Author John Sime

When you think about Nova Scotia, depending on who you are and assuming you know where it is, you probably think of fish, lobster, trees, igloos, or beavers. You most likely wouldn’t think of Paintball. After all, Nova Scotia doesn’t really have any Paintball events to make it known - but perhaps things will change. Paintball is growing there, and so are the games.

On October 14th, 2001, at SNL Paintball Games the annual Fall Big Game was held in Truro, Nova Scotia. Every year, it keeps getting bigger, and bigger, and this year was no exception, with over 160 players showing to play, some as far as Quebec.

I had to drive from Halifax, and be at SNL for 9:00 am. That meant getting up at 7:00 am. For a day of Paintball I didn’t mind. When you arrived you were directed to the parking area where you signed in and bought paint. If you pre-registered ahead of time, this was a simple process and not a hassle at all. All went smoothly and everything was very well run, and at 11:30 people went to chronograph their markers to the field limit of 285, and then we had our safety briefing and the teams were divided up.

The game is hosted and put on at SNL with help from Spikes Action Gear in Truro. Spikes Action Gear is probably the best Paintball store in Nova Scotia, and is also a big supporter of the “Atlantics” which is a large tournament that takes place every year in PEI.

Truro is a small town in Nova Scotia, about an hours drive from Halifax, which is the capital and largest city in the province. There are several Paintball fields scattered across the Nova Scotia, but SNL’s in Truro has got to be the largest with a total of 300 acres, with only about 15 acres used for Paintball. The field is large with a huge hill in the middle, and atop the hill is a castle complete with towers and sniper holes. From the Castle at the top of the hill you have a postcard view of the entire field. Halfway up the hill from the bottom there is a large Pine Tree with walls nailed around it, giving it the name the “Pine Tree Fort”. While not as large as the castle it is a strategic place to hold because it as one end of the trench which follow the whole face of the hill. At the base of the hill there is a village with buildings including a two story “General Store”. This village, or “Ville” spreads all along the base of the hill.

The game set up followed no story, and used two teams - the blue team and the yellow team. The game was based on a point system, with holding certain areas of the field at certain times gave you points. The General Store in the Ville, the Pine Tree Fort half way up the hill, and the Castle at the top of the hill were the three areas. Each area had a ref and every half hour they checked which team was in control of the area. 30 points for the Castle, and 20 points for the Ville, and Pine Tree Fort were awarded to the controlling team.

If you weren’t in one of the three main areas, you were somewhere else on the 13-acre field. There was no shortage of woods, or places to hide, and since the hill was in the middle of the field and you were able to climb it from any side, there were plenty of surprise attacks going on all day. However, after one or two climbs of the hill many people just preferred to stay on the bottom where they didn’t have to do as much hiking.

Neutral zone at SNL Paintball

The neutral zone was set up at one corner of the field; you could buy paint, and food there. It was set up with tables and chairs and a shooting range with a chronograph if you wanted to test your marker. If you were hit, you were sent here where you could take your goggles off and rest, then join one of the re-incarnations that happened every half hour. In a re-incarnation the teams started at opposite ends of the hill, and then an air horn signalled the breakout. One the air horn went, the sound of firing Paintball markers flooded the hill and could be heard from the road. The whole first 30 seconds of the break out was very chaotic with paintballs flying in every direction possible. It was quite the sight, which is what makes Big Games so enjoyable.

The day went safely and there wasn’t an injury that I heard about. The refs really have to be commended for this. Standing around making sure we have a safe time, while they take a shot or two by accident. Every year, safety is the number one priority and it all pays off when no one is injured. All the players who show up have an understanding and respect for all the rules are set and year after year the even goes off with out a problem.

It’s always neat to go to Big Games; you get quite a mix of people. You have everything from your ‘hardcore’ tourney player decked out in a JT Jersey with their Angel, to your Ghillie suit snipers to the newbie shooting the rusty Tippmann Carbine rental. No matter who you were though, you were sure to have fun, and that seemed to be clear amongst everyone attending.

John shows off his "wounds" after the game

In comparison to the larger Big Games south of the border, this one was pretty tiny. There was no large trade show to speak of, in fact the only company there was Spike’s Action Gear showing their products. However, here in Nova Scotia it’s a good sign that Paintball is getting more popular amongst people. Who knows, maybe some day Paintball will be more popular than lobster here.

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