I didnt' get a chance to blog about the early start to paintball this year. The regional SPPL qualifiers was held in Utah on May 2nd and 3rd this year, which as those who know me will note was the last day at my previous job :). What an exciting day.
What was really fun is this year DesertEdge fielded two squads (Yin and Yang), which gave me the chance to captain the Yang group. This had several seasoned team members, as well as a complement of our Junior group, and a couple of team tryouts (talk about trial by fire).
Through two days on very challenging fields though, we proved ourselves. As the sun set on the championship game in the Masters division, it was DesertEdge vs. Desertedge for first and second places. (gee, who won?).
What a great way to start the tournament season, with a nice first and second place standing, and nationals qualifications.
A big thanks to our friends at Tier 4 for buying 15 cases of marballizer paint, and inviting all of us to play. It was a great day for paintball with beautiful weather, lots of fun players (both first timers, and experienced people), and plenty of action. It was fun to begin setting up teams by calling out for .RPM vs .DEB, and then watch as destruction happened in various game formats.
Make sure to thank the sponsors, and maybe they'll buy for us again! If you did enjoy it and would like to do it again, also let us at UTOS know, so we can plan more activities for the groups in Utah. Also thanks to the non-geek Team DesertEdge members for helping out with team balance, and keeping the games moving :)
Just a quick friendly reminder that this Saturday will be paintball for geeks!
Paintball markers will be available onsite or by reservation with JT Paintball Rentals starting at $10. Its a great price! Tier Four will be providing 15 cases (that’s 30,000 paintballs) of marballizer paint and make it available to all that come.
DesertEdge Practice Field (SpecialOps Info)
Saturday, November 17, 2007
10am until about 2pm
Come frag your friends and fellow geeks.
Cheers,
Clint Savage
Founder, Utah Open Source Foundation
Utah Open Source along with Tier Four is hosting a paintball game for all computer geeks in Utah. If you have ever wanted to frag your friend in real life, this is the time and place to do it.
The games will be pick up style, with matches pitting language, distro, and other hot topics against each other. Training will be held before each round and safety will be discussed. Paintball markers will be available onsite or by reservation with JT Paintball Rentals starting at $10.
Tier Four will be providing 15 cases, yes that’s right 15 cases of marballizer paint and make it available to all that come until its gone. More paint should be available for sale, or you should bring your own just in case.
Where
DesertEdge Practice Field (SpecialOps Info)
When
Saturday, November 17, 2007
10am until about 2pm
Why
Because you want to shoot your friends and fellow geeks. Beware, they shoot back!
RSVP
It’d be nice if you went and checked out the guns at JT Paintball Rentals and let us know which one you’ll be getting. If you’d like to confirm your attendance (recommended, we have about 35 guns to rent and they will go fast), email participate@utos.org.
See you all there.
Cheers,
Clint Savage
Founder, Utah Open Source Foundation
Some people have heard me talk about an upcoming game my team is putting on, with one of our sponsors. Sadly I haven't been keeping in touch with all the details. But fear not, here they are. Battlefield Utah is a game presented by Team DesertEdge, Paradox Games, and the Utah National Guard. Yes this is the first public game ever hosted at Camp Williams, and will include a special pistol event at the MOUT training center.
This is a very limited offer, and very few spots are still available (If you really want, I can get you in if it get's blocked), but try signing up if you can. Urban training on camp Williams, BYOP (Bring your own paint), or cheap purchase price onsite. It doesn't get better than that.
Game is this Saturday, so get ready.
After a seriously hard fight, Team DesertEdge has earned it's way to the Scenario Paintball Players League National Finals. Last weekend we had to fight through the brackets with the best scenario paintball teams in the local states to earn our way to this honor.
DesertEdge fielded two squads at this event, and wound up taking 3 qualifying spots (4th, 5th, and Sportsmanship). Getting two teams to this point is amazing, especially considering the quality of the opponents. Even better when we lost out of the game for first/second place by 1 point! (out of several hundred available per game). I also can't complain when that game was one of the best paintball games ever played. The opponents (Team Forest Fire) were excellent, Refs were great, and the sportsmanship between the two teams was outstanding.
After them we fought the Paraplegic turtles in an intense game in which we lost through a few details that hurt us, but still with a close score. And you can't fault the work on the turtles, their gun-skills were top-notch throughout the day.
