Press
Paintball Offered for First Time at Utah Summer Games
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
CEDAR CITY--Paintball is “coming out of the woods” to make its place as a new competitive team sport in the 2005 Utah Summer Games along with 50 other sports.
Charles Gaines and Noel Hayes played the first “real” game of paintball in the woods back in 1981.
Finally, after evolving into a tournament sport, paintball will make the cut as a 5-on-5-team sport for the 20th Anniversary of the Utah Summer Games.
“The Utah Summer Games will be the first Olympic style venue that paintball will be in,” said Jason Chandler, Paintball Coordinator for the Utah Summer Games. “Not only is it going to be big for Utah and big for the Summer Games, it will be big for the paintball industry as a whole.”
Incorporating paintball into the Utah Summer Games will also set precedence for other state games to follow, he said.
“We’re anticipating paintball will go very well this year, even though it will be the first time its been offered,” said Kyle Case, Utah Summer Games Director. “Jeremy [Chandler] is putting a lot of time and effort into ensuring that the event runs smoothly.”
With so much time and organization invested into putting paintball in the Games, Chandler is looking to fulfill several objectives.
“Our three biggest goals are first, to provide a venue that is a superior venue for paintball players to play on; second, to be as cost effective as possible; and third, to make sure that it is refereed fairly.”
Referees for the games went to a two-day paintball tournament training in Los Angeles to make sure the games will be refereed fairly.
James West is a paintball referee who went to Los Angeles to become a professional paintball referee for the Games.
“I found refereeing the game is just as fun as playing it,” West said.
“What is killer about the Utah Summer Games,” Chandler said, “is you have everything from rock climbing to kayaking to paintball and other outside sports that really belong in the summer games venue.”
The Utah Summer Games is the state’s oldest Olympic style sports festival and includes events such as Diving, Track & Field and of course Paintball. To learn more about the 20th anniversary Utah Summer Games or to register for a sport visit the registration page.Labels: Sports
