many events he will be able to atttend, but when a double World Champion offers you his insight, you can’t turn it down.

GRIP: This remembers me one thing that Hugo Domingues (former player from Nexus) said in our last interview.

He said that when he was with Nexus everything was done for him. Is this the reality?

Ash: Basically yes, right now that is part of my day job with DYE. I take care of all the details so that when the team is together, we can focus 100% on the paintball.

GRIP: Nexus being a team of DYE

GRIP: The first difficult question. In this

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economic crysis does Nexus still have players with a salary?

Ash: Myth-busting time I’m afraid - no player has been paid a salary in Nexus since DYE took over the team at the end of 2006.

DYE provides us with all the tools to train, travel, attend events etc, but every guy on the team has a day job.

GRIP: Not even Mikko Huttunen, Brandon Short or Hugo?

Ash: Not directly as a Nexus player,

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no. Obviously there are guys like myself, Tommy Pemberton, Mikko and a few others who have worked for DYE as well as playing on Nexus, but there are only a small number of guys getting paid to play pro paintball right now.

All of our guys are here because they want to compete, want to win and I definitely prefer that.

“You can win all the tournaments in the world, but if you are an asshole, not many people will care.”

GRIP: But once again Hugo told us on the last issue of GRIP that he received more than Short or Mikko. He doesn’t work for DYE as an employee but as an athlete.

Ash: We have personally sponsored athletes that we work with as well our factory teams and Hugo is one of those guys. I dont think it´s right to discuss the details of players´ arrangements though - paintball sponsorship is a whole other conversation (smiles).

GRIP: OK it’s fair. But where I want to get is you being the new team captain, how do you manage the differences and mentalities between pro-paid players and pro-non-paid-players?

Ash: I just keep everything geared towards the team. No one is bigger than the team so everything is about what makes the team perform and how to get the best out of each player.

We’re really lucky in that we don´t have a bunch of egos to manage.

GRIP: Nexus has trained every weekend since the try-outs.

What do

your trainings consist of?

Ash: We dedicate Saturdays to drills.

We cover a lot of stuff: first-ball accuracy is a big part of what we do, so there is break shooting, snap shooting, one ball drills and so on.

We like to throw in some punishments for when you miss the targets, or lose a head-to-head drill, such as laps, squats, press-ups etc. We’ll do some game-like scenarios to help improve movement and communication too.

Sundays are usually game days, when we play against other teams at our practise field - Bricket Wood Paintball.

There is a good core of teams down there, and hopefully that will continue to grow.

GRIP: The Paintball of our days is a very professional, agressive and very demanding sport. For a kid of a young age, who starts playing paintball and wants to play in a team like Nexus or any other CPL team, what are your advices for him?

Ash: Just get

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out there and play. Play as much as you can, and just enjoy yourself doing it.

Don’t be afraid to try things out either, just make sure you learn from it when it doesn´t go as planned. If you want to get really serious, then start focussing on your technique: break shooting, running and shooting and snap-shooting are all key skills, but above all, enjoy it.

all. We were having a great year, steadily improving, and finishing second in front of our home crowd was truly awesome. Going into Paris, the top 8 teams were separated by so few points, it was unreal. We were in a 4-way tie for the 3rd place. The team in 8th was only 10 points behind that. There was a lot of pressure that

GRIP: Looking at your Millennium results we can see a very inconstant team. Nexus can achieve a second place and an eleventh in the same year. Why does this happen?

Ash: If I knew the answer to that we would not have finished in 11th!

Essentially, the CPL is so competitive now that you really can’t let off at

we put on ourselves to try and come out of that mess at the top, and we didn’t step up. You can blame all kinds of things, but at the end of the day it was down to us. We all knew the things that were in our control and what wasn’t, you just have to take it on the chin and promise yourself you won’t let it happen again.

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GRIP: This spirit of yours led Nexus to the first place of the season in CPPS, altough there weren’t finals due to the weather. How did you fell the team in this first big test?

Ash: Everyone did really well. There were horrible conditions, but the guys did what they had to do. We tried a few different things and got to experiment a little so

GRIP: Confidence or the competition is weak?

Ash: Confidence in my guys´ ability.

we have some stuff to take away and work on as well. The thing that pleased me the most is that everyone listened and stuck to the plan. ‘Team’ is the ethos this year and team work will help us prevail.

are in the CPL, but it´s a good rivalry.

It’s great the UK has two pro teams again, and I want it to stay that way.

GRIP: How do you consider CPPS in terms of competitiveness and quality?

Ash: The CPPS guys do a great job putting on their events. The fact they get 60+ teams each time is a testament to their hard work and

GRIP: Do you think if there were the finals you had won the event?

Ash: Yes. As simple as that.

GRIP: But Disruption is a strong team.

They are on CPL too this year. Are they your great rival?

Ash: Disruption is a good team, I guess they are our main rival now that they

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the service they provide. In terms of competition, there seems to be a bit of a gap in the UK. You have some competitive pro and semi-pro teams, but then below that there are maybe only two serious teams in the millennium D1 and D2. Ideally I would like to see the UK with 10-12 competitive teams from D1 up to Pro. GRIP: Could it be pricey for a team to be full-time at millennium...

Ash: It’s not cheap; I know that for sure, I’ve been there. But we don’t do it because it´s cheap, we do it to compete, to win.

