Paintball club attacks hard

by Lisa Laufik
FOR THE POST

Every Saturday morning, a battle takes place in Athens. People wear camouflage tote guns and take the field to prepare for the day's fight. At the sight of the enemy they aim their guns and get ready to fire. Both sides fire, and a soldier is shot. Color explodes on to the soldier's uniform. He is down but he does not die. Paintballs, rather than real bullets, are the ammunition. This scene takes place at Combat Creek Paintball, in Athens, which is the main sponsor of Ohio University's Paintball Club.

Ohio University juniors, brothers Josh and Caleb Woodby, founded the Paintball club in the spring of 1999.

"People can join anytime," Josh Woodby said. "It's cool. It is a way to meet other people...it is a true life game."

When the club first started, members played a free-for-all style, said Eric Bucher, OU junior and club member. The players just went into the woods wearing camouflage and shot each other.

"We weren't very serious. We wanted to be a little more competitive," Josh Woodby said.

Now the paintball club has decided to play in a more strategic style called speedball, Bucher. It is a fast-paced game on a small, open playing field. The members are divided into two teams and shoot at each other. Once a player is hit, he or she is out. When one person is left standing, that person's team wins. The game lasts only minutes.

"Speedball is the typical college play," Bucher said. "We wear long-sleeved jerseys with numbers on the back. You are exposed so you don't need the camouflage."

All this fun can get expensive.

The cost for joining the club is $40 for the first quarter of membership and $20 for each additional quarter, Josh Woodby said. It costs each person $5 to pay for insurance each time the club goes to Combat Creek.

The paintballs themselves also cost money.

"It can cost between $10 and $50. It varies with what type of paintballs you get and how many you use," Bucher said. "It depends on how trigger happy you are. One case lasts me all quarter."

Despite the costs, members enjoy being part of the club.

"I had done paintball a few times as a kid. It is nice to go out and play with a group of friends. It is very physical and demanding," Bucher said.

OU senior Kyle Copeland had been involved in crew in the past and was looking to try something new.

"I had never done it before. I love it," he said. "It is a complete adrenaline rush. You feel like it is life or death out there. There is nothing you can compare it to."

The members are still looking for more people to join the club, which has about 25 members.

"The group is still in the process of building. People bring friends, but there is a discount for being a member. It gives people a little more incentive to join the group," Bucher said.

"The more the merrier," he said. "We would like it to be a club sport such as at other colleges."