| Paintballing is a relatively new sport that has come into | | | | months. Competitor manufacturers of paintballs |
| popularity since its creation almost 20 years ago. The | | | | quickly appeared in the early 1980s, spurring |
| core of the idea behind paintball was to recreate the | | | | development in paintball technology. Nelson Paint |
| thrill of hunting wild game in Africa without the | | | | Company would later split into two companies: Nelson |
| expenses included in making such a trip. Inspired by | | | | Paint Company, which focused on traditional paint |
| Richard Connell's <i>The Most Dangerous | | | | products, and Nelson Technologies, Inc. (better known |
| Game</i> and eager to recreate the adrenaline | | | | as Nelson Paintballs), which still produces paintballs |
| rush of the hunt, three friends--Hayes Noel, Bob | | | | today. |
| Gurnsey, and Charles Gaines--eventually worked out | | | | Competitive tournaments have been going on nearly |
| the most important qualities that a hunter could | | | | since the sport's inception. The first major paintball |
| possess, but what they lacked was the necessary | | | | tournament was held in 1983, with the Canadian-based |
| tool to make such a game possible. | | | | team The Unknown Rebels from London, Ontario, |
| It wasn't until a friend of theirs showed them a paintball | | | | winning. Originally played in the woods, tournaments |
| gun manufactured by the Nelson Paint Company that | | | | shifted over to the speedball format in the late |
| they found that tool. The paintballs and guns produced | | | | 1990s. Speedball is similar to the idea of indoor soccer, |
| by Nelson Paint Company were originally designed for | | | | with an even, enclosed field with a set terrain that |
| agricultural purposes--tree marking, etc. However, this | | | | afforded neither team an unfair advantage over the |
| did not stop these men from developing a game | | | | other. Tournaments since then have largely been in |
| designed along the lines of capture the flag based | | | | this format. The world's largest, the World Cup, takes |
| around them. The very first paintball game took place | | | | place each October at Disney's Wide World of Sports |
| June 2, 1981, with a dozen players competing against | | | | in Kissimmee, Florida. |
| one another. An article was published that same | | | | Paintballs themselves have evolved over time as |
| month in <i>Sports Illustrated</i> on that | | | | well. When the game first began in the early 1980s, |
| game. The first games were crude compared to | | | | paintballs were oil-based. Turpentine parties were not |
| today's standards, with extremely limited ammunition | | | | common after a game to get the paint off. Today's |
| per gun. Players would even resort to throwing | | | | paintballs are a gelatin shell filled with vegetable oil and |
| paintballs at one another. | | | | food coloring. A number of variations have been |
| Interest in paintball climbed steadily, and Bob Gurnsey | | | | developed for paintballs, including glow in the dark, |
| eventually founded National Survival Game and | | | | scented, and cold weather ones. Some teams in |
| contracted with Nelson Paint Company to be the sole | | | | tournament play will put their paintballs in a freezer to |
| distributor of their guns and paintballs. This initial | | | | cool them and make the paint more brittle to shatter |
| monopoly allowed Gurnsey to turn a profit in six | | | | easier on impact and reduce the odds of a ricochet. |