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paintballimpact.com / Safety / Sliding Hazards
Sliding Hazards
Sliding will always have its place on a speedball course, as it gives players a way to make a fast stop while running fast all the way up to a bunker. As long as this maneuver is performed correctly, it is a very effective way of keeping a low profile while speeding into a bunker. The two of the main sliding hazards are players injuring themselves and players damaging their marker or paintball gear. To avoid injury and keep their gear working, players either learn when not to execute this maneuver, or they learn how to execute this maneuver correctly. This maneuver is one of the toughest in paintball because performing it while protecting the marker often goes against our natural instincts. When a person or a player starts to fall forward, our natural instinct is to put our hands out in front of us, with our palms towards the ground. It is our natural instinct to put our hands out, palms down, to protect their head and neck. But when the slide over paintball turf or grass, we must keep one of our hands up, palm up to protect the marker. Paintball maneuvers like the slide are executed on paintball fields like Atwood Paintball in Cranston Rhode Island and Hills Triage Paintball in Fairless Pennsylvania.
The slide has become a more popular move as fields have gotten more level and more smooth. When the game started, players in the woods and brush ran over tires, boulders, tree roots, rocks, and sticks. Sliding in these types of conditions often posed more risks than benefits, and players usually took their chances by staying on their feet. Then players began to call out for faster games with smoother fields. Soon the speedball field was invented, and those rectangular arenas were played over green grass or smooth turf. Speedball fields are flat, and are ideal surfaces for players to slide over.
The deliberate slide enables players to keep a low profile as they head for towards a bunker, and it gives players a way to make a quick stop without running through or into the bunker. Most slides in paintball are headfirst slide, the first slides are rare. There are some sliding hazards associated with this maneuver, especially since players are required to brace for falls in different ways than they normally would. Why can sliding be dangerous? There's always a risk of injury that goes along with a player leaving their feet. But headfirst slide does stress the neck and spine a little more than it normally would, and there is a slight possibility of injury there. Other possible injuries that can occur from the slide include ankle sprains, leg injury, or wrist injury. To minimize the risk of injury, the player tries to cushion the ground impact by holding the arm that is not holding the paintball marker out to brace the fall.
Other body sliding hazards can occur when the marker comes between the ground and the player as he is going down. If the gun hits the ground before the player, it could twist his wrist or arm, causing a sprain or greater injury.
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