THE BLITZ

(A Sask Circuit Bonus Points Event)

22 July 2007

The BLITZ event was one of the first tournaments to be included in the Saskatchewan Provincial Paintball Championship Circuit. It was eventually replaced by the Stock Classic, but now it's back as part of the Paintball Action Games Asquith Triple Crown of Tournaments and a Tournament for the Saskatchewan Provincial Paintball Championship Circuit! It gets its name from the game of Blisterball, commonly known as center-flag. It is very similar to speedball except it is usually played in the woods.

The guns are semi-auto guns of any type. Standard hoppers of 200 size maximum are permitted as well as any type of compressed gas propulsion system. Pellet velocity limit is 300 fps. This is a hopperball event, with a maximum of 200 paintballs per player per game.

Each team of 4 players starts at their home post. There is a central post equal distant between the two teams. There is a flag at this location. The object of the game is to capture the flag and touch it to the opposing team's starting post. The flag cannot be thrown to the post, the flag must be in a players hand when it touches the post. If you place the flag onto your own post the other team wins. The game has a 15 minute time limit.

Eliminated player leave the field, and Players who leave the field are deemed eliminated from the game. All players must start with their paint guns touching their post.

If the player carrying the flag is hit and eliminated, the flag is dropped on the ground at that spot and will be hung on the nearest obstacle, and is there for whoever picks it up next. Eliminated players leave the field and proceed to the staging area.

Points are scored by placing the flag onto your opponent's post...100pts, and by successfully making the first flag capture from the center post and successfully making it to cover without being eliminated....15pts. and by eliminating opposing players…10 points are scored for each elimination.

This event is a Satellite Event for the Saskatchewan Provincial Paintball Championship Circuit. The top five teams will earn bonus points that will be added to the teams total circuit points. The bonus points are as per the main events.

The 2003 BLITZ was the hardest fought event ever. It saw the return of the Rocky Mountain Rangers to Tournaments at Asquith and they were welcomed with open arms. It also marked the return of Greg Latour to Saskatchewan tournament play and he impressed everyone with his high caliber play and sportsmanship. Competition was fast and furious with the occasional player getting carried away in their in enthusiasm. Very few games reaching the 10 minute time limit. The final game saw Wicked, the champions for the past two years, losing out to the Rangers in a hotly contested game.

The 2002 BLITZ was the best attended in years. Almost all the top teams in the province attended and competition was fast and furious with very few games reaching the 10 minute time limit. Out of the 20 games on the schedule only two were tied. The final game lasted less than two minutes. Besides the experienced teams there were two teams of rental level players who played extremely well in this format and were unanimous in their praise of the tournament and the players in it.

The Four Neat Guys won the award as the most sportsmanlike team.

2001 marked the return of the BLITZ to Saskatchewan players and Saskatchewan players to the BLITZ. The weather was perfect and four teams attended to try their hand at Pump Gun Speedball. The teams were The Four Neat Guys, Wicked, Wolf Pack, and Jordan and Sons.

As this was the first year for this event it was run in two formats. First the PUMP GUN BLITZ was held, followed immediately by a SEMI-AUTO BLITZ. The players were then polled for their opinions as to whether future versions of this event should be pump or semi. They were unanimous ......PUMP. They all agreed that PUMP was a nice change, low cost, and allowed the beginner players to have as much fun as the pros.

The level of play was excellent with the four teams covering the range of Highly Experienced to Complete Beginners. The beginners even won a game, and as expected with resurrections the body count was high. When the dust settled Wicked had won and became the 2001 Paintball Action Games Triple Crown Champions.

I would like to commend The Four Neat Guys for their sportsmanlike play and enjoyable company. Their attendance made the day a success. Thanks John and Dan, we hope to see you next year.

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