On Friday 27th August, 18 employee’s of TeleTech International loaded into two mini bus’s packed with guitars, luggage and an abundance of enthusiasm and headed for the NSW border in search of a small town known as Moama. For almost everyone, it was their first paintball adventure, but certainly not their last. Four very load hours later, we arrived at the accommodation village. Some slept, some did not.
The next day I woke at 6:45am excited and ready to hit the field. After a very filling and satisfying breakfast cooked by our ‘temporary chef at the time’ ( Ed ) , we all excitedly piled into the bus’s and headed for Semoz Paintball. Once fitted into our overalls, loaded up with paintballs, gun and mask and then debriefed on the rules, we made our way out to the first field. I must admit I was nervous yet thrilled at the same time.
The two teams in combat were blue and pink. I myself was on the blue team and yes we were a force to be reckoned with. In the first scenario both teams were positioned at other ends of the field. As the whistle blew we sprinted ahead so we could gain good positions before the enemy had time to see us, aim and then shoot. Crouched behind a wall made of old wood with many gaps I was the first to reach the flag. Kneeling down, I looked up and saw it dangling, blowing in the wind, whilst in the background my fellow team mates were shouting “grab the flag, grab the flag!”. I knew it would all be over if I did, but I had no other choice. As I stood up to untie the flag from the rope , I could hear the paintball guns going off simultaneously. Just as I was about to drop to the ground I felt a loud echo in my left ear and sure enough I had been hit. The flag fell to the ground and I raised my gun in the air to indicate I was out. The blue team still managed to regain control and due to the heroic efforts of Edmund Mallari, we managed to get the flag to the other end and ultimately win the first game. It was a great team effort.
In the second game on the same field we swapped ends and went hard again. This time the other team had reached the flag before us, but we had managed to eliminate the pink team member which resulted in the flag being left out in the open. Stephen Culpitt and I were the closest to the flag and after extensive cross fire from the other team, we managed to shoot the main obstruction which was Mark. I was then able to grab the flag and run it to the end of the field aided by Stephen, but also immensely helped by Chris Neary’s accurate shooting of the pink team up ahead. It was a great feeling of victory running the flag to the drum, but very exhausting.
We then changed fields, which saw the blue team suffer two losses in a row. This scenario was called the ‘junkyard’ with its old cars and tyres lying around the ground. When the signal was given, blue team forced its way to the other end but was met by heavy accurate fire from the pink team. I had managed to sneak to the right flank and shoot Marc Antoine, but was suprisingly met by the cross fire in the distance by Melanie Mammot and ultimately shot out of the game by Andrew Wolfmeyer. Edmund and Andrew continued shooting at one another until Edmund performed an impressive commando roll from behind the bunker and shot Andrew out of the game. Catherine Mc Connell during one of the scenarios was left at our end of the field trying to obtain the flag from the drum. In the background her team members were shouting to he “grab the flag”. Their cries however fell on deaf ears, as Catherine proceeded cautiously towards the drum, little did she realise that all members of the blue team had been shot out of the game. The pink side worked great as a team to get passed our defence and steal the flag and finally return back to their base on both occasions.
A few games later we found both teams were joined by some new comers. We found this made it difficult to communicate as a team as we weren’t too sure who they were. Another memorable scenario was in an open field with tyres scattered throughout. This time Reuban Kaa from the other team had managed to take the flag but was also shot in the process. As he was only five metres in front of me, I managed to pick up the flag, stuff it down my overalls and proceed cautiously towards the other end.
As I came to a wall I could hear someone on the other side. We both made our way to the end and before either one of us had time to shout surrender, our guns went off and I had managed to hit Michael Gherings gun thus shooting him out of the game. Positioned behind a wall of tyres I had Ismael Sepulveda at my side offering me cover for when I decided to run towards the drum. This however was slightly delayed due to the fact that Ismael had accidentaly knocked his gun against the tyres. The case holding his paintballs fell into a four stack high ring of tyres below, therefore out of his reach.
Without much delay the ref came to our aid and by this time we had another member of the blue team by our side, Kon Rellias. With Ismael back in action, crossfire from blue team on the other side and the ref shouting 2 minutes to go the three of us knew it was now or never. I turned to Kon and said “Im going to run”. As I started running I could see Oliver Villis behind a wall of tyres and thus immediately started firing at him . Standing upright, stepping sideways firing my gun I preceeded to turn and start to run forward when I felt an exrutiating sharp pain on my inner thigh. I had been hit. I knelt down, unzipped my overalls and placed the flag on the ground and limped to the edge of the domain. Kon with the help of the rest of the blue team on the field managed to get the flag to the other end resulting in the blue team winning the game.
Another memorable moment was during a game in which hay was the main obstacle on the field. Pink was the victorious team in this game thanks to the heroic efforts of Reuban who managed to get one of our blue men to surrender without any paintballs in his gun and was then able to run and touch the flag. Well done Reuben!
