One of the things I look forward to most of all at a tournament is the social atmosphere, and the time spent talking paintball with strangers and friends alike. Its one of the best ways to learn, and an easy way to spend way to much money on food and drink! Such was my anticipation for this years Skyball. Here, I will share with you some of my experiences at this years tournament. For this article, I collected impressions from people who were repeat attendees, and first timers. I didn't take exact quotes, and I'm not going to get into a who's who, as I am going to leave that to the people who write the social pages. I did get to talk to a few notables though!

What is Skyball?

        For those of you who have not heard of Skyball, it is a 5 man Pro and Amateur tournament, that is held inside the Skydome, in Toronto, Ontario. This was the third Skyball held in the sports arena that is home to the Toronto Blue Jays and  Argonauts CFL team. Walking about inside the ‘Dome, you feel very small. With four Sup'Air fields and a staging area bigger than most recreational indoor fields, it is quite possibly a very awe inspiring experience! Also, the vendors area was quite a magnet for any paintballer with a little cash in their pocket and with over 200 teams represented, you can imagine the crowds!
        Teams from all over the world came to compete for the prizes and play in the worlds best paintball venue (as far as I am concerned). Unfortunately, this year's tournament was overbooked, and organizational problems flourished despite best efforts provided by Focus International and Zap to keep everything ticking as it should.  I won't go into all that went wrong on the weekend as you have probably already heard or read all about it on other websites or newsgroups. It is unfortunate that this years tournament did not go as smoothly as expected, as many teams were very frustrated and vowed not to return. I hope that next years tournament will be better and Skyball can redeem its newly tarnished reputation.

First Impressions

        As I walked down to the field for the first time on Friday (down the looooog ramp section that linked the vendors floor with the field floor), I felt a sense of deja vue from last year as I stopped every 5 feet to talk to someone else I knew! As some of you must know, paintball is the one of the few sports where you can meet a total stranger and be friends automatically simply because you both play paintball! I have made many friends this way, by leaning over and beginning a conversation with them! I doesn't matter if they play pro, or amateur or are even just there to watch! Its such a nice feeling knowing that in this huge expanse, there are over 1000 people that you share a common interest in! I parked my stuff near my team's table, and pulled out my camera, ready for my first candid shot of the day. I wasn't disappointed as the day went on, and I got a chance to meet some great people! I hope that someday you (if you don't already), will be able to understand just how important it is to have a good social base in ANY sport. I got introduced to the sport this way, and I do the same for others now. It is a cycle that keeps the sport alive.

        This year I didn't get to play any paintball as I my knees are still quite sore. I was, however, there to support the Iron Maidens, the team I now belong to, and to support Steven's team “I have No Idea”. It was kind of nice not to have to rush about gearing up and dealing with the nervousness, but as I am sure some of you know from watching paintball when you couldn't play, it sucks to watch!

Highlights

        So what were some of the highlights? Well, I saw a lot of paintball, a lot of people and walked around a lot! (I got my fix of paintball for the moment!) I did see some awesome bunkering and shooting, as well as a lot of smiles and some temper tantrums! One personal highlight to note is that there is something about the sound of the buzzer going off and 40 guns blazing all at once. It's a sound you never ever forget, and I hope that if someday you attend this - or any tournament like it - you can appreciate what I am talking about. It's very hard to describe, and sounds not unlike rain during a thunderstorm. One of the women playing for the Iron Maidens fell asleep listening to the “rain” through the open window on her Skydome view room!

        By the end of the day on Friday, things were a little tense due to the organizational disasters. The same was true on Saturday, as I wandered the vendors area and took pictures of some of the booths and products. While I talked to some players I noticed an overlying sense of disappointment in the tournament. They sited lack of edible, affordable snacks (The Mcdonalds in the Skydome was no longer open), and not enough staging area tables as some of the concerns. However, I got a lot of rave reviews for the fields! Players said they were challenging, and tight, just the right size and very fun to play. Each field was set up a little differently, and teams rotated. The fields were not “Mirrored”. Some people told me that they thought the fields were set a little too far back so that a player would have to shoot more paint than normal to achieve their goal.  I didn't get a chance to walk the fields (something I love to do even if I am not playing) so I had to be happy with watching and deciphering the strategies. One player leaned over to me while I was watching a game and stated that the fields were “very in-your-face and aggressive”. From the spectator's point of view, it was easy to watch all the action, and got the thumbs up from one man who had just come in to watch for the day.  He had never seen paintball played before, and I spotted him later buying a mask and a starter gun.

