Who was there

It was a cool cloudy morning as we arrived Friday to start the Nov. & Am divisions. Lil Asylum my son's team was reffing so we were early and already the parking was filling up. Camps were being set up and the rush of the tournament could be felt as we unloaded. The sand had been wet in the parking area and that made for a
 pleasant set up as long as you had tables that is..

There was a giant tent set up for the vendors and it was packed. Vendor turn out was high.  This year Custom Products, Warrior Sports Gear, Big Boy Toys, Paintball Junkies, and  Full Speed Paintball were inside. Full Speed which was making their event debut, showed a line of paintball apparel. Mike Nowak was on the fields taking high resolution digital action photos to offer for sale to players. In front of the main tent JT provided a player support tent where Kenny Chamberlain provided customer service for JT, and Diggers showed their paintball cleats. Off to the left Diablo paintballs had one of their climate control semi trailers on location to supply paint. Along the same side as the truck the field operator, Paintball Asylum provided food from their own outdoor kitchen. In front of the vendor's tent was a nice new score board where captains and teammates gathered to run the numbers. That completes the tour of the front area. You walked back and around to the left to enter the fields.

The Fields

As you enter the field there is a large newly cut dirt clearing with three concept style fields.  Diablo paint sponsored a Sup'Air ball field, which prove to be exciting for many southwest teams who had not yet been able to experience the inflatable format.  A speedball field of plywood bunkers set up in the traditional format with mirrored bunkers was a welcome site to many. While the third field constructed entirely of 50 gallon steel storage drums in a hyperball format proved to be designed for fast action. Four brush fields were set up using the natural vegetation as bunkers.  Low scrubs and trees grew very thick providing cover and concealment. Players could travel between flag stations across some clearly defined paths which provided footing for fast movement . There were a total of seven fields:

 #1 was a stick field but had nice wide trails- reffed by OTP.
 #2 was a speedball field or palate field- reffed by Rapid Fire
 #3 was the barrel field, similar to hyperball set up. -Reffed by Lil Asylum
 #4 Sup air field- reffed by Asylum am
 #5 Blair Witch field -reffed by Team 5150 (KAPP)
 #6 Sticks and dry brush -reffed by Team Pursuit
 #7 Back Forty- Sticks with natural vegetation bunkers-reffed by Team Genesis

The Turnout

The new Pan Am circuit had a heavy turnout with 42 Novice teams, 16 Amateur teams, and 52 Rookie teams .Teams from many different states and players of all  ages were here to have a good time and proudly displayed banners and flags. Canada even sent a great team. Amateur and Novice preliminary rounds run all day Friday. It was a nice semi cloudy day not too hot. Games stayed on schedule, and finished up Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning the Rookie's prelims were started . They finished up on Sunday morning.  The heavy rookie turnout produced a variety of players. A lot of high tech guns but a surprising number of teams were seen with blow back semis and CO2. To make things easier on the referees tracking the amount of paint in the limited format of the Pan Am. All players were required to carry their paint in clear 100 round ViewLoader tubes which were provided for free to the teams by Brass Eagle - two per player equal to 200 rounds.. Saturday heated up and the sun beamed down glaring..hot as 16 top Novice teams, and 6 Amateur teams were placed into the semi-final brackets, scheduled to play Sunday afternoon. While Novice prelims raged on, the Young Guns and Stock Class events overlapped. Young Guns event is for players under 15 (through the season players who turned 15 after January 1st are allowed) it is run with a 5 minute- 3 player format .  The Stock Class games were also a 3 player format. They were split into beginner and advanced divisions of 5 teams each. They were given the natural vegetation fields. It was fun to watch as newbie players scrambled for field control. Check their scores on the links below.

The Action

One of the most cheered games was on Sup Air where Lady T & A met Vipa. The Ladies turned the game around and maxed Team Vipa. The crowd went wild and could be heard for a mile. They said Vipa would never live it down being beat by girls..... etc.. It was a interesting game as one Vipa player came to bunker Paintball Chick and she turned it around on him. This in turn push her team to victory. These girls were hot on speed ball that game!!!! You go girls....

Iron Kids had to work for their first place and lost a couple of games (to Urban Quest and to Broken Arrow). This is going to be an interesting season for them. No more sure things..... better practice and be ready to face some tough games at Seattle. You wanted it and now you got it. It makes the season more fun though. You are a great bunch of guys... in my opinion...It is not how well you win that impresses me but how gracefully you lose. ... Iron Kids admit mistakes and go on without wine and whimper... That is the mark of real men.......

The rookie division had a turn of events that surprised everyone. Sitting Ducks Orange came in at the bottom at # 20. This means they played the top team first. Agent Orange had not lost one game. These rookie Ducks were shaky and unsure. They decided hey it's just a game, let's go for it. The way it came out in finals was Orange Ducks at the top.!!!! Which goes to prove what I said about predictions and such. It is anyone's game all the way to the end. Novice Division had some evenly matched teams and each squad fought hard to hold on. Here is where a kill or a live count made the difference. No one was walking away with the game in the bag. Never was the pressure off, even in a max the numbers counted. This is going to be an interesting season to see how these teams exchange positions. Dan and Liz were in great moods and remained so despite the heat. Russ was even in a good mood despite the cold he was fighting. Well a good mood for him... The new staff were a tremendous help. They were always helpful and full of advise. Even if you did not ask for it........ Air guy was right in there getting everyone out to the field on time. Yea !! Air guy.  As we packed up our gear and said goodbye to Vegas until next year, a sorta sad feeling swept over you. Seeing your friends packing to go home and finding it hard to  say goodbye....

Well there is always Seattle...... See ya there in a couple of months........ The fun will start all over again!!!!!! Don't miss it..... Players Party !!!!!!  Be There.......

The Awards

The Pan Am players shook the desert east of Vegas as they run the fields and brush......

Rookie Division -
1st Orange Ducks
2nd Agent Orange
3rd Green Vipa
4th Young Guns

Novice Division -
1st Tombstone Nomads
2nd Broken Arrow Blue
3rd Untouchables
4th T. Outsiders

Amateur Division -
1st Iron Kids
2nd Urban Quest
3rd Phoenix Heat
4th Broken Arrow

Young Guns - Armageddon

Stock Class -
Phoenix Heat Short Bus (Beg)
Demon Knights (Adv)

For more pictures from the Las Vegas Pan Am Tournament, goto the Photo Gallery

Debbie "Mama Duck" Glaze
Guest Writer