GRIP: And comparing CPPS with Millennium. Are there big differences?

Ash: Of course. The CPPS has to be more flexible for all the different teams they provide for, and function as a working paintball field business. The Millennium gets to build a bespoke event every time. I know the Millennium guys get a lot of hassle for their customer service, but the actual events they put on still lead the way in terms of infrastructure and organisation.

national leagues that are very good. France and Germany have very organised leagues, but the Millenniums are a spectacle.

GRIP: You almost answered my next question. Do you consider Millennium the biggest paintball tournament in Europe?

Ash: Yeah, definitely. That’s not to say they are perfect, and there are other

GRIP: In London we will have another Nations Cup. What should be the best roster for your country?

Ash: Good question. It would be hard to suggest anything other than the team who won it last year. They are

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“I pro

the team, with 2 UK pro teams, plus Clint Moore, Neil Campbell and Jason Wheeler are available too. We should have a very strong team again.

GRIP: Do you think England will be the champion again?

Ash: When you are champion, everyone wants to beat you, so everyone will be gunning for the England team. We will go there to defend our title and we won´t give it up without a fight.

GRIP: Who is for you the best active English player? Who’s that guy that makes the difference in a team?

Ash: I have to say Clint Moore. Having played on the same team as him the last couple years, I can say he is an awesome player. But his biggest strength is being able to read a field, he is really good at processing everything that is happening out there and calling the right play at the right time.

It’s great the UK has two teams again, and I want it to stay that way.” reigning champions after all!

GRIP: You didn’t play... Wouldn´t you change anyone in this time for you?

Ash: I would love to play. I’m sure this year it would be harder to get in

GRIP: What do you think about this new rule of not being possible to coach from the pit?

Ash: I actually like it. We got to play world cup last year and the rule is the same there. It puts the advantage back to the smart player who knows how to play a blind spot and how to be sneaky.

Coaching has been good for the game, but you can have too much. I think this balance is right.

GRIP: There is a big gap between top

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teams such as Dynasty, Russian Legion/ Art Chaos and the rest of the teams.

Why do you think this happen?

Ash: Teams like Dynasty, Russian Legion and Damage are special teams. They are the biggest and best teams in the business.

Even in the US, they are consistently above the other teams. They have all raised the bar for pro paintball at times in the last few years and it´s what we all aspire to be.

They all have a great mix of youth and experience. One other thing they all have is a top coach, guys who understand paintball inside out. They are all paintball trendsetters in terms of playing style, organisation and professionalism.

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GRIP: Why doesn’t Nexus play in NPPL or PSP? Ash: This comes back to our duties to DYE. We are the European flagship team, so Europe is our priority. We would love a chance to play in the PSP as for me that is the top level of paintball in the world.

GRIP: Nexus went some times to the World Cup in Orlando. Will you go this year?

Ash: At this point we don´t know.

It´s something we always arrange during the season. I hope we do. The World Cup is the pinnacle of paintball.

Fingers crossed! •

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paintballer

By Hailey Adrienne March 2012 sets the date for the largest all female participation in competitive paintball to date. The event is Ladies Cup, which is being hosted at Arena Moscow, Russia.

The event is completely independent from all other tournament series, and is run souly by Arena Moscow.

The event is set to be a one day competition, with two brackets playing a race-to-three format in one open division.

A wide range of female talent has signed up to show case their skill from all over Europe. Teams include: - Harpies – France - FL Charms – Sweden-Danemark-Norway - Javidan – Iran - I.S.Y.T.A. – Ukraine-Russia

- Valkyries – Russia - DreamBall – Russia - Wolfs – Russia - Headshot Girls – Russia - MaRussia – Russia-Malaysia - YaD Girls – Russia With 10 all-female teams competing for the title, paintball history is about to be made. This event was created to show case the best of winter paintball as well as female participation in the sport. There is expected to be a great

This event was created to show case the best of winter paintball as well

as female participation in the sport.

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deal of growth for this event by 2013, in which case Arena Moscow would like to open up an additional division in the coming season.

We were able to speak to Ekaterina M. from Russian all girl team Valkyries about the event, and some of her teams plans

The rankings for the top 5 teams are as follows: 1 - FL Charms 2 - Valkeries 3 - Harpies 4 - Headshot Girls 5 - I.S.Y.T.A in. No matter if you are male or female, the same opportunities are provided. It is up to the individuals to put as much dedication and time into the sport as

HEADSHOT Paintball and Life Magazine (Russia)

for the current season. She says that the Valkyries will be celebrating 10 years this season, and have a full 10 girl roster. She also mentioned that they plan to continue competing in D2 Millennium, Ice Ball, and Hot Ball. There is also a chance that the girls might travel to the United States to participate in World Cup PSP. As Ekaterina has played on a wide range of teams over the past years, she spoke about how different playing on an all-girl is from that of a co-ed team. She said “On a mixed team you are a queen, you are, unique. On an all girl team you’ll never feel like that.” Paintball has always been a game that anyone and everyone can not only enjoy, but excel

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HEADSHOT Paintball and Life Magazine (Russia) HEADSHOT Paintball and Life Magazine (Russia)

it takes to reach their full potential and accomplish their highest goals.

We checked back in with some of the ladies after the Arena Moscow Ladies Cup, and the reaction was extremely positive.

