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SmugMug > keywords > sniper > Memphis January Scans photo
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > Rooftop security. 2009 Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa, Ontario. © Rob Huntley
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > And now possibly the scariest thing about the field, management. The open house had all proceeds going to Operation Share. A good thing. Food donations were accepted as well as cash donations in the lobby. Proceeds from food sales most likely went to project share as well. A charity shoot was set up on the field as pictured to the left. A number of targets set up and you paid a certain amount for a number of shots at getting a small prize. Good idea, poor execution. i was on the other half of the field talking to three other people when I heard a paintball gun shoot and a paintball hit. We did not have masks... Nobody warned us that people would be shooting on the field... Carefully heading over to see what was going on we found the charity shoot. The shooter had a mask on, nobody else did. The line up behind the shooter. The staff member beside the shooter. The project share member walking around on the field downrange. The staff member downrange with a camera.... Nobody had a mask on. Dangerous and fully endorsed by management.
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > Now my impressions are starting to turn for the worse on the ground floor. This sandbag bunker is relatively light bags, guessing 20 pound bags, set up in a straight line two thick and eight high. I know if I run my 300 pounds of sprinting adrenaline fueled paintball playing body into that bunker it does not stand a chance. It will fall over.
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > Back in October I drove by this wonderful sign on a roadside in St Catharines. A few days later I drove past looking for the actual field. Please note that the sign says open house, no mention of opening day, opening soon, etc... So my first impression, being new to the area, was that this field was having a special day to attract new clients. Driving through the parking lot it became obvious that the field was not open yet. My next impression, shared by others I met on November 7th, was that the field was opening for business on the 7th. Based on that impression, as well as a visit to their previously very bare website offering no more information than this sign, I invited friends from out of town to come play with me on the 7th.
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > You enter immediately into a small lobby/cafe/pro shop/counter area.... Yes one glass "L" shaped counters that I consider very much on the small side has to do all those duties. In the counter is the meager offerings of a small pro shop. Hopefully enough spare parts and replacement parts are behind the counter for sales. hat I see in the displays though are mostly markers, masks, and clothes. No that is not a comprehensive list, just an impression. For a small shop like this I would prefer to see some masks with replacement lenses. A few markers along with spare parts, such as O-rings, springs, barrels, barrel plugs (socks?) etc... Clothing would be very far down the list of things for my shop like this simply because of the space requirements. Behind the counter is a wall displaying the Tippman model 98's that are used as rental guns. Along with the masks. Only a handful were hung on the wall, I imaging the majority were hidden away for regular use while the ones on the wall were overflow guns mostly as a static display. Again speculation here. Also behind the counter is a pizza turntable for keeping pizzas warm and some other food offering stuff. such as a hot dog roller you see in corner stores. A large sign above on of the"L"s of the counter has a set of rules to play by, the other "L" was a display with prices, as pictured to the left. My impression was that the prices were high. Talking to some active players they also agreed with me. For a complete and current price list go to www.sniperalley.ca Did I mention the counters were glass? Nice for a display, but not my first choice for a surface for all the recreational novice players to be tossing their greasy rental guns and masks onto on a regular basis. Bathrooms were directly off the lobby. A hallway leading away from the back of the lobby oppposite the main door lead to an unfinished room that I imagine would either be a staff room or more likely a party room. Tables and counters for player use in the lobby were sparse. I estimate 20 players or so can reasonably be accommodated. The tables were tall round pub style tables. The chairs tall pub stool style as well. The areas between the tables were crowded enough that with less than a dozen people in the room I was still knocking over chairs with my camera bag moving around. Perhaps I am just spoiled with having a long wooden counter I can jump on to sit, couches to relax on and that can hold 50 plus people. The entrance to the field was through an unmarked open doorway, one (possibly two) 90 degree turns along a fairly narrow hallway puts you directly on the field. Nobody saw anything that could reasonably resemble a chrony station.
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > The main doors. Again the signage is beautiful. The door a little less so. Then again with a sign like this a proper number on the door is of little consequence. This is also where things started looking downhill for the day. I admittedly showed up 15 minutes before the scheduled open house. Walking through the doors I was curtly informed that they were not open yet. Come 11am, doors open... or are they? Walking back to the door a father and son pair in front of me were told they are not open yet. A quickly scribbled together sign on the door indicated another 30 minutes. So that left us with a chance to stand around and talk paintball. It was during this time I discovered that the open house was simply a tour of the new field, there would be no playing today. 11:30 comes around and the father of the duo tries the door again, again he is rebuffed and told another 20 minutes. So again more waiting and this time no updated signs. This give me more time to look around outside and chat with the small crowd starting to collect near the front doors. Looking around I start to see a potential issue for the field, parking. It would appear that the field has very limited parking, 8-10 spots or there about. When those spots are gone people would need to park near the front of the building. Plentiful parking there but not exactly convenient, especially hauling gear in the winter. Finally around 11:50, 50 minutes late, the doors open and we enter.
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > This bunker is even worse while curved to gain some structural stability, the top three to five rows area a single bag thick. Leaning on this bunker could make it fall over.
SmugMug > keywords > sniper > The lobby does have one extremely cool feature This array of televisions are connected to security cameras on the field. Unfortunately the system was not working for the open house. I also have to wonder how long before the exposed cameras are covered in paint from the young players testing their aim on the field. Players on this field can start as young as 10 if I remember the rules right.
Memphis January Scans photo
Photo by: josephbeth • see photo in gallery
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