| ler said it feels like being hit with a wet towel. | | | | For those who want to experience that rush, |
| Bryan Vasaris said it's like being snapped with a | | | | there are plenty of paintball facilities around |
| rubber band or stung by a bee. Being shot by a | | | | Cincinnati. A good place to start for beginners is |
| paintball gun doesn't sound very fun. So why is | | | | the Hueston Woods Paintball Club at Hueston |
| paintball one of the fastest growing sports in | | | | Woods State Park. |
| America, according to the National Sporting Goods | | | | Tom Arvan, who has been the paintball club's |
| Association? "It's a stress relief, because you can | | | | general manager for 12 years, likes to promote |
| go out and shoot at people and not dangerously | | | | the game to new players. "My personal |
| hit them," Vasaris said. "But it's also being with a | | | | enjoyment is seeing the kids play and seeing |
| group of guys that you like to hang around with." | | | | first-time players come off the field with a grin on |
| The most commonly played paintball game is | | | | their face," Arvan said. |
| "capture the flag." There are rules variations, but | | | | Hueston Woods is open every Saturday and |
| the object is for a team to capture the opposing | | | | Sunday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and offers two fields, |
| team's flag while protecting its own. Players | | | | including one that is wooded with some |
| eliminate opponents by shooting them with their | | | | constructed obstacles. The cost to play is $27, |
| paintball guns. | | | | which includes a gun, a carbon dioxide tank, 200 |
| The games can be played outside in an open field | | | | paintballs and protective gear. Players who have |
| or forest, or inside at a specially designed facility | | | | their own equipment pay $12. The fields are open |
| with inflatable bunkers and other obstacles. "It's | | | | Monday through Friday by reservation for groups |
| not the hide-and-seek game everyone thinks," | | | | of 15 or more. Arvan said Hueston Woods has |
| Vasaris said. "It's really action-packed and | | | | catered to birthday parties, bachelor parties, |
| fast-paced." Players use carbon dioxide- or | | | | fraternity and sorority parties and corporate |
| nitrogen-powered guns that fire thin, gelatin | | | | outings. "We have had high praises from |
| capsules filled with non-toxic paint - the "paintballs." | | | | corporate groups for team-building," Arvan said. |
| Vasaris, 22, who has been playing paintball since | | | | "It's a game that really fosters some friendship |
| he was in high school, will be a senior at the | | | | and sportsmanship." |
| University of Cincinnati this year and is the | | | | Arvan said his paintball field is open to players of |
| president of the school's paintball team. He said | | | | all skill levels. "Paintball is a sport that isn't |
| getting shot isn't as bad as it seems. "After the | | | | dominated by youth and physical size," Arvan said. |
| first time, I didn't even think about getting hit," | | | | "We've had mom, dad, grandma and grandpa out |
| Vasaris said. "There is such an adrenaline rush that | | | | here. |
| you don't even feel it." | | | | |