Collegiate Times

For the past 10 years, Gilbert Maxwell, owner of Fire Safety Products, has supplied his local customers with paintball supplies. Now, due to high demand, he wishes to open a new paintball field adjacent to his shop. However, not everyone has given him the approval he needs.

The only problem with Maxwell?s field, located next to his store on 203 Depot Street, Christiansburg, is that it is in close proximity to Christiansburg Primary School. School officials are concerned with the safety of the students here and the possibility of stray paintballs.

In a letter from the Montgomery County Schools, Superintendent Tiffany Anderson said, ?There are some initial concerns regarding having paintball guns and related materials in close proximity to an elementary schools. Additionally I would like to point out that our School Board policy prohibits weapons and look-alike weapons.?

The elementary school cannot be seen from the field due to trees and other foliage separating the two from each other. The Christiansburg Planning Commission has confirmed this.

?I understand their concerns,? Maxwell said.

To solve this problem, Maxwell has agreed to construct a privacy fence that will surround the field, in addition to encasing the field with a net that will prevent stray paintballs from escaping and potentially harming anyone. To ensure players are safe, a referee will oversee every game.

?We want everyone to understand that paintball is a safe sport. Statistically it is safer than football,? Maxwell said. Paintball is in fact a safe sport with growing popularity. If a player wears the correct safety gear and their goggles, the only damage to the body is a slight bruise.

According to a 2004 report made by the Sporting Good Manufacturing Association International, paintball is one of the most popular extreme sports with 9,640,000 people playing. The report also stated that since 1998 paintball playing has increased by 60 percent.

?Parents can play with their kids, and this a family sport,? Maxwell said. ?It is also popular with birthday parties, and now church groups are beginning to have paintball outings.?

Three-and-half years ago, Maxwell purchased the field next to his store and contemplated on using it for paintball.

Carl Conner, owner of Wolf?s Ridge Paintball Field located just five miles out of Christiansburg, predicts that the proximity of the field and school should not have any effect on the safety of the schools.

At Maxwell?s field the style of game that players are expected to play is called ?speedball,? in which players will use inflatable bunkers to cover themselves during timed play. This style is different from that of Conner?s field, where players engage in real-life warfare situations in a style called ?woods-ball.?

The field has recently been cleared and is now awaiting approval by the Christiansburg Town Council. They are expected to vote on Nov. 7 at the Christiansburg Town Hall. So far, the school system has been the only group placing concerns.

?None of my neighbors have had any concerns with the field,? Maxwell said. ?We are just awaiting approval right now.? If Maxwell?s field is approved at the Nov. 7 meeting, it will be set to open in late March of 2007.