Paintball park brings thrills to Fraser Valley
After their soccer game Saturday, the Grand County Wildcats suited up for a very different type of game.
The 12- and 13-year-old girls — along with some family and friends — strapped on black facemasks and grabbed a paintball gun before heading out into position on opposite sides of the small dirt field. Igor Guziur made sure both teams were ready before he shouted, “Ready? Set? Go!”
Guziur, owner and operator of the newly opened Fraser Valley Paintball, ducked out of the way and behind the screen surrounding the field as the whizzing of paintballs began flying through the air.
The Wildcats scouted out the terrain moguls, trying to get closer to the other team without getting hit themselves. One girl rested on her stomach, the tip of her paintball gun just over the berm as she waited for a target to appear.
A dramatic “pop, pop, pop” had her diving down as she felt the paintballs brush the top of her head. Unscathed, she moved slowly back into position, eyes wildly scanning the field and finger curled around the trigger.
The exciting scene is a new one at the Fraser Valley Metropolitan Recreation District sports field and ice rink. Fraser Valley Paintball opened at the end of August, and this was only Guziur’s seventh game.
Guziur is also the owner and operator of the Winter Park Adventure Quest ropes course, also at the Fraser field. He said his own kids were his inspiration to open the new paintball park after they asked to go paintballing in Denver.
“I saw this field out here unused, so I was thinking, ‘What would it take to buy a few guns and do the thing?'” he recalled. “Why not bring one here?”
The land is next to the BMX track and offers 17,000 square feet for paintball. Up to 12 players can play at a time.
“It’s a fun location because it’s not a giant field and it provides natural cover,” Guziur said. “This allows for a very active game offering lots of action.”
The girls soccer team exited the field with yellow paint in their hair or on their jackets. All agreed that the experience had been awesome.
The cost to use the park is a flat $500 that covers two hours of play, including guns, paintballs and protective masks. Guziur said the Fraser Valley Rec District worked cooperatively with him to allow the new amenity, and he got help from Patrick Brower of the Grand Enterprise Initiative to prepare the park.
Guziur isn’t sure if he’ll be able to operate once temperatures drop, but he’s still accepting reservations for play through the fall. Reservations are required and can be made by calling Winter Park Adventure Quest at 970-531-4143.
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