All of the girls played their hardest and put their best efforts onto the field, and were afterwards treated to various forms of Russian culture and cuisine.

All of the girls involved in this event are looking forward to continuing to compete in the 2012 season. With such a great response from this event, it seems that the female to male ratio may be closing the gap from what it has been in the past. Good luck to all the participants of Ladies Cup Moscow in the new season, looking forward to seeing more of all of you on the field!!! •

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ll Paintba

hoto hotos: P arrido P G rĂŠ d n rs Text: A Navigato : Lisboa Thanks

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miss grip

One of the most aggressive female paintball players in Portugal, world champion in tang soo do, fitness instructor.

Check the photos of our new fighter. miss grip

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AGE 22.

OCUPATOIN Fitness instructor.

HOW DO YOU START PLAYING PAINTBALL? I started playing scenario paintball games and after that I was invited by Paintland.

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LIKE THE BEST IN PAINTBALL? The adrenaline and the challenge that this sport have.

WHAT IS YOU KIND OF MAN? He must be honest, with goals in life, intelligent, with sense of humor and kind.

OLIVER LANG FROM DYNASTY, FEDOROV FROM ART CHAOS OR TONY FROM BENFICA. WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE? Oliver Lang from Dynasty, no doubts!

HOW WAS THE PHOTO SHOOT? It went quite well, it was a different experience, fun and I just loved it!

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BIG GAME Country: Proença-a-Nova, Portugal Organization: Paintugal / Big Game Alliance Event Name: Emboscada Diamond Conflict Date: 29 and 30 of September Tickets: 5€ for Paintugal Associates; 15€ for Non-Associates Paint: Free Website: http://diamondconflict.paintugal.com

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Event name Date: 4 and Tickets: 65 Paint: Free Website: ht

ES EUROPE

Country: Swynnerton, U.K. Organization: Warped / Big Game Alliance e: North vs South Big Game Festival d 6 of May 5€ e ttp://www.northvsouth.com

Country: Mahlwinkel, Germany Organization: EuroBigGame Event name: EuroBigGame Date: 17 - 20 of May Tickets: 76€ Paint: Obligatory purchase on site Website: http://www.eurobiggame.de

Country: Veckring, France Organization: Veckring / Big Game Alliance Event name: Big Game Veckring Date: 23 and 24 of June Tickets: 107€ (inclui 1 caixa de bolas) Paint: Obligatory purchase on site Website: http://www.paintball-veckring.fr

Country: Sennybridge, U.K Organization: Shoreline Event name: Tippmann Challenge UK Date: 13 - 15 of July Tickets: 71€ Paint: Obligatory purchase on site Website: http://www.tippmannchallengeuk.com

Country:Brozek, Poland Organization: Gotchaspielfeld Event name: Szenario Biggame Date: 5 and 6 of May Tickets: 30€ Paint: Obligatory purchase on site Website: http://www.szenario-game.com

Country: Eleusis, Greece Organization: Paintballonline & Action Field Event name: D-Day Greece Date: 27 of May Tickets: 25€ Paint: Free Website: http://d-day-greece.blogspot.com

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U.K. - SWYNNERTON North vs South Big Game Festival This game celebrates it’s 10th anniversary in 2012, as the biggest European Recreational paintball event for the past few years,bringing over 1600 players together in over 200 acres at the Swynnerton miliraty field.

Jim Frensham confessed to GRIP magazine that he will be presenting the younger players with more games, more activities and more fun. Living proof of that is the new 5 hour long big game “Invasion UK”, where all the foreign players will play together against a British faction, in base areas, never before used, with bridges, rivers and many other surprises.

The tickets will give you access to camping, mini games, CQB classes, DCCT shooting simulator, Lasercombat games, pistol duels, paintball eating contest, strip shows, and also both the 5 hour game “Invasion UK” on saturday and the main 7 hour game “Vigilante” on sunday.

POLAND - BROZEK Szenario Biggame GRIP magazine had a talk with Mark Wightman, the owner of the company that organizes this big game since 2008, in Brozek (Poland), right next to the german border, in which over 400 players participate each year.

The work that has been done over the years is very much appreciated, be it the

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many different scenarios or the various surprises such as special and pyrotechnic effects, smoke grenades or a real T 54 russian tank.

The game tickets will give you access to the outdoor players party with a live DJ, strip show, game footage on a giant screen, camping, locker rooms, restaurant and both the saturday and sunday games. Additionally on sunday afternoon, you will get a guided tour where you’ll be able to visit one of the largest german explosive production areas, which was built in a wooded area during World War 2.

GERMANY - MAHLWINKEL EuroBigGame Christian Kammerer started organizing events in 1996, first in Bockange and then in Veckring (France). In 2006 he created Eurobiggame, which started organizing events in Germany, in the famous Mahlwinkel combat car training grounds.

This year they’re organizing a 4 day event in May for more than 1000 players, at a wooded field with buildings (Mahlwinkel), totalizing 37 acres.

The game ticket includes camping with electricity, locker rooms, nocturnal mini games, 3 x 3 tournaments, players party with strip show and 4 days of 8 hour games.

GREECE - ELEUSIS D-Day Greece The biggest event in Greece is the result of the union of it’s two biggest event organizers, Paintballonline Greece and Action Field, which since 2008 hold an annual event that beats national attending, year after year, and expects over 300 players for 2012.

