The History of Paintball (Part 2)

Twelve men assembled for the first paintball game back in 1981. On 80 acres of wooded land, using pistols designed for marking trees and cattle, Bob Gurnsey, Hayes Noel and Charles Gaines were about to make history. That, most certainly, is not the end of the story; in fact it is just the beginning.

Immediately, Players began design modifications to their Nelspot 007 pistols and by 1983, there were home made versions of silencers, barrel extensions, gravity fed hoppers and even compressed air cylinders that could be pumped up. By 1985 there were commercial paintball fields in Canada, England and Australia, as well as the U.S.

The next 5 years saw huge advancements in marker technology by companies such as Tippmann, who invented the pin valve for CO2 tanks and chose not to patent, advancing the use of bulk CO2 cylinders as the standard propellant for all marker brands. Tippmann is also credited with the first fully automatic marker, the SMG-60. This marker was originally introduced in 1986.

In 1988, the IPPL (International Paintball Players Association) was formed to promote safety and the advancement of the sport. The same year, speedball is introduced and generates an instant fan base.

Nitrogen is introduced as a propellant in 1991 by Air Gun Designs. The system included a fiberglass tank and was never marketed because of industry resistance due to the potential danger associated with the high pressure it required. However as we all know, nitrogen and HPA are common today; this early introduction was later developed and is now the preferred gas propellant.

In 1995, paintball is picked up by ESPN with the airing of the World Championship Games held in Orlando Florida. The same year paintball is spotlighted on national TV again, unfortunately this time it is a newscast highlighting a video tape of a drive by shooting in which paintball markers were used. Legal issues and issues around the potential misuse of the equipment have haunted the paintball industry since inception. Players and enthusiasts rallied around safe and appropriate use of markers as a result of this incident.

Walmart along with other big box retailers get into the paintball business in 1998 selling low end equipment and helping to bring paintball to the mainstream consumer. Also, the same year was our introduction to the agitating hopper. We have come along way since the first design, incorporating eyes and sound activation for battery conservation. There are many designs to choose from today, as well as force fed electronic loaders.

In 2003, Smart Parts shocked the world with a newly designed tournament marker appropriately named The Shocker. Heavily patented, Smart Parts receives much criticism from the industry and there were many lawsuits filed between manufacturers as a result. The same year, Tippmann introduces the flatline barrel, this simple technology allows a paintball to travel further by putting a backspin on the ball, this is achieved by giving the barrel a slight upward curve.

Greg Hastings, a tournament player, designs a video game for Xbox. The game “Tournament Paintball” was released in 2004 and steadily gained popularity among gamers. Later a sequel to the game appears on store shelves.

These are some of the more interesting highlights of advances in the sport over the last quarter of a century. It was not my intention to include everything step by step. If there is something that you feel is significant that I have missed, please comment.

Originally the sport was considered as a tactical military simulation. Although this concept has survived the evolution of the sport, we have also seen it branch out into other areas such as speedball and other fast paced arena games. Tournament speedball is much more television friendly than other forms of the game and has subsequently received a lot of attention as a result. Arena games that showcase sharpshooters are only a small part of the big picture as well. Military simulation games and other scenario games offer a different kind of rush entirely and events can include thousands of participants. Each individual should decide where he or she fits in to the sport of paintball and which aspects of the game they like and succeed in. Try it all (if you dare) and keep an open mind to the future of this great sport.