Female Paintball "Stars": The Ultimate Poser?

[Duzzy]

You're not going to see them. They are indistinguishable from the serious player, whether the mask is on or off.

I disagree, if her mask is off and she isn't acting like a moron, or being a loudmouth then I will notice it. Then I will probably assume that a) she isn't in fact a male or b) a very unusual person for my area.

And I know your pain, I am the only stock player in my area. So while it isn't exactly the same it comes close. I have people wipe on me, then bunker me, then brag about how they bunkered someone and fail to mention that I have a pump gun and they cheated. I don't get any respect, people tell me to play in the back where I "won't get in the way" and to be honest, I suck at paintball. But I am almost always pushing harder than anyone with a semi because it is what I want to do, I have fun doing it. Even though I do get kicked in the pants a whole lot.

[TheTramp]

I 've seen some really good female tournament players but they were on co-ed teams. I can't say I've ever seen a female team made up of really good players.

I think someone said it earlier, why wouldn't a woman who wanted to be the best that she can be get on a team that has the best chance of giving her that opportunity. At this point I don't think there are enough female players to give a woman much of an option of female only teams that are great.

[Lee]

empress is barley sponsored, they pay thier own way for the most part.
thier team members are scattered across the country and don't get to practice together regularly if at all.

i say, instead of wishing for a girl team to root for, why not root for the ones we have. maybe doing that will get them the respect they deserve along with better deals and more time to work on thier game.

i root for the femmes and empress, theres some good individual skill on those teams. ever seen bea youngs do a run through? i have. she took her left tape line in a game in tampa last year. thing of beaty.

valkyries have a lot of heart too, sorry, forgot to mention them above.

to tsc: next time pop the choad. he needs a lesson in manners.

[Target Practice]

empress is barley sponsored, they pay thier own way for the most part.
thier team members are scattered across the country and don't get to practice together regularly if at all.

i say, instead of wishing for a girl team to root for, why not root for the ones we have. maybe doing that will get them the respect they deserve along with better deals and more time to work on thier game.

i root for the femmes and empress, theres some good individual skill on those teams. ever seen bea youngs do a run through? i have. she took her left tape line in a game in tampa last year. thing of beaty.

valkyries have a lot of heart too, sorry, forgot to mention them above.

to tsc: next time pop the choad. he needs a lesson in manners.

A team should not be scattered around the country. If they are a team, shouldn't they be there to win?

Why should I root for bad paintball?

[Eric Cartman]

"Welp, looks like the LITTLE LADY shot me out! Good job, I didn't think you could do it!"

This had nothing to do with my kneebrace. This had only to do with the fact that I had boobs. You know how I know? Because every other time I played with him, at different fields, not wearing my kneebrace (Brace free for 3 months, what what)...He makes the same comments. Over and over again.

Well guys like that aren't unique to paintball. He'd probably be saying the same thing (and for the same reason) if you'd beat him at a hand of poker. Best thing to do is just keep beating him.

I've seen some girls play who got lit up and wound up crying. They didn't know what they were getting into and they were overwhelmed by it. Guys hate to see girls cry and they feel like dirt if they think they're responsible for it. In a lot of cases, he'll think that this is typical of any females playing and he'll wind up going easy on them and not giving them the respect that they (well some of 'em anyway) deserve. It's not right, but that's the way most of us are wired. It's an uphill battle for the female players who want to be taken seriously.
That's one of the good things about the masks and the baggy clothes. I can usually only tell if the person I'm shooting at is on the other team. I could care less about gender on the field.

[peewee]

It will take time!!!

All female teams are just starting out in the timeline of paintball. It will take some time to get up to speed. The main problem for women is that there are so few playing. Give it time & we will see more. Empress & the other female teams are both a marketing scheme & what I believe to be an honest attempt by the industry to show girls that they can play & compete. As far as mixed teams go there havent been to many that I know of Doggs of war had a gal that played. They never recieved much press ( the female players). The last big game that I played had about seven gals total. Of the seven two were there to whoop some @$$ & they did.

