In a previously published article we talked about outdoor sports that can be practiced around Loano. Today we want instead to focus on a very special sport: paintball.

 

Paintball, what is it?

The paintball, which in Italy is still a sport almost completely unknown, was born in the United States, where, unlike our country, it is very popular.

The name literally translated from English means “ball of paint“; just these are in fact fired by a special marker – a kind of air gun – against the opponent, with the aim of hitting him to eliminate him from the game.

The pellets are coated with gelatin which, after the impact, leaves the colored paint, which stains the uniforms or the marker very clearly.

 

..and how to play?

The classic mode provides the above described, that is that a player is eliminated after being hit. There are also numerous variations of the game. For example, you can divide the playing field into two parts and make sure to overcome the base of the opponent’s field without being eliminated.

A lot also depends on where you play this sport. The field of speedball, for example, provides a playground of standard sizes where they are placed inflatables of different shapes and sizes, which have the function of providing shelter from the blasts of paintball opponents. This mode of play, as the term suggests, is faster, because being the field delimited, the opponents have few ways of escape, so they are hit and eliminated more immediately.

The woodsball mode, no doubt more adventurous, takes place instead in an equipped forest, where pontines, trenches, wooden obstacles have been built, always with the aim of offering protection from enemy fire. The woodsball allows more players to take part in the game, precisely because it offers more extensive terrain.

A bit of history

When and how is paintball born? As we have already said a little above, it was born in the United States, specifically in New Hampshire, in 1981. The creators are Hayes Noel, Bob Gurnsey and Charles Gaines, since they were the first to think about using the markers, which until then had served forest ranger to mark trees to be cut, to hit each other, in an elimination game.

The first official paintball match is played a few months later, again in 1981.

 

Paintball in Italy

This particular game arrives in Italy a long time later, precisely in January 1993 in Vigevano. It is then officialized on the Official Gazette in October.

The first national event sponsored by the CSEN sports organization took place in Grosseto in 2010.

From 2013 the IPBS championship was born, Italian Paintball Series.

 

Where to play paintball?

The paintball field closest to Loano is the Paintball RDF, which stands for Riviera Dei Fiori. It is in Roggio, a fraction of Testico, ten kilometers from Andora, in the province of Savona.

Here you can play one of the most exciting ways, the woodsball: in fact, the field extends over 10,000 square meters, through woods, meadows and streams.

You will have the opportunity to spend a day in the company of your friends, surrounded by nature, totally surrounded by greenery.

We also organize stag and hen parties, team building and birthday parties.

For more information, check out the Paintball Rdf website.