AGD at the IAO

[Pneumagger]

when/where is IAO. I've never been there.

[Muzikman]

when/where is IAO. I've never been there.

IAO has been held in late July / Early August in either Butler or Cranberry, PA (near Pittsburgh) for the last 16 years.

[zackzel]

IAO has been held in late July / Early August in either Butler or Cranberry, PA (near Pittsburgh) for the last 16 years.

Was it a good show this year? I didn't get a chance to make it out.

[Maggot6]

Was it a good show this year? I didn't get a chance to make it out.

...Read muzikmans post above...

[LudavicoSoldier]

I'm glad I made the trek last year. OGD was an absolute blast, as was the partying.

[Muzikman]

I'm glad I made the trek last year. OGD was an absolute blast, as was the partying.

That's the other thing. Kayle stayed in the Sheraton and he said the went down and the bar was empty at 10pm.

[rkjunior303]

That's the other thing. Kayle stayed in the Sheraton and he said the went down and the bar was empty at 10pm.

goes to show you, who the real legends of IAO are..

[LudavicoSoldier]

Guess whos behind the lens. Legends!

[Maclete]

I was hoping for better times as well, after last years OGD, We at Shockerowners.com were looking forward to getting back out there as it was a blast from an OGD perspecitve and all the teams were great. We just cant make that drive to CFOA from the midwest.

I for one would like to know how much they paid for paint, not like we were playing rec or anything....

[Muzikman]

News Paper Article:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06218/710901-54.stm

Paintball Festival in New Sewickley draws competitors from across the country
Sunday, August 06, 2006

By John Vivirito Jr.



Rat-a-tat-tats ricocheted through New Sewickley in Beaver County last weekend, when 1,500 paint ball competitors spent five days swarming over 70 acres in pursuit of one another and prizes.

The 16th annual Three Rivers Paintball Festival, also known as the International Amateur Open, drew participants from all over North America, including teams from Hawaii, to the site on Rochester Road known as Three Rivers Paintball Park. The festival started July 26 and ended last Sunday.

It had been conducted at the Big Butler Fairgrounds over the past four years, but this year returned to its original venue. In addition to providing the arenas for the paint ball competitions, the park served as a campground for many. It was the site of a barbecue Saturday evening and a marketplace for food and paint ball equipment.

For the festival, the park featured spectator bleachers surrounding several 200- by 300-foot netted arenas, which encompassed playing fields with large inflatables used as obstacles. There also was a battlefield venue in a wooded area. Competitors were grouped according to age and ability.

In paint ball, intellectual acumen and determination are key skills, along with speed, marksmanship and agility.

The object of each three- or five-player game at the festival was for a team to capture the opponents' flag while defending its own. Teams try to eliminate opposing players, shooting them with a paint ball that is discharged from a gun at an average speed of 280 feet per second. Once a player is marked with paint, he or she is eliminated from that match.

In woods ball, the woods serve as an arena with rocks, trees, and other natural topography playing a major part. Woods ball entails more tactical thinking -- the game emphasizes hunting down the opposition rather than the quick pace of running and shooting, as in other games.

Debra Dion Krischke, who owns both Team Effort Events, a special events production company, and Three Rivers Paintball, which has sponsored this event since 1991, said the festival was strictly for amateurs. She and her husband, Ryan Krischke, have been involved in the sport for two dozen years.

Ryan McKinney, 19, of Butler, has been a paint ball player for 12 years. He, his father, Robb, and a small contingency of friends made the trip to New Sewickley to take part in a scenario game, in which players take on the roles of characters. They made their own team T-shirts in the McKinneys' garage, using spray paint and stencils.

"I started playing with my dad," said Ryan McKinney, a Knoch High School graduate and a Grove City College sophomore. "I've got about a dozen friends who I usually play with. For this event, we decided to include the dads in the action. Everybody had a great time."

Although paint ball is a male-dominated sport, several woman got into the action. Ashley Kaleugher, 18, of Hopewell, like the majority of those at the festival, sported a T-shirt dotted with orange paint and had checker-sized welts on various parts of her body.

"It's intimidating to play with the guys, but that's one of the things that draws me into paint ball," said Ms. Kaleugher, an Our Lady of Sacred Heart High School graduate and an Ohio Northern University freshman. "I've been playing for seven years. It's a good way to have fun with family and friends. Even my mother [Diane] plays."

More than $78,000 in sponsor-supplied prizes and trophies were up for grabs to players age 10 and older in several events held during the festival's final four days.

The festival also featured a role-playing event, called Team America, which was played in the woods.

More than 300 players took part, playing as two teams, The USA Police vs. The Terrorists. That event lasted 24 hours from 1 p.m. July 29 to 1 p.m. July 30. Players wore camouflage and costumes, and various props, including two Army tanks, were strategically positioned.

The teams were headquartered at two command posts while Spiro Mamaligas, producer/director of the role-playing event and owner of BlackCat Paintball Productions, of Smithfield, Ohio, directed the action through radio contact with team leaders. Rain, mud and terrorists could not stop the USA Police from scoring a victory.

"This type of event is fun to participate in," Robb McKinney said. "The teams are friendly to each other off the field of play. There's a true sense of community. It's a chance for family, friends and new friends to get together and have a great time."

Paint ball is more than fun and games; it's big business.

An entry-level equipment package costs $250 to $300, according to Johnny Postorivo, chief operations officer of National Paintball Supply of Mantua, N.J. "For those who want to spend to compete, a high-end marker alone will cost you $700 to $1,000."

Paint balls, which come in a rainbow of colors, are a major part of the cost. Players may buy paint balls on their own or they may be forced to buy at the field. During the festival, each player used two to three cases of paint balls. A unit of 2,000 paint balls can cost $60 to $120 or three to six cents per biodegradable gelatin capsule.

According to Ms. Dion Krischke's count, more than 3.2 million paint balls were shot during the four days of competition.

Some participants stayed in Cranberry hotels and motels, and restaurants and stores benefited from the five-day festival. Although Ms. Dion Krischke estimated the festival generated more than $1 million this year, and more than $20 million over its lifetime, Jack Cohen, executive director of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, noted there was "no real way to track the profits made by area retailers."

Mr. Cohen, a former paint ball competitor, said, "This is a lot of fun, and that's why people come. They like the competition and a lot of the players take it very seriously."

"Once we're finished with this year's event, we'll start planning for next year," Ms. Dion Krischke said. "You take a few months to catch your breath after a festival then you begin work on next year's."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(John Vivirito Jr. is a freelance writer. )

[p8ntball72]

According to Ms. Dion Krischke's count, more than 3.2 million paint balls were shot during the four days of competition.

Whats that come to at .03 cents a ball?

[Muzikman]

$90k

[Cameo]

This chickey was asked by the Butler County Tourism to get involved with Iao and take pictures ect... I declined Myrtle beach with my PPS Buddies sounded much more enjoyable.


ps: did however score buy one get one free entry tickets to 3 rivers, but with feidls only paint at 80 bucks hardley worth it ..blah.

[Muzikman]

This chickey was asked by the Butler County Tourism to get involved with Iao and take pictures ect... I declined Myrtle beach with my PPS Buddies sounded much more enjoyable.


ps: did however score buy one get one free entry tickets to 3 rivers, but with feidls only paint at 80 bucks hardley worth it ..blah.

It's still one of the best fields in the area.