Paintball Field to Open in South Edwards

Benjamin J. Baker 

EDWARDS, NY - It's safe to say that, aside from extra-curricular activities at Edwards-Knox Central, the town of Edwards doesn't have much to do for teens and young adults when it's not sports or hunting seasons. Well, a little bit of that is going to change on April 26th thanks to Paul Smith.

Mr. Smith, with the help of his girlfriend Nicole LaPlant and co-aspirator Craig Streit, has begun construction of a 1.5 acre paintball range that will open to the public at noon on the aforementioned date. While the field, located at the end of the Jones Pond Road in South Edwards, is in its formative stages, with roughly half of the 1.5 acre field completed at this time, Mr. Smith has plans to construct two more three-acre ranges after the initial opening. At the moment he has limited rental gear available, including CO2, paintball guns and headgear. Expansion is, of course, anticipated. The current “wood ball” field contains bunkers and surprises that will offer the players a tactically exciting and strategically invigorating experience.

What makes these plans particularly exciting to the youth in the area is that use of the field itself will be free, offering the chance for those with their own equipment to have a safe and coordinated environment in which to play. In addition to the fields there is a safety/work area designated for those in between games and spectators of the games. This will allow parents of younger players the ability to observe, and the friends of active players to watch and learn. The field will be open to the public on Sundays from noon until four or five p.m., depending on how busy the field is and field conditions. Those Sunday afternoon warriors must be safe and follow the rules set out by Mr. Smith, which will be explained via a field rule sheet that any participating player must agree to and sign in addition to a liability waiver. Any child under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, at least on their first visit to the field, so that the rules are understood and all proper precautions are taken.

Mr. Smith, who moved to South Edwards about 5 years ago, also plans to have regular events at the field -- one of which will be a $5 buy-in tournament on June 28th. The tournament will have multiple elimination rounds, at the end of which there will be a full payout based on the number of participating players. In addition to Sunday play, some Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays will feature open play, based around a number of conditions and situations.

To obtain more information about, or more specific directions to, this new addition to the greater Edwards landscape, you can contact Paul Smith on his cell at 315-530-7352. You can also visit their MySpace.com website at http://www.myspace.com/edwardsnypaintball. Check out the website to keep yourself updated on the field availability, soft-opening and tournament events. For anyone looking for a good time and the chance to make some new friends, contact Mr. Smith or be there on April 26th at noon to get your ball on!