The Student Cup: Paintball’s Varsity event

Ever been interested in paintballing but haven’t been sure how to get involved? Joe Upton from the C4 Mavericks paintball team for Christ Church is here to show you how 

The Student Cup: The competitive side of Paintball

At the end of February, 16 teams from across the UK come together for the annual Paintball Student Cup.

‘I thought paintball was just running around in the woods shooting your mates on their birthday?’

Whilst this is true (and we still like doing this), tournament paintball is a bit different and is growing in popularity in the UK. It’s a fast-paced, intense and adrenaline-filled sport, in which five man teams will compete to gain the title of the best student team in the country.

Christ Church on the start gate - photo credit: Axon Photography
Christ Church on the start gate – photo credit: Axon Photography

 How does it work then?

Well, let me take a moment to explain the basics. Teams compete on a flat grass field, filled with a selection of shaped inflatable bunkers, shooting each other at 10.5 balls per second. The aim is for each team to completely eliminate the other, or press the buzzer at the opponent’s start gate. If you’re shot, you’re out. Do one of these two things, and you win the point.

Christ Church have taken part in the past two years, with our best result being 2nd in the ‘Bachelor’s’ division last year. In 2017, we take a step up to the ‘Masters’, and will be competing against the best in the country.

Check out last year’s video of the event here

The Canterbury Varsity

This is our main event for the year. Our friends up at the University of Kent have been the winners for the past two years, and this time we intend to take that title off them. It is going to be a challenge for sure, as they are the only repeat winners in the history of the competition but, with a much stronger team to field this year, we’ve got a great chance.

Whilst the competition is important, this is also a huge social event for student ballers. In true student tradition, a huge player’s party takes place the evening before the tournament. So obviously this means everyone is trying to get each other to consume as much alcohol as possible and for some, the hangovers are pretty intense the next day.

The Student Cup takes place on the 25th and the 26th of February, throughout the event, we’ll be on our Facebook page posting pictures, shooting video and writing updates as games and events unfold.

We’d really like to see your support, so please like and follow our team page here!

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