Speedball Slow-Mo By Scott "Grizzly" Kurtz At the Canadian Nationals in Calgary, Canada, a huge tournament that attracts the best speedball players around, a stock class division was included. No, I am not kidding. I was there as a referee. It was a kick to ref because these players knew their stuff! They played a technical speedball game. One game I'll never forget--it was over in 14 seconds! Our sport of paintball is one of the best in the world today, partly due to the diverse ways to play the game. Speedball is just one of the many exciting versions, played as a recreational sport or in tournament format. The tough part for rec-ball players comes on those days or in those games where some players, regretfully, cannot turn off the "tournament edge" and make a simple speedball recreational game not so simple any more. Personally, I have played with groups and supervised groups where this has been the issue. To bring the fun back into the games, we would relax, and discuss with the players how speedball is played recreationally. We had to take into account that everyone learns at a different pace, and how tournament speedball can be too fast-paced for rec-ball players. (To share some history with you, speedball evolved out of the woods and brought shorter game times than the 30 to 45 minute games of the early days. Thank goodness for evolution, eh!) Here are some changes we have made in keeping the basic speedball format, with short games and spectators, yet slowing the game down for recreational play: a) everyone shoots pump markers b) everyone gets only one loader full of paint, no pods taken onto the field to reload from c) no bunkering (no charging up to a player in a bunker and unloading on him pointblank) d) shooting so no player has more than three paintballs in the air at any one time e) instead of playing elimination, play freeze tag f) the most experienced players are not allowed to pull or carry the flag (leave it for the newer players) Speedball can be lots of fun for every level of player. Relax, and enjoy the most unique and fun sport in the world. Canadian paintball stories and news may be emailed to Scott "Grizzly" Kurtz in Canada at sdskurtz@accesscomm.ca. Illustrative photos by Skirmish.com.