Turn off the World Cup, forget about Wimbledon…the big news in sport this week is World Paintball Day 2010. Taking place around the world yesterday, this annual event occurs on the last weekend of June and honours the first ever game of paintball.
One day three New Hampshire friends, Charles Gaines, Bob Gurnsey and Hayes Noel, were keen to create their own pastime and turned to a Nel-Spot 007 for inspiration. This particular piece of cattle farming equipment was handy for marking livestock and trees – by firing balls of paint. So, in 1976, 12 thrill-seeking participants took part in the inaugural game of paintball and now, almost 35 years later, millions of people around the globe have enjoyed this hands-on approach to fun, and World Paintball Day is growing each year too.
Established as not only a means to commemorate Gaines, Gurnsley and Noel’s superb thinking (looking back now, it’s surprising no one thought of it sooner?) but also as a way of introducing new players to paintballing, World Paintball Day is marked by events taking place on paintball sites all over the world.
Did you play paintball this World Paintball Day? If not, get a reminder next year by joining World Paintball Day’s Facebook page.
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