The event was the brainchild of Jayson Orvis and was produced by quite literally everyone at Special Ops Paintball. The concept was simple. Players would come in from all over the place for a chance to learn recreational paintball skills, play with toys they never would otherwise, and enjoy a mind-blowing event. Half the players paid admission to be there; the other half won as part of the Special Ops Brigade. And when I say that everyone at Special Ops had a hand in the event, I mean it. From constructing props to assembling player packs to getting the gear together, everyone had a hand in things. Friday began with the players getting to the Spec Ops factory and receiving a free Tippmann X-7 customized with what they wanted. Dennis Tippmann Jr. was on hand with Eric Garbers to help the players with their new X-7s. Players also received their free customized "Special Ops" vest and exclusive "Elite pattern" camouflage from SpecOps and V-Force camouflage goggles. They also received a guided tour of the facility and paintball marker museum that's hosted at the Special Ops factory. Hundreds of paintball guns are on display in an almost complete history of the sport. Friday night featured player clinics, with instructors like Greg "Red" Hastings, yours truly Rob "Tyger" Rubin, Aaron “Crazy8” Kirk and “8-Ball” Mentz, Douglas “Montydoom” Montgomery, "Danger" Dan Saunders, and Jayson Orvis. Players received instruction and played with critiques from the instructors, with all the paint provided by Craig Miller and ProCaps. Then their newfound knowledge was put to the test when they played in a 30-on-30 SPPL game featuring captains Hastings and Tony "Pogo" Grable. The game was decided by 10 points, almost unheard of in SPPL terms, by Hasting's team.
As Hastings set up the PS2s for some outdoor video games, Duane “Kahuna” Bell from Atomic Ordnance set players up with night-vision sights and much night-game action was had. The opposing team for the weekend was "Desert Edge," a local group of talented players who gave the Elite players a run for their money all weekend long. Desert Edge also provided referees, as did team Bad Karma. Matty Poole from Hoffman Paintball Apparel supplied the referee jerseys for them, and was on hand for the event as well. Saturday brought a rotation of six events to test the players' abilities and teach them some skills. Everything from learning GPS to hand signals to the basics of sniper play were covered in the playing stations. Naomi and Dave Tirado from Stiffi gave custom engraved 20-inch carbon-fiber barrels to the best "sniper" team. Players also ran an obstacle course and got to shoot machine guns and real .50 caliber sniper rifles on a private shooting range. Tyler Tiberius ran a pistol shoot competition, and several of the players won limited edition "Tac-8" pistols. The night was wrapped up with a player party at Jayson's house and some well-earned rest. Sunday brought the big game. By normal standards, four hours seems like a short event. However, once you throw in the tanks, the special weapons and the real helicopter flying around and doing player drop-offs, it became a much more intricate affair. Eric Engler of Engler Custom Paintball Guns built a replica .30 caliber machine gun that was mounted in the helicopter, and it was doing strafing runs all day across the field. The game was generaled by Toby "Pogo" Grable and Dennis Tippmann Jr, and both sides fought off the mercenaries, the altitude and each other. "Pogo" emerged victorious, but as he put it, "Everyone here is the real winner." The true measure of the event was the players themselves. Players showed unparalleled sportsmanship the entire weekend, and everyone who attended said they want to come back for the next event. Before I left, I heard rumors that they want to make this an annual event, but as of this moment there's nothing solidly planned. If it does become an annual event, it's definitely going to be one not to miss.
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