Many great soldiers risk their lives in Afghanistan. Ever wished to get the feel of it minus the “risk” part? You could do that if you could go paintballing in the same training ground where the British soldiers train for Afghanistan. Anna @BedlamPaintball gives you the details of this much anticipated event that could be the Biggest Paintball Event of the Decade.
The biggest paintball event of the year could take place in July this year. Swapping of paintball bullets could take place mid this year in a mock town Brecon Beacons that was used to train British soldiers for conflict in Afghanistan.
Around 700 paintball players are lined up on the Ministry of Defense land in Brecon Beacons for this massive paintball battle.
This training range in Sennybridge is a Bavarian-style town that was built during the Cold War – around 1980’s. This training range is a haven for paintball enthusiasts because of the structures built on it – a large town hall, a church, and several houses which are perfect buildings to include in your plan. Aside from the buildings, Tim Barnett an events firm hired the place. However, the Ministry of Defense has yet to confirm is the event will pursue.
The application to use the venue in July has been made by an Aberystwyth-based events company. Company spokesman Tim Barnett said the Ministry of Defense started hiring out the facility following the tactical defense review. The review announced last October 2010 states that defense spending was set to fall by 8% by the course of over four years.
Mr. Barnett, a former Territorial Army soldier who trained at Sennybridge, said: “I’ve been requesting to use these sorts of Ministry of Defense for year, but I’ve received no interest.”
“Then 18 months ago, I put in another request and all of a sudden everything had changed.” July’s battle would feature seven hundred participants from countries such as United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Malta, Cyprus, Russia, Ireland and the UK.
He said tickets had already sold out, but he was unwilling to reveal how much it cost to hire.
Furthermore, Mr. Barnett said: “I have rented this facility from the Ministry of Defense for a long weekend in July for a 700-player paintball event,”
“Players from all over the world will be flying in for the event because the location is so unique.”
But the Ministry of Defense said booking had not yet been confirmed. A spokesperson said: “Training for military operations, naturally, takes priority over any private individual’s request to use Defense facilities.
“We have yet to establish military training requirements at Sennybridge for July – this is conducted six months in advance – and it is possible that the facilities in question may be needed by our Armed Forces.
“Furthermore, before any third party activity is agreed, financial costs, indemnity and insurances are required. These discussions have not yet commenced.”
If this paintball event will be confirmed and will take place on the upcoming months, this will definitely one, if not the most, exciting and much anticipated paintball event of the decade because of its unique venue which will attract paintball fans all over the world.