The organizer, George Adamidis proudly describes the rise in the number of players, even with the hard times that Greece is going through. The best remedy for the crisis is without any doubt a good day of paintball with a scenario set up in the old mines of Eleusis,

with various buildings, woods and terrain elevations, as well as artillery pieces and transport boats. The ticket for this game includes several hours of fun with the main game, where besides the role play characters, you may feel, if even for brief seconds, the exciting thrill of the disembarking of D-Day.

FRANCE - VECKRING Big Game Veckring Veckring has occupied the calendar for the best european big games for the last 13 years, thanks to a fantastic location in the french border with Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, with a mixed urban and wooded 12 acre field.

Mickaël Amar hopes for a 10% to 20% increase in entries this year, raising the number of players to between 1000 and 1400. The organizer also says that “The Big Game Alliance is a great way of promoting the game in other countries”.

The game ticket includes entry into the field and allows you to choose between 1 or 2 days of play, where a case of paint is included, also includes access to the shopping and marker maintenance zone, players party, poker tournament and also the famous “sexy car wash” made up of beauties in bikinis. As the evening rolls on there is also time for a prize draw and a strip show.

U.K. - SENNYBRIDGE Tippmann Challenge UK Shoreline has been organizing events

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for 5 years and the Tippmann Challenge 2012 scenario event is Tim Barnett’s pride and joy. The tickets sold out in... 4 minutes, 9 months before the event.

The event will be held over 54 hours of play, with no stops, in a city with buildings, houses, churches, garages, hotels and even gravestones. It is an urban military training field, equipped with an advanced audio system that makes the ground shake, CCTV cameras filming day and night, sewage systems, dozens of russian tanks burning and over 3000 light flares, as well as drones filming the action and relaying it to the generals.

For the 732 lucky people who

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were able to get a ticket to this event, they will be greeted by a game that lasts for 3 days and 2 nights with an hallucinating environment at the Sennybridge Military Urban Training Facility.

PORTUGAL - PROENÇA-A-NOVA Paintugal Anniversary The Paintugal Association, a nonprofit organization, is celebrating it’s 8th anniversary in Proença-a-Nova (Portugal), with a 500 strong players party, in partnership with the local tourism, making it into a very attractive weekend, unique in all of Europe.

Luis Mestrinho explains that for the last 8 years, Paintugal has been organizing dozens of events where the objective has always been to promote paintball in Portugal, gathering several hundreds of players in many different scenarios and places throughout the country. With this goal in mind, Mestrinho invites all the associates and payers to join the party, promoting values such as fairplay and respect amongst players, as well as the practice of paintball.

The ticket includes access to the field, free stay in the city’s sports pavilion, Sniper Tournament Challenge, Team CQB Challenge, free use airball, paintball pistol duels, paintball shooting range, CQB Workshop, paintball shopping zone, with free marker maintenance, fraternizing with other paintballers and also the main game which lasts for 4 hours.•

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OR P RIO Á N CIO I D XPE E PO COR

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CEP (Corpo Expedicionário Português), the Portuguese Expeditionary Corp, was created in 2006 when two players from Paintugal travelled to England for the North vs South event. The experience was very positive and from then on the CEP was created as a selection of players from different teams managed by Paintugal, which is the main representative of Portuguese paintball beyond borders. Since then the heart, the courage and the drive with which they have been playing abroad - inspired by the original CEP who fought in the first world war - have brought them awards and respect in the great venues of European paintball.

This year they have launched the EuroTour 2012, in which they expect to participate in four big European events. António Maia and Alexandre Bettencourt, members of CEP, tells us more.

having in mind that a lot of people, even in Paintugal, don’t quite know the conditions for admission in CEP. In order to become a member of CEP it is first of all necessary to be an active member of Paintugal, having participated in the current year’s Paintugal events, and lastly having approval from the CEP committee.

GRIP: How many people are there in the CEP? MAIA: I cannot really give you a precise number, being that the CEP isn’t a closed group. This year we estimate that we will take 16 players to England,

We look at the CEP as the

Paintugal’s representatives abroad.

GRIP: Who were the founding members of the CEP? MAIA: Maybe they were those first two players. But it would be unfair if I didn’t say that the great promoter and driving force behind the CEP was Paintugal’s own André Faria.

GRIP: What does it take to be a member of CEP? MAIA: This is an interesting question,

even though we’re 27 in total.

We would also like to mention that it wasn’t possible for all CEP members to be present in the PhotoPaintball’s photo shoot. We have members all over the country, and we send them our gratitude for making CEP what it is today!

GRIP: Your symbol has a very strong, obvious patriotic component. How did the idea for your symbol come up?

MAIA: The chosen theme has sort of fallen out of memory, but it’s something that every Portuguese

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person should be proud of. The CEP had its intervention in the First World War, with a green and red badge, inside of a rectangle and separated diagonally.

Additionally, we decided to incorporate the Cross from the Order of Christ, always present in the sails of the ships during the Portuguese discoveries, and recently used by the Air Force.

The result was brilliant, with Nuno Tuna in charge of the creation and design and Swell being responsible for the luxury finish.

GRIP: What differentiates CEP from other player’s associations?

ALEXANDRE: I think that there are two key differences between the CEP and all other teams and player’s associations. The first is that we look at the CEP as the Paintugal’s representatives abroad. This means that both inside and outside the field, we strive to share the same ideas of fair play, camaraderie and associations that represent Paintugal’s true spirit.