The top team was Team Run again this year, who has always been our toughest competition. We were glad when we were able to provided players they needed one morning to field the team needed to complete their bracket, basically knocking ourselves out of contention for first place.
Now, I have to figure out a way to Oklahoma next month to compete in the national competition with the other qualifying teams.
The following message just came in from one of my teams' sponsors, Special Ops Paintball (Spec Ops). This company has done a lot for paintball in general, and huge amounts for the sport in Utah.
Several months ago, Spec Ops bought land in Tooele County that it planned to use as a commercial paintball field. The Spec Ops property is over seven hundred (700) acres, and Spec Ops is exploring the possibility of developing a destination paintball field that would be the finest scenario paintball field west of the Mississippi. Unfortunately, the neighbors have petitioned Tooele County to ban ALL paintball fields unless they are located in commercially zoned areas. If the proposed amendment passes, not only will it scuttle Spec Ops plans for the existing land, but it might just keep all paintball fields out of Tooele County.
The Tooele County Commission is holding a public hearing on the proposed amendment to limit paintball in Tooele County. The public hearing will be held on August 21, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. in the City of Tooele at 47 South Main Street. This is your chance to be heard by the Tooele County Commissioners, the very people that will vote on whether or not to limit your access to paintball. Since it is a public hearing, anyone can attend the meeting and tell the Tooele County Commission just what they think about limited access to paintball fields. So if you'd like to keep paintball thriving here in Utah, we suggest that you turn up at the public hearing and voice your support.
We hope to see you there!
Special Ops PaintballThis news is just scary. A similar thing happened a couple of years ago in Saratoga Springs, when city commissioners rezoned the land just to shut down Showdown, Pegleg paintball's field. With that action they forced a up-and-coming business to give up major assets, and they also shut down Utah Valley's only paintball field. Will Tooele join with other cities such as Draper to shut down paintball, either simply as recreation, or as a business? Face it people, paintball is now the second largest "extreme" sport in the nation, it's big business. The only reason I've ever been to Tooele is for paintball. I've seen mock-ups of some of the plans for the Tooele field, and believe me, they are telling the truth about it being the finest scenario field around. Given the chance to build this field, people truly will come not only from across the state, but absolutely the country, just to play this field. Don't be idiots Tooele, this would be a huge boon to your city and county. Don't mess this up.
I can't believe I've forgotten so repeatedly to post about this game. This Saturday Team DesertEdge is presenting our second annual "Rolling it Old School" game. Basically, while many people on our team while we love the high intensity tournaments, and massive scenario games, we often long for the good old days when everybody had low end pump guns. A few people crawling in the brush with tubes of paint.
Well, this is the game where we bring out the pump lovers from across the state. This is a two-team scenario game for pump and pistol class markers only. Test your "paintball skills" against some of the friendliest good players, without all the fear of repeated hits, or whiny kids with big guns. This is a great game if you are just getting into things, or if you want a more relaxed atmosphere.
If you do not have equipment, there will be pumps available for rental for $5, and you can also use any other weapon in 'single-ball' mode. (eg you put in one paintball, by hand, each time).
This is a great way to play, and you can really stick it to a lot of folks if you are smart. Come play for your best chance to hit me :)
Information available at: DesertEdge Rolling it Old School II
Aliens VIII is coming up at the end of this month folks. And what is it? Why Aliens in the Rockies is the longest running, and largest scenario paintball game in Utah. Scenario Paintball is the big game with several hundred players competing in a large story based adventure. If you are interested in big games, learning, this is the one for you.
Aliens in the Rockies has a storyline based off fusing the popular Aliens, Predator, and Terminator movies. There are goals for the whole team, as well as individuals and squads. Every person can be an important piece of the puzzle, and enjoy various styles of play.
This year, Team DesertEdge is going to be the generals for the "Mercenaries" team, so you can sign up to play with a semi-pro team (and others), instead of having to be afraid of fighting against us. This is the type of game where you can shine even if it's your first time playing, and you have a great chance to learn with some of the best players in Utah, and surrounding states. Also, by signing up early, you can discuss with us overall plans before arriving at the field.
Hit me up with questions, but plan on coming, this is a major game, and a great chance to play alongside a lot of friends. Come alone, or bring friends, and the teams will work with you in the largest game you can experience in Utah.
Pictures from Aliens VII
Aliens FAQ