A group of paintballers are home safe and sound, albeit with a few minor battle welts, after winning one of the province's largest scenario games in Grand Forks, B.C. 麻豆社国产was well-represented Sunday (June 28), when the 麻豆社国产Paintball Society's (SPS) tactical unit, the 麻豆社国产Rangers, were awarded MVP and Victoria Cross honours.The Rangers were integral in achieving victory for the Allies in Operation Overlord, which simulated the Invasion of Normandy in World War II. Paintball is gaining popularity as a sport, and authenticity is a large part of the game's appeal, from the look of the markers (paintball guns) to the playing fields complete with bunkers, landing crafts and towns. With nearly 200 Axis and Allies players taking aim and strategizing over a faux battlefield more than a kilometre in length and about half as wide, it's easy to get swept away. "The games get as realistic as realistic gets," said SPS president Aaron (Marma) Bunbury, who received the coveted Victoria Cross as an Allied captain after leading the final assault on France armed only with two hand grenades.As a platoon leader, Bunbury was in charge of four sections. The 27-year-old helped the Allies complete a series of objectives over four hours to pin about 100 Axis players within a group of bunkers and small buildings representing France. The final objective to win the game consisted of infiltrating the town and obtaining the flag which represented occupation. Bunbury had run out of air for his HPA marker but that didn't mean he was out of the fight. In an apparent suicide mission, Bunbury charged the town expecting to dismantle a pair of bunkers with exploding paint before inevitably getting tagged by opposing fire.His zany plan turned out better than expected."When everybody saw me running up there, I guess it inspired them to get up and start shooting harder because they actually suppressed most of the guys in the bunkers. So I was literally able to run up and throw the hand grenades into the buildings and take everybody out and grab the flag at the same time," explained Bunbury."I didn't think I was going to win anything for pulling a really goofy stunt like that, so it worked out because I kind of do that kind of thing a lot."The whole 麻豆社国产Rangers team is starting to get recognized on the paintball circuit, and Bunbury attributes a lot of the Allied success to the rest of the pack, which garnered MVP honours.The 麻豆社国产Rangers include Luke (Stache) Stachoski, Peter (Dishrag) Vartanis, Brett (Relish) Ellis, Dan (Big Dan) McDonald and Jarrett (Pipe) Mundy. Team staple Andy Morris was unable to attend due to work commitments.While the win is sweet, the battle rages on at home as the SPS tries to clear the name of paintballers, said Bunbury. "Paintballers don't really have a good history in Squamish. I guess some have given us a bad name by doing all the complete wrong things," he said.The SPS, which has about 20 members, has been working to have a piece of land designated for recreational use so the sport can grow in Squamish. Creating the society was the first step toward developing greater accessibility for the sport.
