College is the perfect time to join a paintball club. Whether you’ve been playing since you were a kid or are looking to try something new, paintball can be a great way to get involved on campus. You’ll stay active, have fun, and make a ton of friends at your school. There’s never a dull moment when you’re playing paintball!

Joining a Collegiate Paintball Team or Club

Look on your university’s website, post in your school’s Facebook groups, or ask around to find out if your school has a paintball team or club. Contact the captain/president to find out how you can get involved.

Do they hold tryouts or can anyone join? Do they accept new members any time during the semester or only during the start? If not, ask if you can come check out a practice or tournament and let them know you’re interesting in joining as soon as you can.

Even if you can’t play right away, there are probably other ways you can get involved. Maybe they need an equipment guy or help on the business end of the team, like balancing the budget. If they are an established club, they probably hold events you could go to during the semester to get to know the players better. The wait will also give you time to improve your paintball game. Check out a local paintball field during walk-on hours and play to develop your skills.

Starting a Collegiate Paintball Team or Club

If your school doesn’t have a paintball team, why not start one? This will be a much larger time commitment than joining an established team, so make sure you’re ready. Starting a paintball team from scratch is a lot like starting a business, so you’ll definitely gain some valuable skills and experience.

You’ll want to pay attention to a few main areas to make your team successful: organization, leadership, recruitment, finances, and marketing. Doing all of this alone can be difficult, so find other students who are willing to help. A core group of people who are interesting in leading the paintball initiative together will be more likely to succeed. Your team members don’t necessarily need to be friends or people you already know. One of your goals should be to meet new friends and bring people together who have a common interest. Put up flyers around campus or post in university Facebook groups to find other students that want to grow paintball at your school.

Check with your school for specifics, but generally starting a club is easy: you’ll first need a list of 5-10 students interested in joining the club. Fill out the proper paperwork and maybe give a brief presentation about your club, and you are good to go.

Once you are officially recognized by your university as a club or team, you can start playing in collegiate paintball tournaments. Now that you have a better idea of how to join or create a paintball team, get to it! Then get out on the field and have some fun.