[LudavicoSoldier]

A team should not be scattered around the country. If they are a team, shouldn't they be there to win?

Why should I root for bad paintball?

I'd wager a guess that manufacturers who sponser all female "exhibition teams" could really care less if they win or not. Sex sells, sex promotes, etc., etc., etc.. There are some DAMN GOOD female players out there, but rarely are there enough in one area to put together a team that can practice as much as your average team (male or coed).

I see plenty of females play at fields around here. Heck, my GF has played, and loves the adrenalin rush. Wether we like it or not, there are ALOT of chauvanistic pigs that play paintball. As TSC said, it is hard for a female player to get respect in a game that is dominated by men. This is just on the rec field mind you, not even close to tournament play.

I am all for getting my arse kicked by females. I give mad respect to any woman who comes to the field to play ball. The tournament scene, IMHO, has made a bad name for women (in paintball). People dont necessarily think of women in terms of their playing capacity, if you know what I mean...

[minimag03]

I think it is kinda simple. If they get paid for doing nothing, and no one is stopping them.

[LudavicoSoldier]

And it not like guys are going to stop staring at them...

[nato]

guy asks me: "what in the world would compell you to play a sport such as paintball"
I answer: "20 guys to every chick"
so in my case, yes sir you are correct.

I cheered because I loved to watch the guys show off. I played co-ed softball because I liked being around guys. I played Basket ball at the local hoop cause the guys thought a girl couldn't do it, and it was a great feeling to stuff them. I played tackle football along with the boys at the local park cause I liked having one of them pass me in the hall and say "great spiral yesterday". But through all of these I learned things from the guys about the sports(cause I must admit I was not very good at any of them, although i tried); and about guys in genral just by being around them.
Females tend to be driven by attention, that is why they dress they way they do and act the way they do, and apperently that is why they play the way they do..Just how we are in my opinion.
As long as guys are giving the girls attention, the girls will accept it.
~steph
disclaimer: this is the opinon of me, and only me, as usual there will be some that disagree..

Bravo!!!

N.A.T.O.

[Target Practice]

I think it is kinda simple. If they get paid for doing nothing, and no one is stopping them.

I think it's sad when people can't see through the thin veneer of celebrity and who fall all over themselves in an attempt to suck the toes of these girls (who probably don't deserve it), when they (the girls) don't give a damn.

[Toxic Dave]

Here's where things get banged up, there are a bunch of decent, if not really good female paintball players in the world, the problem is that they tend to be on teams that are predominantly made up of players who are there not because they are good players, but because they are female. I don't honestly belive that all of the women who are playing on teams are there to get attention, they are there to play, but because they are women, they get sponsorship and publicity that Dynasty would wish for.

The issue is that players who aren't very good, are put on the field with some of the best players in the world and they get whooped up on.

A Small List of good female paintball players

Ashley Nobel
Karen Barber (in her day)
Andrea Martinez
Bea Youngs
Keely (wasn't bad back in the day)
Misty Silva
Spring Winters (back in the day too)
The Girl that played for Nasty a couple years ago was pretty good too.

I'm sure I'm missing a few, no disrespect is intended, I've neved seen Destiny play, but they finished pretty well in HB

Fact is there is no reason that there aren't tons more really good female paintball players other than them, in fact they have an advantage in that most females are much smaller than males, thus tougher targets.

dave

[Kevmaster]

A sponsor promoting a team that will produce cash for the sponsor is their dream. Nike doesn't sponsor DUke because they want us to win. They want us to wear a swoosh on our shorts and have millions see it and say 'damn..duke wears nike, so should i'. Thats what they want. They want to make money by having us wear their stuff. They give us their stuff because we're popular which is a byproduct of us winning.

Now, if you want to argue on how a team becomes popular in paintball (hot vs. wins) thats ligit. But don't blame sponsors for seeing what, in essense, is a cash cow and putting some money into it. They're making more than they're putting in, you can rest assured of that.

