Paintball Unmasked Spring Issue 2013 by Paintball Unmasked Magazine

P A I N T B A L L

UNMASKED

Feature Story

Fighting Gobblers! A Closer Look at Virginia Tech Paintball

Photo Spreads Weekend Warriors Dallas Grind! Forward Comrads!

Spring 2013 Volume 1, Issue 1

index Dallas Grind! Pages 16-27

Weekend Warriors Pages 6-15

Forward Comrads! Pages 28-41

FEATURE: Fighting Gobblers Pages. 42-49 2

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welcome to pain here we go! And now, we present to you the first issue of Paintball Unmasked Magazine. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a long journey getting here and we are happy to bring you our tribute to the sport we all love. This is just our teaser issue, a small taste of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to come. In the future, Paintball Unmasked will be longer and present a more comprehensive view of the sport. In each issue, we hope to dedicate a portion to speedball, woodsball, scenario paintball and collegiate paintball. We also want contributions from you, our readers and Paintball Unmasked community. Our mission, simply put, is to reveal the player behind the mask through a series of photo stories, articles and interviews. With each issue, we will set out to define a small portion of the paintball community and get to know the people who make this sport great. We want to focus on players, teams, field owners and anyone who calls this sport their passion! Currently, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a small team of very dedicated individuals. But, the most important part of the Paintball Unmasked experience is you, the reader and paintball enthusiast. Become a part of the Paintball Unmasked community by subscribing to our magazine and liking us on Facebook. Want to help out even more? We are always looking for reader submitted stories and suggestions for events, teams and players to cover. You can help us embark on this great journey as we set out to tell the story of paintball, one story at a time. Become a part of the Paintball Unmasked community today as we set sail on this odyssey.

ntball unmasked meet the staff Alex Barker

Is our Editor-in-Chief, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech, he was the owner of Mountain Valley Paintball in Axton VA, President of the Paintball Club of Virginia Tech and Captain of the Virginia Tech Woodsball Team. Since graduating from Virginia Tech, he has become a certified pro referee for the NPPL and has taken up paintball photography to capture his passion in its most exciting moments.

Morgan Barker

Is our Executive Editor, is a William and Mary alumnus with a degree in English. Previously Editor-in-Chief of the DoG Street Journal and reporter for Washington Exec, her passion for storytelling and editing is rivaled by few making her the ideal executive editor for Paintball Unmasked Magazine.

Alan Scherger

Is our web designer and technical support, a graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in computer science, he served as an officer for the Paintball Club of Virginia Tech and was a teammate with Alex Barker on the VT Woodsball Team. His expertise allows us to enhance our readers experience and more easily spread the circulation of Paintball Unmasked.

eekend. arriors

REC BALL

Paintball...

Through the eyes...

of a rec player... REC BALL

REC BALL

Dallas Grind! By: Alex Barker

SPEEDBALL

This year the PSP kicked off its season on March 15th at Cousinsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Paintball in Dallas, Texas. The four day event was filled with new faces and old legends, upset victories and heart pounding comebacks. Champions were crowned and favorites defeated. But while some teams made it look easy, the road to Dallas was filled with months of practicing and countless hours put in by the players of the PSP to perfect their game by the start of the 2013 PSP sea-

son. Paintball Unmasked got to see the action of PSP divisional teams REVO, Damage Control, Baltimore Equinox and MD Shockwave at Paintball Adventure Park in Taneytown, MD in the final weeks leading up to the Dallas Open. After months of practice, each team was at the top of their game, competing for each point like it was for the World Cup!

Welcome to the Dallas Grind! SPEEDBALL

SPEEDBALL

Forward Com

Stalingrad V BY: Alex Barker In the history books the battle for Stalingrad is a key battle that turned the tide of World War II for the Russians. But in the paintball world, images of one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest scenario games come to mind. This year Skirmish Paintball, home of the Invasion of Normandy game, hosted their eighth Battle for Stalingrad, which brought in over 1500 players for the eight hour scenario game. Paintball Unmasked photographer, Alex Barker, played the role of an embedded journalist capturing all of the action during the World War II themed scenario game.