Maybe those on the outside won’t really grasp this, but for us, Paintugal really is something different, unique in this world.

The other aspect that makes the CEP so different is the fact that we work as a selection of players. CEP itself isn’t a team, but a group of players from different teams, all belonging to Paintugal. This format also allows us

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to create a mechanism for selecting players, guaranteeing that every CEP player is indeed CEP material.

GRIP: CEP has won England’s North vs South’s best squad award several times, and they’re the only team to have won it more than once. What makes CEP so special on the field?

ALEXANDRE: I think that above all, that prize has a lot to do with attitude.

Our spirit and dedication on the field ended up being recognized because of that. Many of the people in CEP are people with great responsibility in the organizing of games here in Portugal. So, it isn’t hard to imagine that when they go to England, those hours represent almost a full year of paintball. You go in with everything you have, there are no breaks besides the ones designed to refill with air and paint. For the English, it’s just another game, but for us it’s the game of a lifetime.

I remember last year, for instance, seeing entire teams walking out of the field with pristine looking equipment, almost without a single stain. On the other hand, we looked like old rags, dirty from head to toe. But each one with a grin on our face, it was clear to see that we had just lived something intense.

GRIP: Aren’t you afraid that your militarized name and posture will drive new players away, because

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they don’t identify For the English themselves with those but for us it values? Is it necessary to have to be fascinated by combat to be a good member of CEP? ALEXANDRE: Many times, it seems that there is a problem in associating paintball with military issues, which can

especially when it comes to scenario play. Paintball is, in many aspects, a simulation of military exercise. This is something that we cannot escape from, but that doesn’t mean that it’s dangerous or negative. In my opinion it has a lot more to do with strategy.

Every sport has a kind of strategy that is inherent to the very nature of the sport.

In the case of paintball it is inevitable that its strategy is based on military principles. But above all it doesn’t seem that our name or our orientation is any more “militarized” than any other scenario team. Truthfully, I think you need to have a fascination for combat.

And above all it is necessary to have a great passion for paintball.

h, it’s just another game,

t’s the game of a lifetime. be understood, up to a point. Paintball isn’t, nor does it have anything to do with war or with violence. It’s just a sport like any other. But you also cannot be naive enough to think that paintball isn’t inspired by those models,

GRIP: Your overall stance and the fact that you’re kind of a selection of those that best fit the profile of the CEP are definitely worth some fame on the international scene. Is representing Portugal your final goal or can we still expect more from your organization?

ALEXANDRE: It’s a little bit hard to speak of fame when you’re referring to a scene that is as small and that has as little coverage as paintball does. What might exist is recognition, in the sense that they know who we are, they know we’re Portuguese and they respect us for that. I think that it has to do with the question of our stance. That flows from the attitude we demonstrate, both on

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the field and outside, and that people can identify with.

It’s interesting, because it all starts with the simple fact that we catch a plane, and travel from so far away to play a game with them. That is something that both the English and foreigners in general admire a lot. But then there is a whole other side that brings with it a lot of work. Without that work it wouldn’t be possible to give the necessary dimension to this project. And without that dimension, there would be no recognition.

For us, to represent Portugal is something more than an objective, it is the utmost honour. It is something that brings us a huge sense of responsibility, which drives us and makes us feel that we are working for a right cause.

GRIP: Your big objective for this year is the EuroTour 2012. What is this initiative about?

MAIA: CEP’s EuroTour 2012 stems from our objective of being able to represent Portuguese paintball abroad and to be present in the biggest European events.

We will be present at the Warped North vs South, Veckring and Milsim.es.

GRIP: It must be hard to bring such a large group of people to play abroad.

Do you have any kind of support or sponsorship?

MAIA: We just have our personal financial support, GRIP’s, X3’s and Social

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Paintball’s media support and coverage, as well as the fantastic receptiveness and help from the European event organizers.

GRIP: Which is the moment that you would describe as the most outstanding whilst being part of the CEP? MAIA: We’ve had several, so it’s not an easy choice. But, and maybe because it’s a more recent event, we can refer to the great relationship that we established with an American team, Hostile Intentions.

In the eve of the game, we dedicated a couple of hours to working on CQB -

Close Quarters Battle - with the Hostiles, which are mostly from the military, and thus possess a profound understanding of what tactical movement is all about. All that training would end up being put to the test precisely the next day and not only we got excellent results, but also a great sense of satisfaction.

However, what is really extraordinary and stayed with us the most is the fact that different people, coming from such different contexts and realities, can be united and work as a unique corp on the field. It is in those moments that we truly feel and understand the true meaning of paintball. •

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backstage One of the toughest paintball jobs that few like to do. Meet the top four eurorefs.

1 - Usually people do not like to referee. Why did you choose this path?

2 - Many players, specially the Americans, complain that the Eurorefs are very strict. What do have to say about this?

3 - What is the funniest story that has happened to you as a referee?

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RICHARD HUSBAND United Kingdom Head Marshall CPL

1 - I used to be a player and the refereeing was very bad at that time. So when I stopped playing I decided to become a ref to improve the level.

2 - Players complain about referees being very strict and that we don’t give enough penalties. You have to decide which player is right and which player is wrong.

