Bob Gurnsey Scholarship Update

With the introduction of The Bob Gurnsey Paintball Scholarship Fund into Canada comes the necessity to clarify how it will work for the paintball community here in Canada as well as the US.

Essentially it is the same as applying for any other educational scholarship available today.  If you’re a high school student looking toward post secondary education, part of the application is to write an essay that addresses one of the following questions in 250 words or less: “How has paintball been a positive influence on your life” or “How will this scholarship help you in your career goals.” Once submitted, the Scholarship review committee will look over submissions and rate them on a variety of criteria from spelling and grammar to content and originality. “The fund and its award distribution will grow for 2013 with everyone’s ongoing donations” states board President Jim Lively “successful applicants will see the benefit of either the Tippmann International Award of $2500 or the Valken Sports International Award of $2,500. The NPPL and Planet Eclipse will be offering a National Award of $1,000 with multiple regional awards of $500 which will be determined on contributions to the program.  Six regional awards were given out last year; they were sponsored by the NPPL, Planet Eclipse, Cossio Insurance, CPX Sports, Empire, and LAPCO.  The only difference for 2013 awards is that students in both the United States and Canada are now eligible to apply.  Please see the following link for more details and how to apply” http://www.paintballscholarships.com/app.html

The Scholarship executive committee is a non paid volunteer group comprised of some of the who’s who of paintball that includes; Jim Lively, Tom Kaye, Debra Dion Krishke, Bud Orr, Sal Briguglio, Josh Silverman, Drum Taylor, Bambi Bullard and Tom Cunningham. A maximum of 15% of all donations will be used for administration services to support print materials, clerical functions, legal fees and website hosting and maintenance. www.paintballscholarships.com

Field owners, and for that matter the paintball community itself, should take the time to contact your local district school board to make them aware of the availability of these scholarships. This is especially important if you know of high school seniors involved in paintball who are looking towards post secondary education. Again this is more than just a scholarship that supports youth and education, it is a unique opportunity to introduce paintball in a very positive way into the educational system.

Getting a good education can be very-very costly; anything that can help offset these costs is worthwhile to pursue AND if you have a passion for paintball, it’s a Win Win!