SCENARIO

Skirmis With the Germans winning Stalingrad VII, the Russians were ready to win back the crown in Stalingrad VIII. But, with experienced Scenario teams, leading both the Germans and Russians, a day of stalemates ensued. The Russians launched massive attacks all day, taking German forts momentarily before quick and powerful German counter attacks retook the forts. The Germans sent some of their most elite troops into the battlefieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most remote boundaries in an attempt to flank the Russians impenetrable line, only to be pushed back by small contingents of Russian scouts in the

mrads!

VIII Scenario Game

sh Paintball Park, PA battlefields boondocks. With neither team gaining an advantage throughout the day, the final battle for the city of Stalingrad was to determine the victor. As the final hour of battle grew near, the action seemed to die down. With just one hour until the final assault on Stalingrad both teams were preparing for the massive assault that was about to take place on the city. Then the clock hit 5:00 PM, with just 30 minutes left in the scenario, the final assault was about to begin. Only the distant pop pop sounds from Russian and German scout skirmishes could be heard as the

main Russian contingent hunkered down in the city, ready to repel the German invaders. At 5:01 PM, a small group of German Special Forces charged towards the south entrance of the city. The Russian defenders managed to eliminate the German force, but not before they launched over a dozen smoke grenades in front of the cities southern gate. In seconds, a wall of smoke formed so thick that nothing was visible. Then a force of several hundred German soldiers emerged from the shadows, rushing towards the south entrance. All the Russians could see was smoke and all they could hear were the battle cries of the Germans. The thick smoke allowed the Germans to quickly take the southern buildings of the city. But as they entered the center of Stalingrad, the Russian defenders unleashed a barrage of paintballs, stopping the German advance in its tracks. The Germans sent their armor into the heart of this mayhem in an attempt to break the stalemate. But the Russian anti-tank personnel easily knocked out the German armor. The Germans launched a second wave on the eastern side of the city to put pressure on the Russian line. After several chaotic minutes, with heavy German loses, they managed to capture the eastern part of the city, only to have the Russians retake much of the southern portion of the city with a quick counter attack. With just minutes left in the final assault the city was split down the middle with the Germans controlling the eastern half and the Russians controlling the western half. As the final minutes of the battle came to a close, neither side managed to take control of the city ending in another stalemate. As the horn to end Stalingrad VIII sounded the victor was unclear, with such an even matched battle either side could take home the crown. See who won Stalingrad VIII at the end of our exclusive photo spread. Who do you think will win? The Motherland or the Fatherland? SCENARIO

SCENARIO

Final Score Germany: 74 Russia: 66 SCENARIO

Feature Story

Fighting Gobblers

A Closer Look At Virginia Tech Paintball By Morgan Barker Imagine dodging paintballs in below freezing weather while the material for tomorrow’s mid-term is floating through your mind. It sounds pretty crazy, but that’s life for the players on the Virginia Tech paintball team and they love it. In spite of the constant juggling act required to be both a college athlete and student, the VT paintball team manages to perform both in the classroom and on the field; in the 2011-2012 season the team finished 16th at Nationals. This year is shaping up to be no different and high hopes surround the team as they head to the 2013 NCPA National Tournament.

FEATURE

In spite of the demanding schedule these college students face, the VT paintball team practices several times a month, rain or shine. Zach Summer, VT Paintball Captain, says “Every week, I tell the team that school comes before paintball, yet every practice, I see these guys on the field ready to play. We know how to get our homework and other studies out of the way before Sunday, grind day, comes.” VT paintballers are all about time management, “The key to balancing school and paintball is planning. I try to plan a few weeks ahead so the rest of my guys can see

FEATURE

if they have any big projects or tests that they need to study for that would cause us to change the date to a more convenient practice date. Planning ahead has avoided numerous headaches ever since I became Captain of the team,” Summer said. A typical practice for the VT Paintball team is about five hours long and Summer has the team run “a variety of different drills including polls, snap shooting, Snake/Dorito wars and then playing some full points with the guys from Liberty University and Lynchburg College.” Typically the team practices every other week, “unless there is an event coming up, in which we practice about three weeks straight from 12 to 5 pm,” Summer said. In terms of strategy Summer says the focus is on working as a team, “This year, we haven’t really lost anyone from last years Nationals line and we have been grinding pretty hard to work together as a team, rather than having a superman player.” This teamwork strategy seems to be working well thus far, “After taking 2nd at our first event of the season at Liberty University, the guys realized we are a team to beat going into Nationals,” Summer said. With nationals just a week away, Summer has a vision of how he would like the season to end; “In a perfect world, Virginia Tech will bring home a first place trophy on our twelve hour drive from Nationals...We have worked hard all season and all that’s left to do is prove it on the weekend of April