3 - Many players do not know the rules and argue because they get destroyed by the other team. This is funny because if they knew what they are doing that wouldn’t happen.

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KENJI SAELENS

Belgium Head Marshall SPL 1 – I did a ref course and nowadays I love to give my experience to new refs and give the opportunity to players to have a great refereeing.

My main objective is that everybody is happy at the end of the day, to have fun, and to meet new people every year. Basically I love our paintball community.

2 - Probably we are strict.

But there are rules that need to be followed and if they do not like the rules we need to punish them. You have rules in every sport, and you need to follow them.

Eurorefs follow the same policy rules in every country they go.

3 - Every day you have funny stories. We had one player (that was playing) that complained about his partner not having his hand on his head and at the same time he was putting his hand on his own head... Of course we need to pull him off.

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DOMINGOS LEITﾃグ Portugal Head Marshall Div1

1 - I began to devote myself to being a referee when I was still a player, but it consumed me too many weekends. Two years ago I stopped playing paintball and decided just to ref, keeping the connection to a sport that I love and to an area that needs to be developed.

2 - I get teams from division 1, 2 or 3 with less experience that, when they get penalties, they understand and correct in future games after an explanation. Obviously there is no perfect refereeing but the number of complaints is much reduced.

3 - It was in my first international event, on Centurio. We were in the final games of the day and we were refereeing 5man games. The team was already dead behind the gate, and after we verified the player of the opponent team, we made a gesture so they could exit the dead box. That team seeing this gesture thought that they had won and they started to run to grab the flag on the other gate. The players of the other team saw this, started to shot them and they fought back.

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AUDRIUS SABONIS Estonia Head Marshall Div2

1- I started refereeing in 2007 in local tournaments and my main objective was to improve the level of referees in Estonia. In 2008 I made a EuroRef course with Mr. Ulrich and started refereeing in Centurio, GrandTour and Millennium.

I think it is a lifestyle although it is very exhaustive, with many hurtful hits on the body.

What I really want is to help teams with the best refereeing possible.

2 - I think many players are not familiar with the rules. If you think about it, there are rules everywhere, on Millennium or in our society and people just need to follow the rules. If we do not do our work there will be chaos on the field.

3 - A lower division team playing for the first time had a player that asked for a check. When I did the sign that the player is in play [the circular move with the hand] he started to turn around by himself. He took so much time that he was really shot.

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Scenario Paintball Manual A true bible on paintball world. Become the next warrior with this book Text: André Faria

GRIP magazine analyzed a manual that fills a gap in our sport. It was built on a literary base that is serious, intelligent and filled with many years´ experience, touching all aspects of scenario paintball, by one of the United Kingdom’s foremost scenario players.

This manual gives us an excellent vision on tactics and techniques that are required in a modern scenario game, regardless of if you’re talking about a player, a team or a general. It does so using an accessible language and a concise and professional presentation.

It is a bible of teachings in the style of the famous “Web Dog Radio”, very useful in an era where useless, partial and even commercial information is

abundant on the web.

It’s made up of 15 chapters, with 121 pages, that approach each theme in detail. It presents the pros and cons of the different actions: the game, the

“At the end of the day, what you are able to get from

a scenario game is in reality

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exactly what you want.” scenario team, the squad, the commander, attacking, defending, movement, field ability, shooting skills, firepower, pyrotechnics, command and control, the mission, the field and the equipment.

Each of these chapters has a conclusion, with various summary boxes, allowing an

GRIP gives you 2 “SCENARIO PAINTBALL” know how to win it in page 138.

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easy comprehension and memorizing of the details that make the game more interesting. It is an evident point that intelligence on the field clearly surpasses firepower.

The reader travels through the basic concepts of the game and of the team: how to form and train it, how to use it on the field, how to approach the field of play, how to attack and how to defend, the logistics, the command, not forgetting to take care of your equipment. All that’s needed to finish a day of scenario paintball, with great satisfaction.

Al Murray, the author, says: “When writing this book it was never my intention to create a manual of military doctrine but simply to provide some insight into the nature of scenario paintball and suggest some ways in which both the novice and experienced player alike can get as much out of the game as possible whilst developing their individual and team skills. Whether I have achieved this or not will be for the reader to decide. What I can say is that by employing some of these simple techniques whilst you can never expect to control every variable in a game it will be possible to deceive, outmanoeuvre and defeat your opponents even when the odds appear to be stacked against you” •

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Who is Al Murray?

“Al Murray has been involved in paintball as a player since 1987. In 1999 he established the Scottish Paintball Centre near Glasgow and in early 2003 he formed Team SPC, widely recognized as one of the foremost scenario teams in the UK. Under his direction SPC went on to secure numerous awards and a landmark sponsorship deal with US paintball giants Tippmann Sports. SPC (now Tippmann Scotland) were crowned “Best UK Scenario Team” in 2005 and 2008. Al is also the creator of a successful series of scenario games

and he is the captain of the UK Scenario Team for their expeditions both in the UK and abroad.

For some time he has been writing about all things relating to scenario paintball in his capacity as Scenario Paintball Editor for PBUK Magazine. Al is also the driving force behind the UK’s leading online resource for scenario paintball; ukscenario.com. His nickname “The General” suits him like a glove, having commanded several successful games and conquering a multinational legion of fans.”

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The strength

of Will a Hoya HD filter hold up to the impact of a paintball travelling at legal speed?