Reffing?

        There were quite a few people that I talked to that said the refereeing was sub par. As with any large tournament, you are going to get players complaining about the reffing, and players saying the reffing was fine. One player who was there with a well known amateur team stated something that I think makes perfect sense. He said “ With any large tournament, you are going to get your experienced referees, and then, to fill in the gaps, you're going to get players who have never reffed, and his cousin who needs some extra cash.”  I talked to one referee during the Friday session, and he stated to me that he had only played a couple of times and this was his first time refereeing! I asked him if he had made any cool calls, like a “one for one” or “playing on”, and he looked at me quizzically and asked “What are those?”. I pointed at Bill Cookston, the Head Ref for the tournament and told him he'd better go ask. I hope he did, and you can be sure, this person learned a whole lot from his first referee experience! I'm sure he did just fine though!
        Steven (for those of you new to my articles, my boyfriend) got a chance to fulfill a goal of sorts at the tournament. He belongs to a referee squad called The Discipline Lords. They were part of the refereeing staff at Skyball, and after Steven's team was done playing on Saturday, Steven volunteered to join the crew for the remainder of the games! He not only got to referee at a lucrative tournament, he was given the position of flag referee for the Pro AND amateur finals! Steven recalls one moment where he could  - in detail- count the shoelaces on Bob Longs cleats as he thundered past his head! (Steven was lying down as to not block shooting lanes during play)
        I was very proud of him, and I sat with one of his long time paintball friends and watched him shine. He is an excellent referee. He even danced for us!
Steven, and a few other die hard referees remarked to me that they felt that the referee crew was pushed a little too far in the endurance end of things. The games wore on and on, and many referees called it quits, saying they didn't want to do it anymore, that they were tired. They thought that might be part of the reason behind some of the “bad” or questionable calls. I agree with them.

So Who Won?

        This year, The All Americans won the Pro division, and the Bushwackers won the Amateur division. If any of you remember the upset in the finals of last year (arguments over calls and accusations of open cheating), it was very nice to see the pro division finals play much cleaner (In my opinion) than last year. However, the amateur division finals did not go so well. There were some accusations of cheating, and a questionable call by a referee. I cannot give accurate details of what I think happened, as I was in the stands, and couldn't see all the action for a large man right in my path. Later, video replay showed that it would indeed be a difficult task to be a referee at that point. I leave the judgment up to those who saw the game.
        In the end, though it all comes down to one thing. Sportsmanship should prevail above everything, and some players need to remember that it is only a game. Tempers flared and shouting ensued. I am sorry to say that it is an all too common sight at tournaments. I hope this can change for the better so that paintball can continue to grow in the public's eye.

Final Thoughts

        For many people, Skyball isn't about winning, or losing. Its about playing paintball and having fun. Many people I talked with told me that even though they were frustrated, they were enjoying themselves, and were playing some “kick ass paintball”. I got a chance to talk briefly with some of the team members from Team Internet. Rob “Tyger” Rubin heads up the teams. This was their third Skyball, and first year with semi teams. They had wowed the crowd the past two years playing pump against semi. I was a convert last year, and this year, got to cheer my former team mates on as they played. Tyger is an original character, and when I asked him last year why he brought teams to play pump and stock class against 12 ball a second semis, his answer was, “ Because we can!”. That was a sentiment echoed by many teams there on the weekend. They wanted to play. They went out there and had FUN. One vendor told me that he thought a tournament should be based on how much fun you had, and how you did personally, not whether the team came in first or last. The serious teams were there to compete, that was for sure, and I noticed a level of concentration from some of the pro teams that I envy. I hope to someday be able to play paintball the way they do (without the controversy of course).

        So, that sort of sums up my Skyball experience. I didn't spend too much time at the players party, as by this point, my head was telling me it had had enough. I did get to wish my good-byes to many of my friends, and did get one of Rocky Cagnoni’s wonderful hugs, and a few hugs and laughs from “Blue”, the owner/operator of EMR paintball Park. I guess my overall impression of the weekend was that it was a good and bad tournament, and I am looking forward to seeing how next year will be improved! If you want to get a glimpse of the tournament itself, I will have pictures up soon. My camera decided not to co-operate during the weekend, so my pictures are very few. However, you can check out www.skyball.com  for more information.

Caroline “sabrette” Richardson
MPN Columnist, CANADA