FEATURE

19th at the NCPA Nationals event in Lakeland, FL...We plan to set the pace as soon as we hit the field and let the rest of the teams know who is the team to beat.” Regardless of how nationals ends, the team is sure to have a great time and partake in a few team traditions. Summer said, “during last year’s trip to nationals, we downloaded the Nicki Minaj album that came out and listened to it for the entire 12 hour trip to Florida and back. We like to listen to some obnoxious music on our way to and from nationals. Pranks are also a big

tradition for us. We love messing with each other!” Summer said. Summer is just a Sophmore at Virginia Tech, and with just two players graduating from their roster this season the Hokies are poised to be a powerhouse team for seasons to come. Be sure to follow the Virginia Tech Hokies in Lakeland, FL as they hit the national stage ready to make their mark and chop up the competition. We, at Paintball Unmasked, wish them the very best at the head down to the 2013 NCPA National Tournament! FEATURE

MEET THE #07 Zach Summer Age: 19 Hometown: Strafford VA

Year: Sophamore Major: Business Position: Back/Snake Experience: 12 years

#53 Fred Trelz Age: 20 Hometown: St. Louis MO

Year: Sophamore Major: Engineering Position: Snake Experience: 6 years

Hunter McGhee Year: Freshman Age: 18 Major: Engineering Hometown: Position: Home Charlottesville VA Experience: 3 years

FEATURE

Tyler Zacirka Age: 20 Hometown: Doylestown

#15

#93 Kierian King Age: 20 Hometown: Pittsburgh PA

Year: Sophamore Major: Engineering Position: Back Player Experience: 7 years

Nick Estes Age: 20 Hometown: Matthews NC

Year: Sophamore Major: Engineering Position: Front Player Experience: 8 years

Year: Junior Major: Engineering Position: Dorito Experience: 7 years

#89 Grant Sandlin Age: 20 Hometown: Vienna VA

Year: Junior Major: Engineering Position: SnakePlayer Experience: 6 years

2012-

Virginia Tech NCP

E HOKIES #98 Robert Higginbotham Year: Senior Age: 22 Major: Political Science Hometown: Position: Dorito Orange VA Experience: 6 years

#34 Frank Bongrazio Year: Senior Age: 23 Major: Communications Hometown: Position: Dorito Tabernacle NJ Experience: 10 years

Year: Junior Major: Engineering Position: Dorito Experience: 6 years

Frank Zerofsky Age: 19 Hometown: Townson MD

Year: Sophamore Major: Engineering Position: mini insert Experience: 6 years

#17

#25 Stuart Salmon Age: 25 Hometown: Lynchburg VA

#24

Aaron Bartlett Year: Sophamore Age: 20 Major: Economics Hometown: Position: Any Mechanicsville VA Experience: 7 years

-2013

PA Team Roster

#6 Ryan Hopkins Year: Freshman Age: 18 Major: Sus. Biomaterials Hometown: Position: Coner Snake Martinsville VA Experience: 4 years

#13 Danny Dutton

FEATURE

Comming up in our summer issue...!

The PAPs Family

Paintball Unmasked takes an in-depth look at how Paintball Adventure Park, a small paintball field located in Taneytown MD has grown into one of the greatest field complexes on the east coast. Home to over a dozen competitive paintball teams and hosting open play days of 50 or more people year round, PAPs has become a second home to competitive and rec players alike

INVASION OF NORMANDY

Get full coverage of the worlds largest paintball game. Invasion of Normandy hosted by Skirmish Paintball bring in nearly 5000 players every year! Prepare for epic photospreads of this 24 hour scenario game and see what the commanders see, as we bring you behind the scence coverage in this mammoth feature story.

what else would you like to see?

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