Paintball: It's Assault and splattery

Actually, it is safer than most sports.

According to the National Injury Information Clearinghouse of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington, D.C., paintball had the fewest injuries per 1,000 participants among all the listed sports. Other listed sports included bowling, tennis and archery.

"It's a momentary sting," Dr. Matthew Atlas said about being hit by a paintball. The Tucson anesthesiologist, 51, started playing paintball after his son got into it three years ago.

"The next day at work you can show off all your welts."

From doctors to high school students, paintball is popular among the novice and the skilled.

"We've noticed our players are getting younger," said Randy Yager, owner of Desert Fox Paintball Field on the East Side. "It's the 12-year-old kids you have to watch out for. They have a tendency to shoot at anything that moves."

Like bombed-out WWII city

Yager's field, which has been open for 18 years, welcomes players of skill levels, but he does require them to be at least 12.

Bunkers, trenches, barrels, huge wooden spools and even an old plane line the Desert Fox field.

"It's like you're in a bombed-out city in World War II," 15-year-old Greg Condon said.

Yager said players like Condon, who played his first game last Saturday, are becoming more and more attracted to the sport.

"It's awesome," said Condon, a freshman at Sahuaro High School. "I've been playing first-person shooters — like on the computer. To really experience it firsthand is exciting."

Ryan Lovato, who owns two Disruptive Paintball stores in Tucson and a field in Marana, is in the process of renovating his field, which was formerly called Sudden Impact.

"I would just like to get the field up to speed with the rest of the country," Lovato said.

'Evolved from wooden spools'

"The sport has evolved from just wooden spools."

Lovato, 29, wants to develop two regulation-sized fields that are aligned with national and professional leagues. He purchased the field and the stores, which were formerly Paintball Headquarters, on Nov. 1.

Other changes include adding a snack bar and picnic tables, and installing lighting for summer night games.

Lovato began playing when he was just 9 and played professionally for four years.

Lovato and other players say there is nothing out there that compares with paintball — where the specialized gelatin capsules containing colored liquid can travel 300 feet per second.

Paintball is a combatlike activity where the object of the game is to eliminate opponents by striking them with a paintball.

"It's a strategy game," Yager said. "A big game of chess with all kinds of factors that come into play."

Players use pump-action "markers" — what they call the paintball guns — powered by carbon dioxide or compressed air to shoot paintballs.

Local fields require all players to wear some type of mask to protect the eyes and face.

Jeans, a T-shirt and tennis shoes is the basic uniform worn by most players.

Chris Atlas, a 14-year-old freshman at Tanque Verde High School, uses a $600 Tippmann A-5 paintball gun when he plays at Desert Fox. He also has special padded paintball pants.

Atlas buys all of his own equipment, using money he receives on holidays and birthdays.

"It is not a cheap sport," said Matthew Atlas, Chris' dad.

Growing up, Chris' parents didn't allow him to play with toy guns, but they are accepting of his hobby — both have even played paintball because of him.

"It's just fun getting together and shooting people — legally," Atlas said.

As for getting struck by a paintball, Atlas said it doesn't bother him. "The fun takes the pain away," he said.

When he has enough cash and a ride, Chris Atlas plays paintball every weekend.

Views of son, dad diverge

While Chris goes for the thrills, his father sees paintball in a different way.

On the field, players are not always aware of what direction a paintball will come from and it can be scary, Matthew Atlas said.

He said he can only guess how difficult it must be for soldiers who are surrounded by real gunfire.

"It makes you respect a great deal what the soldiers must be going through," he said.

Not all players are as experienced as Chris and his father.

Terri Lambert, 24, played for the first time with some co-workers and other friends over Thanksgiving weekend.

"I am not very good at it," she said. "If you are in a place where people are coming at you, it gets stressful."

Likewise, eighth-grader Derek Salois is just starting to get into the sport.

"The adrenaline rush is basically why," 14-year-old Salois said. "You forget what you're doing at first, but you get focused." Salois, a student at Orange Grove Middle School, is a cousin of Condon, and the two play with friends Kevin McCoy and Todd Freeman, a sophomore at Cienega High School.

"It's something athletic to do," said McCoy, a UA student. "It's a good use of the day, instead of watching TV and doing nothing."

Some compete professionally

For some, paintball is just an adrenaline rush, but for others, it's highly competitive.

Several local players have formed teams and compete in the National Professional Paintball League, or NPPL, and the Paintball Sports Promotions league.

The leagues hold about five tournaments a year and attract some of the best teams and players from around the world.

Kyle Downey, 17, and his team, Sniper Force, will compete this weekend in a NPPL event in San Diego.

Downey, a senior at Empire High School, founded Sniper Force more than four years ago after he competed in the sport for fun.

The team usually finishes in the top 16 at tournaments, Downey said.

"It's a major adrenaline rush," Downey said. "It's intense. I played baseball and soccer, but no other sport I've played compares to paintball."

Downey and his team practice at facilities in Phoenix — where some of the fields have grass and blow-up bunkers. Facilities in Phoenix are similar to those Downey competes on with Sniper Force.

Ghetto Smurfs of Oro Valley

Oro Valley teens Mike Jackson, David Shinn and Matt Groff started a team that competes in the Paintball Sports Promotions, or PSP, league.

Some of the team members live in Phoenix and the local players drive to Phoenix for practice.

Back in October, the team — The Ghetto Smurfs — finished fifth in a PSP World Cup event that featured more than 130 teams.

"It's a fun sport and we just get to hang out with our friends every weekend," said Jackson, 15 and a sophomore at Ironwood Ridge High School.

He and Shinn play with $1,200 markers. Their parents bought the paintball guns, although they do their fair share of chores, they said.

"It's a good feeling when I am out there playing," said Shinn, 15. "It's something to look forward to every weekend."

It's a major adrenaline rush. It's intense. I played baseball and soccer, but no other sport I've played compares to paintball.

Kyle Downey