CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/677112
fact that current and former soldiers make up an estimated 30 percent of his customer base is a big source of pride. In a show of support, the park of- fers a 10 percent discount to members of the military, as well as to police and firefighters. Still, Gienger says he gets a kick out of seeing people who are en- tirely foreign to the activity, give it a try. "Paintball can be for everyone. It is safer than golf. We haven't had one se- rious injury in all the time we've been open, knock on wood," Gienger said. " … It is a fairly active sport so it helps to be in decent shape, although we've had M. J. Soffe come here for a company party, and they had a number of people pushing 70 years old. Still, they had a blast. We just made sure they drank a lot of water." Much of the potential danger in the game, Gienger says, comes from the chance of getting hit too hard by a paint- ball pellet on a sensitive part of the skin. To prevent the risk of injury, besides re- quiring that safety gear is worn, Gienger says that the park requires all players to use only the high-quality paintball pel- lets provided by the park, as he says the higher quality pellets are far more frag- ile and likely to break on contact, than the cheaper rubberized pellets people can purchase at a local Walmart. "Face-coverage at all times is also a requirement, as a pellet could blind a person if it gets in their eye," Gienger said. "We require everyone on the field to wear head-gear. If anyone even tries to take their helmet off, the referee will scream at them to stop, and will physi- cally cover their head with their body. We take safety very seriously." For Gienger, taking care of players is a top priority. He can't help but see a lot of himself in the kids who play there, and the feeling may be mutual. While Caldwell says that he has no plans on pursuing a military career like Gienger, he does hope to secure a business de- gree one day in order to open a paintball park of his own. "Just not in the immediate vicinity, right Alex?" Gienger joked. CV For prices or to learn more about their hours of operation please visit www. blackopspaintball.org.