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SAFETY RULES AT OUR FIELD

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These are Keith's rules. They're painted on a sheet of plywood by the chrono line at the field, and I copied them off it word for word on a Saturday, then put in my own two cents underneath some of them in italics. Every field has rules like these. If you ever show up at a field that doesn't, get back in your car. Break a safety rule at our field and you sit out. Break one twice and you go home. Keith doesn't care who you are or how far you drove, and he's right not to.

YOUR MASK

1. Masks on at all times on the field. From the moment you step through the gate onto a field until you're back through it, your mask stays on. Not lifted, not pushed up on your forehead, not off for one second. A paintball can take out an eye. That's the whole reason for the mask. Your eyes don't grow back. 2. Fogged up? Don't lift it. Get down behind something, yell for a ref, and he'll walk you off. You can clean it in the staging area. This is the one new players break. They can't see, so they pull the mask up "for just a second." That's exactly when they get hit. I've seen it. 3. Paintball masks only. Shop goggles, sunglasses and ski goggles are not masks. 4. If you see someone on the field with their mask off, yell "BLIND MAN!" Everybody stops shooting until it's back on.

YOUR MARKER

5. Barrel plug in whenever you're off the field. In the staging area, the parking lot, the chrono line until it's your turn, everywhere. A barrel sock that covers the end of the barrel is fine too. Safety on as well. A barrel plug is a little plastic stopper that goes in the end of the barrel, so if the marker goes off, the ball doesn't go anywhere. Cheapest thing you'll ever buy. Most important thing after the mask. 6. Chrono before every game. Every marker goes through the chronograph before you go on a field. The limit is 300 feet per second. Over that, you turn it down before you play. In the desert, re-chrono after lunch. A CO2 marker that shot 285 at seven in the morning can be shooting hot by two in the afternoon, because the gas pressure goes up with the heat. 7. No shooting anywhere but on a field or on the target range. Not in the parking lot, not in the staging area, not at cans, not at lizards, not at your buddy's truck. 8. Masks on at the target range too, for the shooter and for anybody standing near him. If you're watching, stay behind the net. 9. No blind firing. If you can't see what you're shooting at, don't shoot. No sticking the marker over a wall and pulling the trigger. 10. Keep your tank out of the sun. Don't leave a CO2 tank in a hot truck all day. Keep it in the shade or in the cooler with your paint.

PLAYING FAIR

11. A hit is a ball that breaks and leaves a mark the size of a quarter or bigger, anywhere on you or anything you're carrying. A ball that bounces off doesn't count. 12. When you're hit, call it. Yell "HIT!", hold your marker up over your head, and walk off the field the safest way. Don't shoot on your way out. 13. No wiping. Wiping paint off and playing on is cheating, and everybody sees it. If you're not sure, ask a ref for a paint check. You will get caught. Then nobody will want you on their side. 14. Surrender rule. If you get within 15 feet of a player who doesn't know you're there, give him the chance to surrender instead of lighting him up from close range. This is about being a decent human being. Getting hit at 15 feet hurts a lot more than at 50. 15. Don't shoot a player who's already called hit or has his marker up. Don't shoot the refs. 16. No physical contact. No tackling, no shoving, no grabbing somebody's marker. 17. The ref's call is final. Argue with a ref and you'll be arguing from the staging area. 18. Field paint only. Buy your paint at the field. That's how Keith keeps the lights on. Not that there are lights. You know what I mean.

THE DESERT

19. Bring water and drink it. Drink before you're thirsty. If you're dizzy, shaky, sick to your stomach, or you quit sweating, stop playing, get in the shade, and tell a ref right now. We had a guy on our team get too hot at the August scenario game. He told somebody, and he was fine an hour later. Tell somebody. 20. Snakes. This is the desert. If you see a rattlesnake, leave it alone, back away, and tell a ref. Don't shoot it. Don't poke it. Look before you put your hand down behind a rock. 21. No alcohol, no drugs. Not before, not during. You'll be asked to leave and you won't be welcome back. 22. Players must be 10 or older. Anybody under 18 needs a parent's signature on the waiver. 23. Pick up after yourself. Broken paint washes away in the next rain. Your trash doesn't, and it doesn't rain here much.

MASK ON. PLUG IN. CHRONO EVERY GAME. DRINK YOUR WATER. That's it. Do those four and you'll be fine. Then go have fun.

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