wasaga-paintball

Our Story

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 20:22:52 GMT

The History of Wasaga Adventure Park

The first time I played paintball was out east, in Nova Scotia. It was 1986 and I was serving in the military. Our group used pistols in just a big field. I wouldn’t play again until the fall of 1991. I was in college in Brampton at this time and had rounded up a group to play paintball in the Guelph area. I think it was called Ultimate Adventure. A good friend and I were talking about our experience one day and decided that we could make our own paintball park in Wasaga.

It didn’t take long for Dave Knight and me to rent 60 acres in Wasaga, across from the Arena. Some of you will remember it as the old Dinosaur Park. We rented it from a man who had bought the property as an investment and it was sitting vacant. The deal started at $1000 per month. We each borrowed $30 000 from our families and bought 50 Poisons, 30 RAM pump guns, 20 VM68s and 5 F1 Illustrators. Our paint supplier was PMI Paintballs. If we had 30 boxes of paint we were well stocked!

We had less than 2 months to get it ready for our Grand Opening on June 6 ^th , 1992. We worked many long days. Our friends and families all chipped in to turn the place into what I considered to be the best paintball park in Canada. Donna was helping out and although I had known her for many years, I started to think of her as more than just a good friend. I proposed to her in November of 1992 and we were married the following August. It was the best move that I have ever made.

Dave Knight also got married and moved out to Calgary with his new bride. Donna become not only my life partner but also my new business partner. We made a home for ourselves living above the business in a long skinny space that we had created. It had four little rooms and a bathroom with the only window. It was home for us for the next six years. Once the kids started coming along the space seemed even smaller!

We had developed eight different playing areas in the woods for paintball play, including one town made mostly from plywood. The park was a big hit for sure. Larry Brownridge was one of our first season customers! Christine Horner started coming with Larry and eventually replaced Donna as the main building girl while Amanda Kalbfleisch would become the ammo hut girl.

At this point, we were 99% Co2 and we were just starting to dabble in HPA with one type of rental marker that we had, called Automag. We went on to supply HPA to a big major paintball tournament at the Toronto Skydome for 2 years in a row. Then we offered hydro testing for HPA tanks.

The business was doing well in the spring, summer and fall but it was hard to put groceries on the table in the winter. I had worked on the mountain making snow and sometimes we thought we had to eat snow. We began thinking of how to get through the winter months with paintball. We didn’t have an indoor field and because we didn’t own the property, it didn’t make sense to build a permanent structure. We were also thinking of our future. We needed to own our land and not be crowded out by development. The land we were on was way out of our price range.

It wasn’t until December 2002 that we bought the land at 3600 Vigo Road. The property was actually my great grandfather’s that he had moved onto in 1930. The barn and much of the original house, both built by my great grandfather, is being used today.

In the spring of 2003 we began preparing the land for our new park. It was countless hours of field and site work. In the spring of 2004, the builder started the 25000 sq. ft. building that would house our indoor field and main building area. We had created 14 playing fields over 70 acres. Wasaga Beach Paintball Mega Park would be ready for its grand opening on October 24, 2004.

2018 brought a lot of changes with the new branding of Wasaga Adventure Park. Not only did we continue to provide Paintball, Airsoft and Laser but we added several new activities for people to try: Nerf, Archery Tag, Escape Rooms, and Axe throwing.

In June of 2022, we will celebrate our 30 ^th anniversary! We are proud of what we have created and have always prided ourselves on our superior playing experience as well as our customer service. Those were important to us in 1992 and continue to be now.

It has been great to build up this business, make a lot of great friends and help so many people to have adventures while they make some amazing memories. If you have been to our park, you are a part of our history!

Does Paintball Hurt?

Tue, 18 May 2021 19:05:05 GMT

Let's Discuss...

Wow… so when I was asked to write a blog for Wasaga Beach Paintball, I said sure! It will be fun! And then I get the topic… You would think that after all my years on this planet, I would have learned to ask more questions before agreeing to do something. Well, let’s roll up our sleeves and attack this one head on as it is not an easy answer.

“Does paintball hurt?” … One would think that this is a simple yes or no question, but really is not that simple. The answer is both a resounding “NO!” and an equally emphatic “YES!”. How is that for confusion? First of all, there are different ways to play paintball and different types of paintballs to use that can affect pain. In truth though, what paintball hurts the most is your ego because it is going to remind you very quickly that saying yes to all those extra cookies and donuts over the years did not do you any favours. Playing paintball motivates you to move… very quickly! So remember to stretch.

I have been playing paintball since 1989. Yes, over three decades. And in that time, I have been hit by paintballs literally thousands of times. I only remember a handful of them really hurting. The ones that I remember as really hurting were during tournament play, where I was playing against extremely aggressive players at remarkably close range with a lot of money or prizes on the line. So, we will skip talking about tournaments and just talk about playing paintball for the fun of it. After all, that is what most of you reading this are really going to be doing.

