Paintball has always been a popular sport and activity here in Warwick. The adrenaline-fuelled combat game is very popular with hen and stag groups, and it's also and ideal team building activity for corporate groups.
Children and younger people tend to really enjoy playing paintball but it's always been an issue mixing young people with adults in the battlefield of paintball.
Some of the major issues are:
- Physical differences: Quite obviously young people are smaller, weaker and not as capable of doing everything an adult is. This puts them at a serious disadvantage with paintball games.
- Youngsters are less aggressive: Although this is a good thing it will put them to a disadvantage during the game. Paintball requires a good mix of skill, fitness and determination (the right aggression) to succeed.
- Adults won't shoot children: Again – this a good thing! But in combat you will find that a team with more youngsters will have an advantage over the other team as they have 'un-shootable' team members, making it an unfair battle.
- Paintball guns are heavy: Running around a wood with a heavy paintball gun can test the physically fitness of strong adults. It's an unfair advantage over the younger weaker players if everyone plays with the same equipment.
- Colourful language: Sometimes the language during combat can be a little 'blue'. That's not to say it's like something from an episode of Celebrity Juice or a Jimmy Carr DVD but it's not always suitable for younger ears.
- More bucks – more ammo: Adults will be able to buy more ammunition and therefore be more 'trigger-happy,' which again puts the young people at a disadvantage. Teens can also be trigger-happy but they won't have the money or foresight to have a continual source of paintballs during a game.
- Big Groups. Adult paintball really only works well when there are 20 + players. This size of group can be really difficult to arrange.
Other issues like having a more timid style in the woods can lead to a less enjoyable game. Paintball is a fast-paced and team-driven game. Often the youngsters are simply not mature enough to grasp the aggression, tactics and sheer physical endurance that paintball can throw up.
… that's a good thing though; children should remain children for as long as they can, we think!
But we know that children and young people enjoy paintball. In fact, when they play with the adults they do enjoy it more than the adults (mainly as the oldies have to tone it down a bit and that affects their enjoyment) so we wanted to offer a different experience for kids between 8-12 years old.
Welcome to junior paintball!
We wanted to give the young people of Warwickshire and beyond the chance to enjoy all the fun without having to join in with the louder and stronger adults.
Junior paintball has many positive changes that we hope will get young people enjoying paintball in a safe environment and learning new skills including tactics, teamwork, strategy, precision and control.
The main differences with junior paintball are:
- Junior wood: We run the junior paintball in a separate wood away from the adult games. This makes sure that the kids are protected from adult crossfire and blue language. Plus the course is specifically designed with younger people in mind (smaller barricade that are closer together and more numerous).
- Spectating adults: As the course is further away from the other games the parents will be able to spectate (from a safe distance behind safety netting) and watch the young teams do battle. You can't spectate for the adult games so this is a unique experience just for the junior paintballers.
- Shorter games: Three-hour adult games can be too much for young people. So the junior games are two-hour sessions, which is a good enough time to allow for all the fun without exhausting the youngsters and possibly causing them to get injured through fatigue or poor judgment.
- Party packages: Now we offer a fully-inclusive party package that covers everything. Although the adults can buy as many extra paintballs as they like the children don't have the disposable income… but that doesn't stop them being trigger-happy! So we cover that and exclude the hidden cost of extra paintballs by giving you one price for the party, no matter what happens. It's far easier to budget for your party or event this way.
- Lighter paintball guns: As the adult guns are simply too heavy for the juniors to lug around the woods for hours on end we also have special junior guns. The junior paintball guns are smaller, lighter and simpler to use and carry.
- Family and Friends: Junior Paintball is not just for children. We can easily accomodate a family group or a party who have a wide range of ages - even granny and grandpa could get involved!
- Suitable for smaller groups. You could come along with just four people however, 8 to 12 players is ideal.
Advantages of junior paintball
Junior paintball is aimed at ages 8 plus, and the party element is an exciting addition to the offering on our Wedgnock Lane grounds.
Adventure Sports have always catered for the young adventure seekers and the rifle range, archery and climbing have always been popular but the paintball was never quite a fair crack of the whip.
Junior paintball will give you and your kids the option of a fully-inclusive party option that not only suits them but suits you as a budget-driven parent/carer or party planner.
The main advantages of junior paintball are a fairer playing field and a specifically designed wood for the games. We've put our years of expertise into our junior paintball and we're excited see the games get going.
Junior paintball will help young people to communicate well, work as a team, build confidence and achieve targets and goals in the games. It's obviously a lot of fun but also safe and now suitable for the younger players.
A quick word on safety…
Safety at Adventure Sports is our primary aim and the safety checks and talks are the forefront of everything we do. No one steps foot on our site without the mandatory checks and safety talk and introduction to each activity.
Our junior paintball is no different, and the safety and enjoyment of the games are our main aim. You can be assured that the young teams will be able to enjoy the games without the risk of injury – we engineered it that way.
Junior paintball is here and ready for your parties and weekend fun.
To find out more about what we can offer or to book a junior paintball party just contact us now.
Any questions?
Just contact one of the Adventure Sports team now. We can explain how the session works and check availability.
Tel. 01926 491 948 or send us an email.
