The Georgian Bluffs/Grey County region of Northern Ontario Canada couldn’t be a happier place to paintball right now!
Historically it was towards the end of 2005 the first of the Grey Rangers began to establish regular paintball games. Paintball, such as it was at that time, was virtually non existent in the area and the group of 15 people was left finding pieces of property to run outlaw games whenever and wherever they could. Team Captain Wally Walster Illman and his son Aaron and nephew Keegan were the driving force behind paintball in Grey County and building a paintball community. It was early 2006 that the group officially came together to form The Chatsworth Grey Rangers.
As the years progressed, the team would often make those long distance trips to get together with other teams to the south at all the different big scenario games. Annually they would play two to three big games a year. Due to great distance, the cost to attend these games hours away proved expensive but well worth it by establishing ties with other paintball teams and fields in the province. Speaking with one of the Grey Rangers, Jim Ya Ya Prentice he recounted how two years ago, paintball literally brought old friends together after a 20 year hiatus. Jim smiled broadly as he tells how he was on the phone with his old friend Walster for almost 2 hours talking paintball not truly knowing to whom it was he was speaking with. A full twenty minutes into the conversation he finally realized it was his long time friend Wally Illman, the rest is now history. It was through these efforts that paintball in Grey County continued to build momentum. Today Wally mentions he is able to reach out to over 60 regional paintballers through the power of the internet and by phone to organize a game almost every weekend. The team itself now boasts a membership in the vicinity of approximately 35 avid paintballers.
In the fall of 2007 the team took the time to set up a booth at the annual Owen Sound Fall Fair. Through fliers and networking with parents and community they drove home the importance of following paintball safety guidelines as well as introducing others to paintball. The team has proved a major influence for paintball in the county with 2008 being a particularly busy year. They attended their first D Day in Wyandotte, Oklahoma and became yet another group who are sold on making the long journey each year to that game. Another admirable undertaking the team took upon themselves was to grant an area resident a wish. The resident in question Mr.Wayne Wood, as a result of a motorcycle accident, was left suffering severe head trauma and greatly diminished motor skills from his mishap many years ago. The team pooled their resources and took Wayne to Flagraiders Indoor Paintball in Kitchener, Ontario a few hours away. They outfitted him with gear and paid for his entrance fee and paint, Wayne enjoyed himself so much he is anxiously awaiting another paintball outing. Last but not least The Grey Rangers have already implemented a marker maintenance and safety clinic at their new sponsors field.
Enter Mr. and Mrs. Slot, owners of Stoney Keppel Paintball. Speaking with them I personally was impressed with the fine business ethic they employ. In 2008 another young man attempted to start a paintball business. As a result the couple although wanting to, held off opening their own paintball park and continued selling paintball supplies through their store S&A Sporting Goods. When the other business unexpectedly failed, the Slots seized the opportunity to use a plot of land with some 381 acres owned by Barry and Verna Howey. To date the land was used primarily for the Stoney Keppel Snowmobile Riders Club but sits idle in the warmer months. For those snowmobile enthusiasts, no worries as the property will continue to provide some great snowmobiling as it always has. Finally someone with enough business savvy had the wisdom to open a paintball venue servicing an entire region of hungry paintballers during the snowmobile off season.
As part of the business plan, the Slots intend to slowly phase out aspects of their sporting goods operation and focus primarily on creating a great paintball field but intend to continue to provide skate sharpening and paintball needs through the week. In a quote the owners of Stoney Keppel Paintball stressed theirs is a family oriented business and stated We want our field to be thought of as a refuge from the weekly grind. People can feel free to join our “club” of paintball enthusiasts and allow us all to become one big family, doing what we all love to do every weekend, gather at the property to spray some paint. Afterwards we can sit around and talk about the games and who shot who. The local kids are still talking about the open invite of friends that joined us last Sunday. What a blast!
Future plans for the field include clearing additional property and continue building the field. April 19th, 2009 the field hosted their first game with the Grey Rangers inviting their friends to join them; the game itself became the largest The Grey Rangers ever organized with over 60 people in attendance. May 23rd, 2009 is set for the kick off Grand Opening of the field itself with a 5 on 5 scenario paintball tournament.
There is no doubt these business people combined with the likes of the Chatsworth Grey Rangers is a recipe for success. As a result Stoney Keppel Paintball will undoubtedly see many more years of paintball goodness, it’s a win/win situation for Grey County and the surrounding areas bar none!