After a very satisfying lunch we headed out to a field known as the ‘Fort’. In both scenarios blue team was the ‘offence’ and pink team ‘defence’. During the first game blue team had to make there way through the tree infested bush to a wooden fort and grab the flag in front to win the game. Unfortunately due to the exceptional defence of the pink team we were not victorious. The next scenario involved the protection of our president from the pink team and at the same time the president having to regain possession of his gun which had been left at the pink teams end. Both teams failed to complete the tasks but some memorable moments from both games were:
- Stephen on the blue team thinking “Its now or never, Im going for it” and charging into a Y shaped trench only to be greeted around the corner by the end of Oliver’s gun sticking in his face.
- Chris sprinting towards the fort, falling in a ditch and being covered in water.
- Reuben up to his neck in water in one of the trenches situated under a bridge, shooting people as they walked over.
- Mark was accidentaly shot during the game by one of the refs.
From left to right: Henry Gaitan, Bibi Hankin, Stephen Culpitt, Kon Rellias.
The last scenario was a real test of our strengths as we had been battling hard all day. During this scenario both teams had managed to win one game each and we all had a great time. Once the game had begun and the pink team had gained the flag Stephen, Kon and myself were positioned close to the opposition taking pot shots at them. Suddenly without warning we could hear someone shouting from behind and as we turned we could see Henry Gaitan from our team making his way towards the bunker where we were situated. The pink team was firing at him from all directions. As Henry came closer with approximately five metres to go he fell to his side. With Henry’s knees up to his chest ( similar to the foetal position ) , gun in the air and due to the heavy rain in that area recently, he was able to slide for the full five metres in towards us and safely behind the bunker. We absolutely loved it and our screams of laughter could be heard for miles. The pink team won this game after a member of its group had made a desperate dash for the drum at the end of the field. With flag in hand, no gun and no-one from blue team to shoot at him he successfully made it to the other side.
We swapped ends and it was time for blue team to strut its stuff! The flag in which we had to capture was tied around a pole on top of a tall steep mound in the middle of a thick mud filled trench. Once the whistle blew I immediately made my way to the sloshy trench area . Another blue team member and I were leaning on the mound and it was decided that I would grab the flag ( we weren’t too sure who the other person was, one of those strangers ). I placed my gun on the side of the small hill and once I was given the signal I jumped up and desperately made my way to the pole to untie the flag. As I stood there in the open hearing paintballs flying everywhere I was certain I would be hit. To my surprise I wasn’t and stumbled my way down back into the muddy trenches. With flag stuffed down my overalls and gun
in hand I stood ready for the signal to make my way to the other end.
him that I was going to make a run for it. I placed my gun on the ground and sprinted along the side bashing my way through branches whilst Stephen was running up the middle of the field shooting at anything that moved. At one stage I had managed to fall heavy into the ground from being coat-hanged by a branch. The ref had yelled out those two annoying words “ Two minutes”. I looked across and saw Stephen with his arms in the air, he had been shot. I got up and soon I had made it to the other end but needed to make it to the barrel. I decided to sprint and with my legs feeling like cement, ribs aching and someone firing at me from behind and then five metres from the barrel in front, I had managed to run up and touch it. However in the process of running I had been shot. The beauty of this was that the balls had not exploded, therefore I was not dead and we had won the game. I was extremely exhausted, but our team worked great together and the others should be commended for their accurate shooting skills.
Front Row left to right: John Matthews, Paul Smith, Melanie Mamot, Michael Ghering, Henry Gaitan.
Second Row: Oliver Villis, Catherine Mc Connell, Ismael Sepulveda, Chris Neary.
Third Row: Reuben Kaa, Mark bla, Andrew Wolfmeyer, Shannon Yates, Edmund Mallari.
Back Row: Kon Rellias, Stephen Culpitt.
Overall everyone enjoyed himself or herself immensely. These are just my memories of the days events, Im sure everyone has their own exciting adventure to tell. Both teams displayed great skill and sportsmanship and it was great to be involved with such an enthusiastic group of people. TeleTech International has decided to make this activity a regular social occurrence within the company and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for fun and adventure, but also the chance to get to know your workmates better ( even if you do have to shoot them!).
I would like to extend thanks to Chris Neary for driving one of the bus’s and also Natasha D’Angelo for not only driving the other bus but also for taking photos during the day. Also to John Jumpertz for helping to organize the day. A big thanks goes out to Edmund Mallari for making such a large contribution to the success of the weekend and for his excellent organisational skills and willingness to be actively involved with the employees of the company.
Lastly thankyou to Semoz paintball for conducting such a great day ..see you again on October 15th!
Bibi Hankin
BLHankin@teletechintl.com
Paint site design and contents Copyright Mike Wallis |
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