Now, the single most common question I get on this topic is “Does it hurt if you get hit in the…. You know… down “there”?” The answer to that question is obviously yes BUT and it is a very BIG BUT… (I like big buts and I can not… sorry… SQUIRREL!) That BUT is… it is extremely unlikely that you will get hit in the privates. When you play, you are going to be hiding behind obstacles like trees and bunkers. In my 32 years and the thousands of hits I have taken, I have only been hit in the privates maybe 3 times. It is incredibly rare. In truth, you will mostly get hit on your shoulder, on the gun and in your face. I hear you all out there screaming in terror “WAIT! WHAT? THE FACE?!?!?!?!” Yes, the face… think about it: you are hiding behind a bunker, what are you exposing? Remember though that you are wearing a full face mask with incredible protection! That is where you want to get hit! You literally feel nothing. As for the body parts that are not exposed, if you get hit in the shoulder, you have so much adrenaline going through you, it will basically feel more like a tug or rough push. I have felt way more pain accidently walking into the doorframe going into my bedroom. I will say this though, if you are concerned with getting hit, wearing some old work gloves to protect your hands might be a good idea. Most regular paintball players wear gloves, often with the fingers cut off, because those hits can sting a bit. There really is not any muscle tissue on the backs of your hands to absorb the impact but if you chose not to wear gloves, it really is not that big of a deal.

Circling back to the beginning, do you remember when I said that there are different kinds of paintballs? Everything I have said above is talking about the industry standard .68 caliber paintballs. There is a new trend growing in paintball called “LOW IMPACT” paintballs. These are a .50 caliber paintball. They are significantly smaller and as such have extraordinarily little impact force. You see, since they are smaller, they weigh less and do not hit as hard. They are the ideal way for younger kids to get into the sport. Last summer (despite Covid) I was in Denver Colorado playing paintball at a fundraiser to help raise awareness to prevent domestic violence. There were several children too young and small to play paintball with the adults so myself and a few of my friends grabbed some low impact markers and took these young lads and lasses out on the field to play paintball. We did not worry about hits much, or rules, we just played. To me it was like a squirt gun fight at a family picnic. The kids were too young to really understand rules at that age and stage. We just played and played. It will go down as one of my favourite paintball memories: pure and fun. To be clear, these are still paintball markers, and not toys. All the adults on the field were watching to keep things safe, especially keeping goggles on. No, I am only talking about the paintball hits and their impact. You could feel the hits, but they definitely did not hurt.

In closing, “Does paintball hurt?” I will not lie, it “can” occasionally but I would much rather get hit by a paintball than *shudder* stub my toe. YEOUCH! If taking a hit concerns you though, especially if there are younger children involved, ask about the Low Impact option as it is so much fun.

Thanks for reading everyone! Play with Passion!

Steve Maguire

Planning a Wasaga Beach Camping Adventure

glaze.rusty@gmail.com (Rusty Glaze) — Thu, 16 May 2019 00:11:06 GMT

Click on the link below to see Wasaga Adventure Park featured on Dobbernation Loves.

This link will take you to a post that is featuring Wasaga Adventure Park!

What You Should Wear for Paintballing

glaze.rusty@gmail.com (Rusty Glaze) — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 14:33:43 GMT

A helpful guide to help you dress for your next paintball adventure.

Your Feet
The terrain of paintball fields is not always smooth. This means the most common injuries occur when people trip or sprain their ankles. Try to find either high tops or military style boots to avoid this kind of injury. My favorite type of foot gear is a pair of hiking boots. These last for years if you buy the proper pair and help you walk in muddy areas. No matter what you choose, make sure you don't mind getting it wet and dirty.

Your Lower Half
Being relaxed and secure is key when it comes to getting around on the field which is why leg wear is important. You might already have either a pair of sweat pants or track suit in your home. Military style cargo pants are always great and comfortable.

You Upper Half
One of the most vital rules in the sport is to cover every single inch of your skin when playing. Paintballs will not kill you but they will leave painful bruises and welts if they hit an exposed area. Stay away from vests and shirts that have short sleeves. Instead, go with long sleeved sweaters or hoody’s. Long sleeved shirts are also okay but not my top pick. An extra tip to follow which a lot of newer players don't follow is to bring a waterproof jacket. It does rain on occasion and you don't want to prepare yourself for every scenario.

Hands and Head

These are the most sensitive parts of your body and if you get hit, you can get a serious injury. Buy inexpensive paintball gloves that come with padding. Even gloves that weight lifters use are fine as long as you feel good with them on. Most paintball fields have these for sale if you forget to buy them before you show up.

The most important piece of equipment for any paintball player is his paintball mask . Be sure that the mask covers every area of your head and if it doesn't buy supplemental gear that will help do that.

Lastly, be sure to take an extra set of clothing with you. If you play hard, your gear will be dirty afterwards and you don't want to be walking around off the field with it.

Kyle Ravella

Editor - Content Marketing

Paintball HQ

511 NW Bell Ave Lawton, OK 73507

www.paintballerhq.com/

kyle@paintballerhq.com