Paintball is a modern sport, in which players are tagged with projectiles that are made of nontoxic dye. During a game, the player aims to eliminate opponents. A team’s victory is determined by the number of opponents killed, as well as the number of paintballs that reach each player.
The game’s origins date back to the early 1980s. Charles Gaines, a bodybuilding writer, saw an advertisement for a paint gun. Eventually, he and his friends, Hayes Noel and Gurnsey, started a survival game using Nelson’s paint markers.
After several years of development, paintball became a popular sport for both children and adults. It has now become a multimillion dollar industry. Besides its popularity as a recreational activity, it is also used by law enforcement and military forces.
Since it was introduced in the United States in the early eighties, the sport has spread worldwide. By 1999, the industry was generating $700 million a year.
Despite the widespread use of paintballs, there are still a number of injuries to players. While most injuries are incidental to outdoor physical activities, there are also serious injuries that occur during the game.
The Minnesota Paintball Association states that paintball is one of the safest sports to play. In fact, research shows that about 20 injuries are reported for every 100,000 players each year.
The sport is also popular with business groups. For example, Sears organized therapeutic paintball sessions for executives.
Paintball is now played in various forms, including scenario games, speedball, and woodsball. There are a number of paintball magazines available in the United States.