[Target Practice]

Now, if you want to argue on how a team becomes popular in paintball (hot vs. wins) thats ligit. But don't blame sponsors for seeing what, in essense, is a cash cow and putting some money into it. They're making more than they're putting in, you can rest assured of that.

That's not what we're talking about though. We fully understand the concept of advertising and marketing and making money. We're fine with that. Just don't pass it off as legitimate paintball, because it's not.

[CodeMA]

wow... theres a lot of bashing... why dont we start a thread about EVERY single group of players that are below standards.... lets say not in the top 10 at the majority of their events no matter what Divison or format they play, what they wear for whatever reason, look hes sooo young and small his setup is as big as him!

WHO CARES?!?!

In every group there will be players who are posers, suck, and think there something special... Do some female/teams do this... uhhh ya they do, no doubt and they such just as much as any other player/team that does that no matter what they play/shoot/do/etc.... Female players/teams on a noteable level are just so few and far between(and NOTICEABLE due to yes, there marketablity) that they get bagged on all the time...its BS, but it happens.... Its the same deal with the little 11yr olds walking around the feild every weekend with head to toe dye gear, multiple 1k+ dollar setups, etc that dont play, they tend to stand out among walkons, so they take a lot of heat(and with good reason) BUT, you do ocationaly run across a few that can ball it up...

Female players CAN make it, BUT finding dedication, and enough girls to form a dedicated team is a problem, all male teams dont exactly have this problem, in any givin area, you can find atleast 7 killers that can pratice 1-6 times a month.... but at this point in time, theres not many areas were you can do that in an all female situation.... Dedication is whats missing...


Femmes most reconized female team in the world, their kind, deffently what whats being talked about here, when you have a requirement to look good, stay looking good, and be sexy all the time or your cut.... theres a problem there... Sure, they have all the cool stuff because of it, and have some great gals on there team, Im not gonna totally bash those girls because of their pratices... BUT they could most deffently stand to step up there game, pratice more and genrally learn to play and enteract as a TEAM, some of them really need to learn there equipment better too...SOME of their players are stright up ballers and do a lot for their team though, this is true, but they cant carry the team..... again, this is the same with any team... MORE dedicated players that know their stuff...

Now lets look at a very sucessfull, dedicated, hardworking co-ed(mostly female) team.... Destiny... The girls on this team are VERY dedicated, sure a few of them party and prolly have reputations(like a lof of male players) BUT they can back it up ON the feild too... These guys and gals pratice every weekend, have great sponsors, great coachs, regularly pratice with GOOD teams with good coaches, AND help coach a very sucessfull team that they have helped see up from Rookie to Novice in a proper 1 year time frame....
All the girls on that team are DEDICATED, make there pratices, play there game, make there moves, and DO GREAT.... Sure, there are guys on the team, but the majority are girls, and the best players play... Watch the games, the guys deffently dont carry the girls.... and the girls most deffently dont get/want special treatment...they screw up, they get an ear full, get mad at themselves, etc.... like any other upper level player/team... If girls want role models someone to model there game after, this is the team to watch....Expect them to place in the top 8 for the NPPL season in Div 2...


Sarah, be mean balla, give the holes some extra love so they cant cheat, if there cheating make em not want to anymore....When they ask why they took an extra 10 to the back as they walked off, tell them its because your a girl and didnt know any better

If girls were dedicated, could get the coaching and experiance/pratice with GOOD players/teams, had a lot of the on/off feild pratices as upper level players, they to would be just as good as any of the "good" players teams....



To conclude... Dont generalize, its stupid.... I do feel sorry female players, it is teams like the Femmes that have put stigmas on you ladies and created mass bashing all over for every little thing... If your serious about playing...then ignore all the lamers, rude comments, rumors, bashing, etc that you will receive, and get out there and mow faces... Be like other good players, male or female.... Guys, dont bash girls, if you see a female with potential on the feild... tell her, dont baby her, tell her what she did right, what she could have done better, if shes serious about the sport, she will take it properly and thank you for it...