Get out with Ord

Editor's note: This is the 11th story in a weekly series featuring outdoor adventure opportunities through SIU and in the southern Illinois region.

Donnie Owsley darts from behind a bunker, making every effort to achieve safety behind the next structure without being spotted by the opposing team.

With only 5 feet of open space between him and safety, Owsley gets hit. A small, yellow spot blooms on his upper arm.

"It's kind of like a bee sting. When it first hits, it hurts instantly, but after a few seconds, it might be a dull throb," said Owsley, president of the SIUC paintball club.

Paintball is the fastest-growing extreme sport in the world and the only team extreme sport, said Owsley, a senior from LaHarpe studying information systems technologies. He said paintball is a sport anyone can play, regardless of age or athletic ability.

The SIUC paintball club caters to three major disciplines in the sport: tournament ball, rec-ball, or recreation paintball and scenario ball.

Patrick Conway, a senior from Normal studying information systems technologies, is a member of the SIUC tournament team, which is ranked 15th in the nation in the National Collegiate Paintball Association.

Tournament games are played on a pre-determined field layout; the arrangement of the bunkers is released to the teams before the tournament so teams can work out strategies, Conway said.

"Communication is really important on the field. ... You have to be aware of quite a bit since there are a lot of paintballs flying around," Conway said.

In tournament play, points are awarded on a 100-point scale, and a set number of points are awarded to the team that first captures a central flag and the team that plants its flag at the opposing team's starting point. Teams also get points for the number of opposing players they hit. The team with the most points at the end of the time period is the winner.

Although tourney ball is prominent in the college arena, recreation ball is the most popular form of paintball.

Rec-ball is typically played in a wooded area with two or more players and usually has an objective of capturing a flag that is located centrally on the playing field.

Owsley said he enjoys rec-ball most because it's easier to have fun because there isn't as much pressure to win as there is in tournament ball.

The third form of paintball, scenario ball, follows a certain story line - a common theme is military battles. Scenario ball is typically played on a larger field and lasts longer than other paintball games.

Travis Zettler, vice president of the paintball club, said he plays scenario ball more frequently than the other forms of the sport.

"It's pretty much an adrenaline rush; it's a lot of fun. It's a way to get people together ... to hang out," said Zettler, a senior from Sesser studying information systems technologies.

The SIUC paintball club is open to anyone already involved in paintball or anyone interested in trying it out for the first time.

Owsley said people should try the sport for themselves and shouldn't be dissuaded by the stigma that paintball is a dangerous sport.

"People tend to think paintball is a dangerous sport because we use guns," Owsley said. "But if you follow the proper safety procedures ... it's actually considered one of the safest, if not the safest, extreme sports out there. It's actually safer than golf."

Audra Ord can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or at amarie06@siu.edu.