New to the sport looking to play

[louder]

Hey everyone, I have been paintballing many times now and every time I come away wishing to do more. So I spoke to the girlfriend about it (I had to have her blessing incase I get hurt ) and I want to take the sport further.

Now I am very excited about all this but before I go out looking at markers and other such gear I just want to know. In reality how much am I going to get to play? I haven't got a team or really many friends near me (at Uni at least) that are willing to go paintballing. Are there any sort of open days? Where people just turn up and play with who ever? I am not really looking to become competitive, I am too unfit and haven't really got the time, its more about casual fun.

I currently live in Chester in the North West if that make any difference, I am not too sure what is local to me currently. I often went paintballing with friends from Yorkshire so still learning whats near me.

Any help on this subject would be great. Thanks.

 

[Care_Bears]

G-Day mate , I would say in this game you have to be competitive because the guy next to you is depending on you to get the other guy or vice versa, your aiming at the Woodsball type of play I assume , they are everywhere in every country in the world and I`m sure you`ll find there are a few places around where you live probably closer than you think, A lot of sites have what you may call " Walk On`s " where anybody that has or own a gun can go, usually around 1st of the month, I would suggest you ask the nearest woods Paintball field if they can direct you to one that does this. ....>> you put..
I am not really looking to become competitive, I am too unfit and haven't really got the time, its more about casual fun. this is not a good advert for you and if you read this about anyone , YOU wouldn`t want him either...Bluey

 

[louder]

Oh no I understand it is a competitive environment but I mean like joining a team and playing in competitions. I don't mind the odd little tournament but I don't have the time to invest and train with a team (sorry poor wording on my part). The aim is to get some of the weight off (Injured my knee, doctor kept me off it and now after about 20 months of rehab work I am able to par take in sports again). I am also in my last year of Uni which means I have a fair amount of dissertation work to do. I assumed there might be some sort of middle ground to the sport, a casual side to it, I assume that must only be with friends that are able to organise games. I will get in touch with local sites and ask their advice. Maybe they know of a few people in a similar position to mine who just want to play rather then compete.

Thank you for your information and advice.

 

[The Zambezi Kid]

If casual fun is what you are after at the minute, then you are best looking to go to "walk on" days at sites local to you.

Walk on days are similar to what you have been doing as a rental customer, but it is geared up for people with their own kit. You will pay higher green fees but get paint for cheaper so it works out better value for money. All you have to do is ask sites near to you if they do a walk on day (many sites will hold one per month), and if they do, turn up on the appointed day and join in with the other people with their own kit who are there.

Sadly mate, paintball is not a cheap hobby! How often you play depends on your budget and how many sites there are local to you which cater to walk on players. The average walk on day will cost approx £50-60, including 2000 paintballs. Most people (me included) tend to play once per month unless they are particularly flush for cash/spare time.

When you decide to buy your kit, a good thing to do is find a walk on and go down and talk to the other players there and get their opinion on what to buy and see what you like the look/feel of. Paintballers are a friendly bunch and will happily show off their shiney toys and help you out with what to get.

When you do start buying stuff, make sure you know how much cash you have to spend. Buying new, you can easily spend £6-800 on a decent quality full set up, though buying second hand gear from forums like this will reduce the price greatly.

Once you have played a few walk on days and have got into paintballing and are enjoying yourself, then you can think about attending a big game or two or looking along the tournament scence and thinking about joining a team. But until you decide to go down that route, find your local walk on and have fun!