Paintball as an Olympic Sport

NoNeck · #31 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Odin

I found this article about Paintball and the Olympics.

Rob Rubin’s Tyger’s Den - SPLAT Magazine Blogs

He mentions " International Olympic Committee, has guidelines on what is, and is not, an olympic sport. They change the rules recently, but the basics are that sports must focus on athletics, and not on technology."

and

"the IOC frowns on technology performing for the athlete, including ramping or assisted shooting."

To that I enter the following picture as "evidence" in the 10m Women's Air Rifle event, that the IOC isn't frowning on EVERY sport.....

What happend to a good old fashioned Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle .... with a Compass in the stock and thing which tells time?.

JNguyen06 · #32 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 04:43 PM

hahaha no kidding, i was thinking about this earlier. glad to know i wasnt the only one. i agree though, that its probably going to be speedball in the olympics if it ever gets there, but that doesnt mean that pumps or tippmanns couldnt possibly make it. its not the gun that makes the player, after all. but the first step is getting as much of the world to play as possible, then we'll have a chance haha

aerophyte · #33 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 04:45 PM

huh, interesting comments on the use of technology. How about a pump game including hazards? This could be sort of an endourance race, with challengers.

greggorievich · #34 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 04:47 PM

NoNeck: that rifle isn't shooting *for* her, she still has to know how to shoot.
just like how a paintball marker wont shoot for you. or run, jump, dive, crouch, and hide for you.
paintball is a lot more athletic than a lot of sports.

~~Twigz~~ · #35 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 05:06 PM

Honestly I think XBall would make an AMAZING X Games Sport. I don't know if you guys are familiar to XBall so I will link you to a thread about it (no PBNation).

What is X-Ball? - mcarterbrown.com

Quote:

It's kind of a combination of hockey, soccer (or football), Nascar, and paintball. Essentially, you play multiple 'rounds' where the objective is to score a flag hang (like a goal or touchdown). The round is over when time is up or a point is scored. The hockey element comes in because you can get 'power-plays' by other players being put into a penalty box for a certain amount of time. This usually occurs because of swearing, cheating, playing on, etc... Also, one key difference between normal paintball and X-ball is that there are sideline coaches (like football), and any spectator can shout anything they want. It definitely adds an interesting element!

During an X-ball match, the players shoot a TON of paint. The Nascar element also comes into play. One, you need a pit crew. The time between rounds is so quick (60 seconds) that you need 3-4 people who just grab fresh pods from a box and slap them into the player's harnesses. Two, the pit crew must clean up all hits and wipe masks down for the players. It looks like a security checkpoint off the field, because the players stand there with their arms out to the side, and the pit crew is wiping them down, pulling out empty pods, adding fresh ones, then pushing them back into the start gate. It's a fast and furious game, and if it were cheaper, I think it would catch on really well.

Another element that is overlooked is that it's a step toward a 'National' paintball sports league. Sure, we have NPPL, PSP, and who know how many other leagues... but this is the only one where a syndicated team from one city travels and play a team from another city in a 40-80 minute match. It's like saying "hey the Lakers are playing the Pistons tonight!," except it's "the Oakland Assassins are playing Chicago Aftershock this weekend!" They play multiple rounds, there are many, many eliminations, and there's a lot of opportunity for a comeback! There's a lot of drama in the upper echelon of the paintball leagues right now though, so it remains to be seen if X-ball continues to catch on...

Sure everyone here is like, "Too bad it would have to be speedball" and what not but, speedball was designed to be a competitive sport. When you go to a scenario you aren't there to be on the winning team. You're there to have a good time and shoot some people! Of course you want to win but it isn't your #1 priority.

Also, XBall was not only designed to be a competitive sport but also a spectator sport. That is why there is the big X. It is to push the players out to the tapeline since the X interferes with you line of fire.

Pump XBall with limited paint per round would be an awesome way to play. Or just XBall in general if it was in the X Games.

Strictly opinion though.

Twigz

MiguelMig24 · #36 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 05:13 PM

You bring up good points twigz. I should've mentioned about xball but you did so yeh. Does anyone know any reasons why it shouldn't be in the XGames?

FuzzyLabrat · #37 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 05:25 PM

Paintball should NOT be an Olympic sport.... but I'd be all for an X-Games style runoff.

NoNeck · #38 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 08:21 PM

Ya know... Why isn't Paintball in the X-Games?.... isn't it classified as an "Xtreme Sport" ... which is why the X-Games or "Xtreme Games" were created for.... an event to showcase Xtreme Sports from around the world.

Perhaps (and not saying I want it to be this way)...but perhaps it's not part of the XGames because it doesn't carry the "Serious Injury" factor that all of the other events have. Which is why a lot of people watch... waiting for something "Bad" to happen. (kind of like NASCAR... watching it for the wrecks).

jp8290 · #39 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 08:40 PM

i would love to see PB as a Olympic sport but it will never happen. it will be in the X games before the olympics.

BodyCount · #40 (**permalink**) 08-12-2008, 09:39 PM

I'd rather have it in school IMO. nothing better than watching kids bunker each other on friday night under the lights, eh?

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