Paintball…. Have you tried the fastest growing sport in the world yet?!?

Paintball exploded into the extreme sports market in the late 1970’s and in the last decade has escalated into an industry that creates billions of pounds of revenue world wide and millions in the UK alone. Its grass routes can be found in northern America with farmers turning their cattle marking guns on each other to create the foundations of the fastest growing extreme sport in the world today. Currently played in 110 countries, with 15 millions players, it is bigger than rugby, bigger than snow boarding and even bigger than surfing!

For those of you that are new to the idea or those that think paintball is just for boys who like to “play at war” you couldn’t be further from the truth, in fact the industry has tried extremely hard in recent years to shake off this misconception. More and more often you will see corporations using paintball for team building activities, there is a month on month increase in female players and it is becoming increasingly popular with Hen parties as it is with Stag do’s. Although unfortunately you still get the odd guy who thinks he’s Rambo!

You may have heard horror stories associated with paintball but these are often started by the guys who are trying to be “Macho”. The truth of the matter is paintballs although fired at reasonably high velocities (275fps) very rarely bruise and often only sting at close range. The paintballs are made from a gelatin composite and are completely biodegradable and more importantly non-toxic (They are even edible although I wouldn’t advise it!). As long as you wear the protective equipment and follow the safety instructions you are far more likely to get hurt running into a tree than you are by a paintball itself.

Paintball contains all the adrenaline packed fun you would expect from a high paced action sport and includes various scenarios such as capture the flag, attack and defend and protect the president. Also with many sites operating for children as young as 12 it is now a sport the whole family can enjoy, for any occasion!

There are currently hundreds of paintball sites around the UK catering to all areas including the large cities or alternatively visit UK Paintball for a list of over 30 venues in the UK, you are sure to find one near you.

If you haven’t experienced the adrenaline fuelled sport that is paintball, there is no excuse, give it a go!!

Paintball Entusiast! UK Paintball