The following article can also be viewed via WDP's online newsletter at: WDP.tvThe sun was shinning and spirits were high for the 24th EMR Castle Conquest scenario event in New Milford PA.
The event was hosted by Blue, the president of EMR Paintball Park and boasted 1000+ players made up of various scenario teams and individuals. WDP set up a trade booth and also supplied free technical assistance by Mark Costa, owner of Impact Paintball, for anyone who was shooting an Angel marker of which there was a surprising number (although only a couple of players needed help on the day). Along with WDP, Tippmann attended in force with a huge trailer and plenty of hot scenario products to spice up the event as was Pogo from the Killer Clown Posse who brought with him the awesome paintball arrow. A few other vendors were offering their wares throughout the event.
The game officially began at 11am with the Canadian Contingent masterminding the defense of the castle walls with help from Angel sponsored teams Ragnarok and MBP Militia amongst others. I myself participated and was on hand to help defend the castle against a four to one ratio of attackers including our very own Angel sponsored team B.I.T.M who were excited with the opportunity to break through and hunt me down like a pack of wolves. The game is simple enough, which helped me as I was a scenario virgin until now! The defenders were split into teams and were to defend the castle walls on both levels with a smaller force inside the courtyard to prevent the attackers from storming through the doors. If the attackers broke through and captured any number of props inside the castle walls the game was over and the attackers won, if the defenders held off the attackers for five hours the defenders won. Eliminations on both sides were continuous but a short stay in the dead box and players were soon re-inserted to join the action. In the past twenty four Castle Conquest games the castle has only ever been defended twice and for good reason. I have never played a game of paintball where the pressure has been as relentless as this one. The defenders were under constant pressure with the attackers besieging the castle walls within a half hour from the start of the game. There were numerous occasions throught the day when the castle was about to fall but the defenders constantly rallied round and plugged the holes. The last half hour produced a major advancement by the attackers and I have never experienced a game with so many paintballs being fired at such close quarters, the adrenaline rush was outstanding. By the time the final whistle blew and the last shots were fired the defenders soon realized that they had been successful and gave out a great cheer of victory.
EMR Paintball Park has an impressive set up that includes some thirty plus bunk houses and a club house. The bunk houses can sleep up to eight people and can be rented per event or by the year. Many teams have opted to have them by the year and have spent a great deal of time and effort to make them a home from home. Team B.I.T.M is one such team and I have to say that their bunk house was the most impressive and included a full size canopy decking area built to the highest standard. After the days play on Saturday and the usual massive free prize giveaway (a normal occurrence at EMR) it seemed that all the players converged towards the bunkhouses with one intention, have a huge bonfire party and share stories with one another on the days events. The beer flowed and stories re-enacted with passion. My hat goes off to Andy “pizzaman” from Team B.I.T.M who made his way into the wild on Friday afternoon armed only with a bow and arrow and hunted down a small deer for the BBQ. Shame he could not hunt me down during the game but who knows…….there is always next time!
A big thank you to all the players who attended for making this without a doubt the best game that I have ever played in fifteen years of paintball. A special thanks to Mark Costa for taking care of the booth (and myself), to George and the guys from Ragnarok, to MBP Militia, Brian Fessey and the guys from B.I.T.M for their outstanding humor and hospitality, for Jose and Richard from the X-Men and Digger from the 13th Legionnaires for taking the time to talk to me about Angel sponsorship, come join the family!
Alas the event would not have been as great as it was with a castle and players alone. A massive thanks to Blue and the Blue’s crew who made running a huge scenario day seem so easy, to the referees who constantly made it through the thick of the action taking countless hits to assist the players. I have a great respect for these guys and the job that they did, their sole purpose was to keep people safe and happy and conducted themselves with pride and dignity……..a team within a team. With the recent problems with referees in major national events it was a relief to see referees of that standard; you boys could demand a high price at those events and be worth every penny. Final thanks to Andy Potter, the vendor liaison at EMR for making me feel welcome and running the air tent……..4500psi fills every time with no queues, thank you all.
For more information about EMR Paintball Park and up coming games please visit their website at; www.emrpaintball.comFor information on joining the Angel Army as a prized sponsored team e-mail: eezo@wdp.tv
No comments:
Post a Comment