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paintballimpact.com / Rules / Sharks
Sharks
When putting together or playing in a paintball game, it is important to keep the shark away from the minnows. Sharks and minnows are slang terms that refer to the skill level and experience of a paintball player. Sharks are experienced players and minnows are newbies or players new to the game. When you think of sharks and minnows, you conjure up the image of an aggressive giant fish devouring a helpless tine fish. This is precisely what happens when you put these two groups together on a paintball field.
While some experienced players are helpful and go out of their way to educate newbies as to the nuances of the game, there are those to there who will exploit the inexperienced players on the field. These are sometimes unfortunate events where a group of paintball thirsty sharks will surround a newbie and proceed to splatter him with gobs of paint. Many sharks simply enjoy the hazing ritual or justify their behavior thinking "I had to go through it so des he." While the shark might get a little thrill out of lighting up the newcomer, it might discourage a newbie and make him decide that he doesn't want to play anymore. There is no player on the field who wants to be surrounded, and shot up, execution style.
If you are organizing a paintball game, try to find a group of players with roughly the same experience and skill level. Try to organize for a full squad on both sides so that you don't have to pick up outsiders to fill the rosters. Watch out for the wolf in sheep's clothing. When trying to pick up outsiders to fill the rosters, you may end up drafting someone you think is a newbie who turns out to be a wolf. Some sharks might lie about their level of experience for the chance to get into a free game. Once in the game, a shark's killer instincts may take over and newbies will get quickly eliminated in a sea of painful bullets.
Even if the odds are 10-5 heavily in the newbies favor, you must never let sharks play as a team of minnows. I don't care who you are, getting blown out of the water in the first few minutes of the game is not much fun for anyone.
While in this article, I described a number of examples of newbie abuse at the hands of experienced players, please note that not all paintdogs are out to harm the beginners. There are experienced gentlemen and ladies who will take some time out of the day to show newbies how to use and fire their paintgun. Nice veterans might show newbies how to use a squeegee to clean out a paintgun barrel if some paint splatter has gotten stuck inside. 'While there are good sharks out there and it may be the bad ones who are the exception to the rule, but why take that chance. We all love the sport of paintball and want to see it grow. If you are organizing a game, helping the sharks out will ensure your game to be a spirited competition.
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