Many action movies have a scene where, prior to a climactic battle, the hero or heroes collect the gear, weapons and ammunition they'll need.
There are shots of people dressing in camouflage fatigues, strapping on equipment and loading their weapons.
Watching the newly formed Primus Knights paintball team prepare for a practice at the Weekend Warriors Paintball Field south of Olds on a Sunday afternoon is a little like watching that scene.
Team members fill hoppers on their paintball guns—called markers—with dozens or hundreds of tiny balls and they equip themselves with at least three canisters of spare ammunition on belts and harnesses pulled over camouflage outfits suited for jungle warfare.
Most of the members even have camouflaged headpieces called “Predlocs.”
But the team's captain and co-founder, Daniel Harcus, said the squad is not out to wage aggressive, guerrilla-style combat but to have fun and develop strong friendships.
“It's basically just a group of equally minded people getting together to form a brotherhood.”
Harcus, a 25-year-old Olds resident who entered the world of paintball in 2004, said the team was formed in March from players throughout Mountain View County and currently has a roster of six members and two auxiliaries.
While the ultimate goal of the team is to have fun, Harcus said he and his comrades are hoping to expand not only the ranks of their team, but interest in a type of paintball competition gaining popularity in other parts of Canada and the U.S.
Unlike the traditional paintball activity of “speedball,” where participants play against each other in open spaces or inside buildings populated with obstacles and bunkers for cover and fire rapidly, “woodsball” is played in natural settings such as forests where tree branches and other obstacles can cause fired paintballs to break apart in the air.
“Woods ball is more of a tactical, ambush style of paintball,” Harcus said. “So you're wanting to do more of a stealth style of play. You'll want to blend in with your surroundings, get as close to your opponent as possible before you pull that trigger. You're aiming for that one-shot kill.
“You're definitely trying to think more. You're trying to think, where is my opponent going to be, where can I be to best get the advantage on him?”
He added he'd like to see woodsball expand to become “an official sector of paintball” in Alberta in much the same way as other provinces or countries treat the activity.
“What we're trying to do is bring Alberta on par with B.C. Maybe create an inter-provincial division as well and spread it across Canada.”
Right now, the team trains on weekends at Weekend Warriors and will play games against other paintballers—both speedball and woodsball players alike— at their home field or in Calgary or Edmonton.
Every month, Harcus said, a “noobie day” is held to allow new players to become accustomed to the activity and “Big Games” are also held monthly.
At a Big Game in July at Weekend Warriors, the Knights and other paintballers raised roughly $600 and collected non-perishable food items for Red Cross flood relief.
The team would like to bring in new members, Harcus said, and although he uses the term “brotherhood” to promote one of the aims of his squad, he added that women are more than welcome to join.
“The stereotype is that paintballers are really angry people and we like the pain,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is my wife came out last weekend and she was scared to get hit because she thought it was going to hurt too much. It's like a pinch. It hurts for a few seconds and then it's done.
“Girls tend to make some of the better paintballers out there to be honest. They're smaller, they're faster, they think a little quicker on their feet in certain situations as well.”
The cost of joining the team is $300 and for that members receive a jersey and discounts on paintball gear and markers.
The next noobie day at Weekend Warriors is Sept. 8 and the cost is $60, which includes 1,000 balls, the field fee and marker rental.
The next Big Game at Weekend Warriors is Sept. 21.
To take part in either event or for more information, contact Harcus at 403-672-0107 or go to the team's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Primus-Knights.