Text: André Garrido Photos: PhotoPaintball Thanks: Embosca Store

We were asked by Hoya to test out their high density filters. As we aren’t people that turn their back on new challenges, we decided to get on it as if we were the Myth busters on the Discovery Channel.

Hoya launched a new line of filters that are four times more resistant than the other products on the market.

Their lab tests are worldly famous. They drop steel balls on the filters, and don’t even get a scratch on them. There is also a video in which one of the brand’s salesmen

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bangs the filter against a table corner, and its resistance is once again proven.

Hoya warned us from the start that the results of the test that we wanted to do were unpredictable, considering that the filter was made with different needs in mind.

That being said, our first question is: Will a Hoya HD filter withstand the impact of a paint ball travelling at legal speeds?

The answer is yes and no.

After making sure that our Axe, being fed by a Prophecy loader,

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was shooting within the legal speed of 300 fps, we tested the filters at three different distances. We started with one meter and ten centimeters (about 3.6 feet), then to two meters and twenty centimeters (about 7.2 feet), and we ended the test at three meters and twenty centimeters (about 10.5 feet).

Naively and probably influenced by our desire that the filters were resistant enough, we started off with the shortest distance. It is impossible to describe the look on our faces when the glass

filter simply disappeared, its pieces spreading out throughout our studio.

It was a little discouraging and we started thinking about whether this whole test was going to be

It cracked on the impact

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zone, there is no risk of scratching the lens. successful or not.

We then moved on to the distance of two meters and twenty centimeters, where the final result was a lot more encouraging. It

cracked on the impact zone, leaving all the glass attached to the filter.

One thing is certain, contrary to what would happen with filters from other brands, notwithstanding the impact zone, there is no risk of scratching the lens.

With hopes for a better result, we moved forward to our third test, because we knew that at a distance greater than 3.2 meters, it wouldn’t make sense for us to test the impact.

Finally the test was successful.

The Hoya filter took a perfect impact and didn’t even get a scratch.

Lastly, we wanted to compare

the Hoya filters with other brands’ filters. How would the other brands’ filters behave? Would they be able to withstand the impact as well as the filter that was built to be four times more resistant?

The other brand’s filter showed a dangerous performance when it was hit by the paintball. Not only did it break, but it also cracked in dangerous shapes, which could potentially scratch the camera lens or even cut the photographer as he tried to remove the filter.

It was interesting to see the different results that were obtained with the different distances, and

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we can assure you that Hoya’s HD filter is really more resistant than other brands’ filters. The filter’s performance when it takes an impact at the medium distance is very safe, as the glass cracks, very much like a car’s glass when it breaks, and above all, it makes it so that the camera lens doesn’t get scratched.

Unfortunately for the PhotoPaintball photographers, which wanted a filter that would resist hurricanes and earthquakes, the results weren’t the best, because the best photos are usually the ones in which you take more risks

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regarding your equipment, at shorter distances. But one thing is certain, even on impact with the shortest distance, the lens was always safe, being hit with tiny drops of paint.

We can then conclude that this filter is ideal for paintball photographers and camera operators, because even though it isn’t infallible, it is with no doubt much more resistant than the other filters available on the market, allowing you to work with a lot more safety and giving your gear a longer lasting life. •

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ETHA In this edition GRIP reviews the marker that surprised everybody with it’s simplicity and performance.

In this edition, GRIP is testing the marker that has surprised players over its simplicity and performance.

After the success held by the Etek 3 in the entry level, Planet Eclipse is giving us another marker of the same kind, the Etha. It isn’t news that companies are trying to focus more on this segment, taking into account the state of today’s economy. The surprise here is the quality of Planet Eclipse’s products, which manages to shine once more with the launch of the Etha.

When we glance at the marker, our first impression is that it looks almost like Geo’s younger brother. After examining it, we note the use of technology that is already used in other markers, but we

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quickly begin to identify the differences.

The detail and professional grade work are the same that Planet Eclipse has accustomed us to.

The bolt system has been the center of controversy, as some say that it is a poppet valve marker, whilst others say it’s a spool valve. Planet Eclipse calls this system a pull poppet spool.

Actually, the bolt’s working system is quite simple. The fire chamber is constantly filled with air, and once the shot is taken, two distinct phases begin: a slower one, when the bolt starts its movement allowing a softer approach to the paintball and a second phase, when the bolt moves faster and releases the air, effectively shooting the paintball. The

return is made by the spring and, as the bolt retreats, it closes off a section, ending the circuit, stopping air from escaping and gaining pressure for the next shot. The advantage in the design of this system is that it makes it easy to detect and repair leaks and also it allows for ease of maintenance. The bolt has a rubber tip so that the contact with the paintball is as soft as possible. It also has a special shape so that the bolt won’t cut up a paintball in the feed neck.

The frame is made of a plastic compound, called reinforced nylon. At first sight it may seem fragile, but after being used in the Etek 3, it has given us

more than enough proof that it’s robust and resistant enough to be used on the field. Unfortunately, there are no plans for the launch of an all metal frame, perhaps because of the experience that they had with the Etek 3, as the players that owned it didn’t see a need for a metal frame.

The main innovation is in the grip, with

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only one screw, facilitating access to change the battery or to change firing modes. In the interior of the frame there is a sticker detailing all the colour codes for configuring dwell, firing mode and rate of fire, amongst others.

