Paintball

Paintball is a new activity at camp the summer of 2025. We are excited about the addition of this high-octane game for some senior campers.

Paintball is now an option on the enrollment form as an extra for campers ages 13 and older. Campers enrolled in any of our other programs may add paintball, and get to play one session per day instead of doing the other program. Parents need to sign up their kids for this if they want - it is not an open option for everyone at camp. There will also be an extra waiver for parents to sign if they wish their child to play paintball at camp. We will take all the standard precautions to run a safe paintball program, but there are inherent risks in the activity. The paintball add-on costs $60, about $10 / day, which is the cost of a case of 2,000 paintballs.

Campers who come with the paintball option will have the choice to play once a day for approximately 2.5 hours. We would either use the entire morning session (9:30 - lunchtime) or the afternoon session after cabin activity period (3 - dinner), depending on weather and other special events. (our 'daily' schedule is flexible and often has different length periods) After attendance, safety brief, suiting up, and gearing up, the session will include several activities such as arena matches, target practice, larger woods battles, free for all, VIP, capture the flag, king of the hill, and target ball. The 2.5 hour session should give enough time for plenty of play but not be too exhausting. Because the gear covers the whole body for protection, it can also be hot and sweaty in the summertime, so we will likely take a couple of water breaks.

Paintball campers will need to bring a few additional items to make for fun play:

• Paintball clothes.
  You will want clothes that you do not mind getting ruined with paint, and that also provide enough padding and protection from impact. You might want to go to the thrift store to buy an outfit, and you might throw it out at the end. You should be completely covered with no skin exposed.
  • Upper body covering like snow jacket, carhartt, baggy hoodies
  • Leg protection like snow pants, or sweatpants plus jeans
  • Hand protection like skiing gloves or paintball specific gloves
  • Head protection for the back & top of the head, like a hat or hoodie
  • Foot protection like boots or thick socks inside old sneakers
  • Some people like extra neck padding such as a scarf
• Waiver
  
• Paintball Mask (optional)
  We provide paintball masks, but many people prefer to use their own mask.
• Helmet (optional).
  Paintball helmets can be nice but are not required. We do not provide them. Many players prefer hats or hoods.
• Extra clothes
  Paintball is sweaty. You will go through a change of clothes during each session. You will need to swim or shower after, so you might want more towels & swimsuits than normal campers.
• Campers may not bring their own markers / paintball guns. Everyone must use the same camp gun for fairness and fun.

Paintball campers are not required to play every day. We offer paintball to those enrolled once per day, but campers are welcome to take some days off and do the other activities. It may be extra hot or someone may be tired and want relaxing activities instead. Note that we do not play paintball on the first or last day of each session, so there are 6 days of play expected, but due to weather or other circumstances we may not be able to play every day. A session missed for weather is unlikely to be rescheduled.

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Pump Action Paintball

Slovenski Camps offers a carefully selected style of paintball known most commonly as “stock class"
It is a niche and relatively rare form of paintball as the markers required to play it are uncommon, and rules with which it operates are difficult to uniformly enforce at public facilities.

The downside of traditional paintball (styles such as "speedball", and “woodsball”) is the role technology has taken in the direction of the sport. Semiautomatic markers with incredibly high rates of fire and functionally unlimited ammunition have turned paintball into a game where there is precious little time to think, move, and strategize. Paint flies incredibly fast and thick, and the quality of the play is less enjoyable. The traditional downfall of informal paintball and airsoft among friend groups is the “arms race” that inevitably develops. Friends purchasing increasingly expensive and faster shooting weapons that quickly drain the fun out of a game.

Our play style of "stock class" utilizes pump action markers, with limited magazine sizes. Imagine a pump-action shotgun as an equivalent example. Players get one shot before having to manually pump the action to be able to fire again. A pump stroke takes less than a second, but it is a crucial differentiation in how the game flows, and how players are able to move around the field under fire.

The markers are still powered by compressed air - the paintballs fly as quickly as any modern semiautomatic marker, but the simplicity of the pump action facilitates outstanding accuracy and consistency shot to shot. This style emphasizes and rewards the fundamentals of marksmanship in a way that traditional modern paintball does not.
Magazine sizes in the markers are also limited to 12 rounds before reloading is necessary, introducing another critical element of strategy to the game. Players have limited rounds and must mind the capacity in their magazines.

All told, this style of play has many benefits. First and foremost it drastically opens up the flow and feel of the game. Movement, strategy, teamwork, marksmanship - are heavily emphasized. It also virtually eliminates situations of players being hit multiple times unnecessarily. There is space between shots for players to call their hits and proceed to elimination.

Our paintball offering is intensively structured to put players on an even playing field. It is a high-level game that is both challenging and rewarding and has been curated by people with an extensive history in the sport.