So it is getting that time of year again fellow paintball players. This is the time of year where many of us sadly pack away our gear and prepare for the long cold winter that we have grown to rue up here in the northern part of the world. We take out our markers, hoppers and goggles and give them their final cleaning of the year as we look at them and remember the good times had with the tools of our game. We remember the time when we destroyed the team who dared opposed us, and the time we got destroyed in the same manner by a team that was better on that particular day.
Some of us are lucky to have an indoor field close enough to drive too. Some of us are not so lucky and have to get their paintball fix through online forums, videos and pictures that those really LUCKY from the south are so kind to share with the rest of the world. Sometimes it pains me to see those pictures but it also brings back the memories of warmer times when me and my team are shooting those wonderful gelatinous balls of paint at each opponents, friends and each other.
While tournament paintball is winding down scenario games are still going during the winter. 
If you are a tourney player and are going through paintball withdrawals I would recommend checking out a scenario game close to you. Being a guy that plays both sides of the sports there is a great deal of fun to have running around the frozen while playing some scenario ball. As Rick Girt says, “Extra layers and winter paint.” I have not had the joy of playing in the snow for about three years now but the memory of that game is still talked about at the local field. Sitting there, dug in and defending a strategic part of the field I looked across the meadow to see this wall of white coming towards me. At first thinking it must be rain and my eyes were deceiving me, as it was March, but within five minutes I was fully aware I was completely under dressed for the blizzard that had fallen upon me and my fellow players. My son, who was perched about 15 feet above me was covered in snow, he had so much snow on him it looked like he was wearing a white hat.
Shooting when un-prepared for this was fun, as the paint was no longer winter fill. The balls would exit the barrel and do spiral patterns in the air or just shoot off whichever direction it fancied. Funny thing is, I do not remember what team won that game. All I remember is the amount of fun everyone seemed to have. The smiles, memories and good times are what this sport should be about and that is what remembered in the end.
So what do you do during the winter months to get your paintball fix?
Paul Forcier