The Emortal board is unfortunately

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another upgrade that will not be available, even though the board that comes with the marker is very good. It is easy to program and very reliable. The power button is easily accessible and of considerable size, allowing it to be operated with gloves. The leds emit a

strong light, leaving no doubts to which firing mode is selected.

The Shaft 4, the famous barrel system developed by Planet Eclipse, is included in the last versions of their markers. It has a back section longer than normal, which allows for better control of the ball and also a well-crafted tip permitting for considerable noise reduction. The back bore is 0,693, which is good considering that this is an entry level marker, and its users are probably going to be using all kinds of different paintballs. There are plans for the launch of a bore kit and a 16’ tip.

The regulator is the SL3, the same included in the Geo 2.1, Ego 11, Ego SLS and Ego CLS. With a very simple design, it allows you to use any air system, whether HP, MP or LP and it allows using bottled air at minimal pressures. Maintenance wise, it is one of the simplest and most basic markers. The connection to the regulator is made through the new OOPS, with a front exit and including a rotating button that allows for easy opening and closing of the air supply.

A big improvement was made on the transporting case, made out of plastic with robust closures and more space to transport accessories.

In testing, the marker proved to be very consistent, with little kick and

PROS

· Price · Technical Support · Reliability · Maintenance CONS:

·

Emortal board and all metal kit not available · Air consumption is average

very accurate, due to the low operating pressure and the quality of the barrel.

Regarding air consumption, we can say that with a full fill of a 4500psi bottle, we get about 1000 shots. It is a very acceptable number considering the system in question.

Considering the excellent customer support that Planet Eclipse has accustomed us to, this marker becomes a very viable option for those looking for a good marker at a low price. • Text: Duarte Gomes Photos: Planet Eclipse

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prize

2 BOOKS THE SCENARIO PAINTBALL HANDBOOK

Al Muray with his 34 years of experience brings us one of the most complete paintball books of all times, with tips and tactics for the modern paintball player.

“A must read for all players old and new.”

Lee Wickham (Uk Scenario Player of the Year 2005)

“If it’s not in these pages then it’s probably not worth knowing about.”

Rich McManners (UK Scenario Player of the Year 2008)

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HOW TO WIN Hit like on our facebook page until the 12Th of May and we will raffle two names. www.facebook.com/gripppaintball

prize

NEXUS SIGNED JERSEY

GRIP just gives you the best of paintball. One official jersey of NEXUS team signed by all the players. Do you want it?

Just join our facebook.

HOW TO WIN Hit like on our facebook page until the 12Th of May and we will raffle one name. www.facebook.com/gripppaintball

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By Hugo Domingues I grew up in a very hard neighborhood, with drugs, stealing and less recommended people. Obviously my friendships weren’t always what my parent would like them to be. On one of those hanging out days, my father called me and gave me what it is still now a life’s motto: “Get together with the good ones and you’ll end up like them, get together with shit and you’ll be sprinkled!”

It is having this motto in mind that I view this question of the American teams and American “mercenaries” in Europe. I may be based, because my team and I already had the privilege of playing with names as Rodney Squires, Brandon Short, Mikko Huttunen, Marcello Margott, Nicky Cuba, Scott Kemp, among others. But this lack of impartiality makes me see how much we evolved on those times, through the influence of way more experienced players, being able to be at the moment on the European top

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16 without any American player.

This evolution can only be seen for a positive perspective, because it makes us grow while players and as a team. Having the best around makes us understand the game better, often with no intention, especially in technical and tactical terms and finally to really want to be better.

I do not like to say that Americans are better than us, because on the day they get distracted, we will crush them. And there is a European team able to make that every day and that is, obviously the Russian Legion. This was proved on the last Millennium and on the last years in PSP. There are other teams, such as the Nexus, the Tonton, the Icon or the Syndicate which, if followed the Russian methods or had other support, would certainly also be on the top, for they are so close right now.

What happens is that the numbers are uneven. There are around two or

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three times more American players than Europeans. This creates much more quality teams on the other side of the ocean, due to the quantity of new players arising every day. This quantity of new players allows more choice in the team, without having to use less able players just for the numbers.

A funny fact is that lots of times, those teams and even players, do not reach success in Europe, due to two simple reasons: the refereeing and the excessive confidence. Millennium’s refereeing is scarily tyrant, especially in relation to American players. The majority are a bunch of frustrated guys who never made it as players and that simply spend their lives penalizing and intimidating athletes.

The quantity of penalties is absurd and the way they’re given in Europe, especially in lower Divisions, reaches

the offense to the customer who is paying to be served and have fun.

It is ridiculous that the simple fact of asking a question to the referee during the game results in a penalty.

This does not happen in the USA and it is possibly one of the reasons why their game is much more beautiful and aggressive.

Unless our training and playing

“Russian Legion beat the

americans on a daily basis.” mentality changes, we’ll hardly be on the same page, although I am seeing increasing improvements on that chapter. Until that day comes, it will be a pleasure to watch and learn from our American colleagues and friends. I’d rather get their shots and try to shoot a few of them, than to watch them on a DVD or in the Internet. •

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THANKS Domingos Leitão Guilherme Pires Isabel Soares João “Wasabi” Pedro “Semi” Ricardo Catarino Pekka Roininen

Thank you!

/GripPaintball

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