Obstacles, paint, and fun, OH MY! UNC-Wilmington is home to a thrilling and adrenaline-filled club on campus. Welcome to the game of paintball.

While the paintball club may be new to campus, the popularity of the sport and the increasing interest is nothing but new. The club is actively seeking members and participants to join the club in order to build a strong team this year. Members of the club are not only enthusiastic regarding the sport but have a love for fun, safety, and always improving their technique.

Dues are $50 per semester which is a great deal considering the expensiveness of the sport. Gear is also another huge aspect of the game but it can easily be rented to members who are new to the sport and may not have their own equipment. The dues go towards a lot of great things that make the club affordable as well as enjoyable.

“The goal of the dues is to be able to pay for field dues and paint when we go to play at different fields,” said secretary of the club, Ashley Wood. “That way, the club will cover the majority of the cost and more people would come out and play.”

The club has made many trips to a variety of places to test out their skills. Trips include visits to Adrenaline Junkie in Leland, Nature of the Game in Hampstead, and Real McCoy Paintball near Raleigh.

Along with the trips that are taken, there are also different versions of paintball that can be played. There is speedball (that is composed of bunkers), woods ball (that involves strategic planning and takes place in the woods), as well as unique themes such as capture the flag.

“Woods ball, the version we play most of the time, involves more tactics and sneaking around a forest while trying to complete some type of objective,” said president of the club, Zachary Rogers.

While many students and possible new members may fear the possibility of getting hit, many members of the club encourage protected clothing and reassure the UNCW community that pain is hardly a factor in determining to continue to play.

“You are allowed to wear as many layers as you want to minimize the impact and the pain,” said treasurer Victoria Gonzalez. “In all honesty when you’re out there on the field having fun, pain is the last thing you’re going to be worrying about.”

All experience levels are welcomed to play and participate in the sport. The club strongly encourages all men and women to give paintball a shot.

“Bottom line is if you’ve never played paintball before try it out,” said Gonzalez. “You may fall in love with it like I did.”

The paintball club on campus isn’t the only group of people that love paint ball. On Saturday, Oct. 3, UNCWeekends is hosting a paintball event at Nature of the Game Paintball in Hampstead. The event will start at 10 a.m. and last till 3 p.m. Tickets are available at Sharky’s for $15.

Many students and members of the spikeball club will be there to participate and talk to potential new members about the club and how to get involved.