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Hurricane Paintball Park
 

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Palm Bay Skills & Drills Camp
March 2004

Hurricane Paintball Park in Palm Bay Florida was the home to a Spring Break Paintball Skills and Drills day camp for players ranging in age from 10 to 17, during their spring break.  The city owned paintball field was host to the event, produced by the city’s Parks And Recreation Department. 

According to park director, Julio Bustamante, the camp had two main goals.  One was to develop the playing skills of the participants, but the other was to train them to handle their paintball equipment safely both at home, and at the field. 

Over thirty local kids came out for the camp, and spent the morning of their first day divided into groups.  Out walking the wooded fields, instructors from the field’s home team, the Rogue Warriors went over communication, and concealment as it pertains to scenario style paintball play.  Meanwhile at the field’s staging area, another group was instructed in basic cleaning and maintenance of a paintball gun by Chester Bombriant of General Chester’s Paintball Supply, while WARPIG Technical Editor Bill Mills taught a third group about CO2 and compressed air handling and safety.

The groups rotated through these stations and then split up again for more time on the scenario fields, this time to go over coordinated movement, communication and cover fire.  The campers drilled through moves, break-outs and leap-frogging without paint or paintguns, being walked through each step of the way by the camp’s counselors and instructors.

When lunch-time came around, everyone was ready for the barbeque chicken catered by the near by Sonny’s Barbeque restaurant.  After the food came raffles.  Prizes including hats, and anti-fog solution were donated by I&I Sports Supply, and headbands by Divine Craft Paintball.  Each camper was given a complimentary issue of Paintball Magazine courtesy of CFW Enterprises.  During morning registration and lunch, the participants had a chance to look at a collection of vintage and exotic paintball guns including a Deuce double barrel pump, and assortment of scenario game patches and photographs put together by the Mayberry Marauders scenario team.

In the afternoon, the campers moved off to the park’s two speedball fields.  Here, players from Florida Institute of Technology, and WARPIG Webmaster Dawn Mills instructed them on playing concept fields.  After discussion of communication, walking fields and shooting lanes they walked through some moves and then finally did what they were waiting for – played paintball.

With instructors and counselors walking the field and advising them as they played, several players got past their intimidation of concept fields, and used the techniques they had just learned.

It was on day two that the campers used most of the two cases of Zap paint that were included with their camp tuition.  Through the day they were split up into teams with some morning games on the concept fields, and most of the day spent on the wooded and scenario fields. 

In one afternoon game the red team managed to sneak through the woods and attack the blue team’s two-story fire base from behind.  Using coordinated movement a group of four players fired on the base’s windows while a fifth sprinted through the center of the base, grabbed the flag from its stand and ran off with it to win the game.

Stories like this were common through the day as the players put their instruction into practical use.  Future skills camps are being planned by the city for Palm Bay’s residents as well as a city paintball festival to increase public awareness and education, scheduled to occur the weekend before the PSP Orlando Open.
 
 
 
 

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