The Catshack is honored to present our latest interview with none other than Mr. Tom Cole. In an lengthy telephone conversation from his residence in California, Tom reveals much to The Catshack Reports. Here is yet another of the many personalities whose history is firmly ingrained in the sport of paintball AND whose presence continues to lend to the success of paintball worldwide. 
Tom’s history in the sport first began with a foray to Outdoor Adventures in Maryland alongside a group of friends in 1986. While having a blast slinging paint with each other they ran into Team Green Machine who invited Tom and company to join them for a paintball adventure to South Africa. Unable to go, Tom later read about the team in a magazine, Tom was sold on paintball forever.
Some of the highlights over the years for Tom Cole included the Masters Tournament of 1989. Tom mentions that the Masters series is something that he and others have tried to duplicate ever since. In a very tight race to the finish Tom’s team lost out to The Lords of Discipline, it is something he will never forget.
Other highlights from Tom’s lengthy history included winning the NPPL in Pittsburgh in 1995. He and his 10 team man team “Bad Company” will forever remember that victory. Tom, Team Captain for Bad Company since 1987 are the Spyder Factory Team and have played paintball everywhere from Australia to Aruba and continue to hit big scenario games to this day.
One of Tom’s proudest accomplishments was being elected as the 2nd President for the NPPL. At the time Tom was only 22 years of age so to be recognized by his peers and bestowed the position of President was to him one of the finest moments of his career in the game. Tom went on to spend another 8 years presiding as President over the NPPL.
Some of the other known personalities in the game that Tom is proud to have 
spent time with include the likes of Chuck Hendsch, Tom Kaye and Deborah and Ryan Krischke of the NSG.
Mr. Cole is also Director of Sales for Spyder. His duties include sales of Kingman products and the like on a world wide scale. Naturally The Catshack jumped at the opportunity to inquire about Spyder’s .50 Caliber markers. Tom thoughts on the technology have him pleased to distribute paintball markers that new people to the game find less painful. Time and time again, new people to paintball are turned off by rates of fire and the intimidating appearance of organized players causing them to abandon paintball as a pastime. Tom firmly believes .50 Cal stands to change that somewhat and adds that the markers are being shipped as he speaks, soon to arrive in warehouses for sale to the public.
The idea for the UWL began in 2008. Looking around the paintball scene it was evident to Tom that paintball needed something else, something more. So the UWL as a concept on paper was born. Tom networked and through his contacts attracted investors to the idea and looked towards 2010 to launch a new series. When the NPPL filed for bankruptcy, the idea for the UWL was bumped and launched way ahead of schedule and the tournament series blazed through the 2009 paintball season as a direct result.
Incredibly, a single season has seen the UWL rise to become the #1 ranked tournament series in the US according to Alexa.com. Already the series has spread across continents and is now seen in Australia, England and Mexico and it continues to grow exponentially. Despite it all Tom remains humble and mentions that the series is still far from his overall vision. He is still trying to recapture that Masters tournament feel. Tom wants new players and old alike to be able to attend and enjoy paintball as it should be enjoyed. As part of the vision Tom wants to see the UWL Championships held at SC Village in California have more than 60 teams present to compete. For 2010 Tom is pleased to note that his vision is halfway there with an estimated 30 teams set to appear and plenty of vendors on hand.
Tom sums up our interview with his comment as follows: “I have really put my heart and soul into creating an event that those in the paintball community totally enjoy and want to come back to time and time again”
Welcome yet another addition to The Catshack Reports Hall of Fame reserved for those whose history and dedication to the game of paintball have in some way lent to its overall success … welcome Tom Cole
To learn more about Tom Cole and the UWL please visit http://www.playuwl.com/
First photo courtesy of Gary Baum of paintballphotography.com
