The Maltese Militia made the annual trek to EMR Paintball for the kick off event of the summer season. We always enjoy our weekend trips to EMR to see old friends and make new ones.
This year we brought our biggest group ever with 12. As is our usual plan, we 
arrived at the field on Friday evening. Checking in was first on the list, then a quick review of the vendors. Once the air fills opened up everyone made sure that the bottles were full. All of this helps us in the AM. After finishing up we headed off to dinner then met up at the hotel and spent the evening getting our gear ready, enjoying the company of the team members, and watching “Blackballed”. All of which had become a tradition for Spring Castle.
Saturday dawned with clear blue sky and comfortable temperatures, both of which made the day even better. We entered the field and moved our gear to the spot we set up on Friday. Turns out we were next to the Red Knights and the Cadets from West Point. It worked out well as we all ended up running together all day. As we got ready for the event, we visited with many of the vendors and photographers as they wondered around. We met up with two friends in Tom from Catshack Reports and Hoof Hearted Productions. Thanks to both for providing coverage of the event and the team.
The event had just over 900 players and the defense didn’t bend once. With no props out in the 4 hours, the attackers lost. However this was one of the best Castles ever, and we can’t wait for fall.
We attended 2 great events since the last installment of Splatter. We also gave away one of our Custom Prize Packages at each event.
Custom Prize Package Winners
At Castle Conquest we gave away the package to Kevin Clark. He was very happy to have won the goodies.
We also gave away our prize package as part of the raffle for the National Fallen 
Firefighters Foundation at Xtreme Paintball. The lucky winner, Billy, was a first time player. After the festivities, we saw Billy walking out with his arms full of prizes. Not a bad outing for his first time.
With the help of Guardian Uniforms we were able to thank Chief Rocke for all the work he put into this event. We presented Mike with a 511 Tactical Knife. We also were able to donate a Pinokio Hopper and a set of pods as a separate prize for the find raiser.
Thanks to all our sponsors for making these prizes possible.
NFFF Fund Raiser
We received word of a great event at Xtreme Paintball in Agawam, MA and jumped at the opportunity to get involved.
After offering to include one of our Custom Prize package, other folks stepped up to allow us to get even more prizes.
We stopped over at Pointblank Paintball in West Springfield, MA to drop off game flyers and the owner offered us 2 $25 gift certificates. The second group that is providing support is the Firefighters of Longmeadow, MA Local 1903. They donated $200 to the Militia to purchase prizes. We again approached Pointblank to make the purchase. Once again the stepped up and allowed us to purchase two markers with CO2 tanks at a big discount.
The day of the event was just about a perfect day for paintball, with light breezes to keep the mosquitos away and bright blue sky overhead. Folks started to arrive as soon as the gates opened. The format was a simple points game with each game lasting 15 minutes and having a different mission to accomplish. In keeping with the Firefighter theme, one mission was for one team to “start a fire” (place a red brick in a structure) The other team was to “put out the fire” There was also “rescue the victims” games as well as standard elimination games. In the end the score was close and everyone had a great time.
You can see pictures at our web page. Some are from the raffle at the end of the day, another link will take you to the pictures taken by Xtreme’s Staff. There are some real top notch photos from the fine folks at Xtreme.
A special thank you needs to go out to Chief Rocke for putting this event together. It was obvious that he was very passionate about the cause. We also send our thanks to Joe and the entire staff at Xtreme. They did a top shelf job.
In the end, great weather, great people, great staff, and a great cause added up to a great day.
Next Couple of events
Modern Warfare 6/5/2010 Side – US P&L Paintball – Bridgewater, MA A Steeel Reserves Production Western War 6/26-6/27/10 Fundraiser for Families of Fallen Police and Firefighters Side – Shields and Barney EMR Paintball – New Milford, PA Breast Cancer Fund Raiser 8/7/2010 Side – TBD Xtreme Paintball – Agawam, MA Hangover 8/29/2010 Fundraiser SIde – TBA All Starr Paintball – Leicester, MA Untouchables 10/16/2010 Side – TBD Fox 4 Paintball – Upton, MA Courtesy of Maltese Militia
