Conquering For a Cause - The Purple Knights

For a Great Cause:

So rather than the usual hyperlink-in-text linkage to important sites, Facebook pages and the like, I'm changing this up.

Check these folks out. Right now... As in "before you read any further at all" now:

Purple Knights:

Their mission? Raising awareness about epilepsy, dispelling the myths and stigma that surround the condition and helping out local support centres.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purpleknights
Email: purpleknights911@gmail.com

Guys these are seriously important issues. I didn't have an accurate concept of what epilepsy really was before this past weekend or how badly so many people are affected by it. My only encounter with the condition before was when a girl in my elementary school had a seizure and she was taken away by an ambulance. The teachers all kept it very hush-hush instead of educating us about it which, looking back, I wish they had. Don't take your viewpoint from me though, take it from Phil Abraham aka "Twitch" the Purple Knights organizer.

"People die from seizures everyday think of it like this, when someone is having a seizure it's like holding the power button on your PC until it restarts. We just hope that we wake up but sometimes people have seizure and... the PC doesn't reboot."

I can only imagine what it must be like to lose control and feel as helpless as the condition can make people feel. I picture being in a nightmare, unable to wake myself up and just waiting and hoping that it ends quickly but people with epilepsy don't get to just 'wake up' from the nightmare as it's something that becomes and ever-present concern in their lives. 

Again, from Phil, "sometimes I'll shed a tear, its very hard to go through life not doing things like everyone else and have to rely on rides to places like paintball". Understandably Phil can't risk driving as he's affected by seizures four to fives times each day. You might get in your car and dread the boredom of a commute to work, where many people simply wish they were able to drive themselves regardless of the time or traffic. Epilepsy can rob you of so many of the freedoms that we take for granted.

So I'm asking all of you to head over to the Purple Knights page and give them a like, post to the page and ask them how you can help. 'Twitch' (and yes it's a reference to his epilepsy) makes and sells a number of different items such as car decals, Purple Knights t-shirts, paintball air tank decals and more to raise money for the cause. All funds are split 50/50 to cover the production costs and the profits go directly to aiding epilepsy support centers.

Purple Paintballers:

I the good in the hearts of my fellow paintballers last year at the Erin's Army Die Glocke event, and again at this year's Conquer the Asylum where Purple Knights fundraisers were held. I'm asking you all now to head over to the page and help them out so that they can continue helping others who so dearly need the assistance.

Think of it this way folks, but for the grace of God (or whichever power you do or do not believe in) there goes you. Anyone could be diagnosed with epilepsy folks, it doesn't play favourites so if just as a form of karmic repayment in thanks that you're fortunate enough to not be directly affected by it, send some help the way of those who are, and the people working to help them.

Having a sick paintball decal from the Purple Knights doesn't just say "I love paintball", it says "I"m a paintballer with heart".

Remember folks, it's good to give back :)

And remember, when the going get's tough, the tough keep calm... And throw paint!

Joshua J. Taylor - The Noob Baller

Changing Perceptions - Tour of Duty

Plain and simple, paintballers don't get the credit they deserve.

The Problem:

There have been too many people doing too many irresponsible and utterly stupid things in the past that have caused society to look down on this sport. Sure, the tournament style of play gets TV airtime and big corporate sponsors and it's all flashy and easily marketable, but what about the woodsball and scenario crowd? Who has their back? I'll tell you who... Cro Wakd of Wakd Ops.

The Solution:

How do you get from point A to point B? As the Cro flies ;)

This is the second year that Cro's run the Tour of Duty and this year's event at PRZ Paintball in Prince Edward, Ontario was nothing short of spectacular. The man's humble to a fault, saying that he's only a mirror and that he simply reflects the energy and image we send out but he's so much more than that. He put together this scenario and convinced Camp Trillium, a support camp for children with cancer, to allow us to hold the event with them as the beneficiary. That might not seem hard to some, getting a charity to let you give them money, but you need to remember that there have been SO many misconceptions about paintball that almost anyone not directly involved with the sport has a bad taste in the mouth before even getting near it. Cro's efforts have resulted in a GIANT leap away from that sort of public image.

This is Cro alongside Carrie of Camp Trillium as he presented to them a commemorative paintball jersey to signify that "we will fight on" against cancer and how it affects the lives of so many. There's not a doubt this will be the start of a very long, and very beneficial friendship for all sides with Erin's Army and Cro organising these events, and Camp Trillium working to improve the lives of child cancer patients for years and years to come.

Although I don't think Cro needs to be QUITE as humble as he is, what with the amount of effort he puts into everything he does and the devotion he shows for the causes he supports, I WILL agree with him on this fact... There's so many people to thank for their parts in making the Tour of Duty event happen, without whom it never would've been the success that it was. Having already thanked Cro for his involvement I'd like to move on to the rest of the supporters from the weekend.

The Ballers:

Plain and simple this wouldn't have been anything more than a pipe dream if no one had shown up to play, and for that I'd like to thank all of my fellow ballers who came out to support Erin's Army and Camp Trillium. There are a couple of people I'd like to mention who really displayed what I believe to be the TRUE spirit of paintball, and these are my Prestigious Paintballers from Tour of Duty: Insertion 2.

Rob Vance:

This guy was an absolute juggernaut of energy and encouragement out on the field. You only had a couple of mags for your pistol? Here's a vest-full so you can load'em up and shoot all day. You're pinned down and need covering fire? Let me throw a few pods through the "Warhammer" at that window so you can break from cover and get to a better position. You're too tired to play? You want to quit? Let me pick you up and bloody-well CARRY you onto that field because you know you love it and if that's what it takes to make sure you keep enjoying yourself by God I'll do it.

This man kept me in the game when the 'night fight' came around. I wanted to retire to my tent, throw in the towel and he just turned to me and said "I'm here to wreck shit tonight, and I need you to help me do that. Now are you withe me or not?"... Well you can probably guess what happened to my motivation after that. I went out on that field and pushed the line up wherever I could. Rob doesn't know the meaning of quit and won't let anyone else quit either. Is it because he's some hard-ass guy who demands too much? HELL NO! He just knows how to motivate you and has the utmost confidence that you can do so much more than what you THINK you're capable of.

If you ever see Rob on the field you need only know two reactions.

1. If he's on your team, get a hand on his shoulder, let him know you're there and willing to follow him to the gates of hell and back, cause he'll get you there safe.
2. If he's NOT on your team, GTFO or prepare to get lit-the-eff up. Heads down or hands up are your only options once he sets his sights on you.

Rob, if you get to read this, thanks for the encouragement man, and for not letting me quit. I'd have regretted not being on the field for that night game.

Connor "Casper" Andrews:

A young baller after my own heart, this little dude's essentially my neighbour... If you count adjacent cities as neighbours haha.

Small, agile, and fearless, Connor's honestly twice the baller that I am, and I've got no problem admitting that. It's not going to be long before this kid's getting invites from scenario teams left right and centre because boy can he EVER move out there. It doesn't matter what the objective is, how many people are guarding it, he wants a piece and wants it bad.

I have yet to meet a baller with quite so much energy as Casper's packing, even my friend and mentor Dylan "Joe Dirt" Swann might have a difficult time keeping up to young Connor. It didn't matter what you put in his hands whether it was a speedball gun, down to a pistol or even a pair of knives, he was going to get shit done.

Casper my little buddy, never lose that competitive fire, or your fearlessness. It was a HUGE help having you on our team.

Zach O'Leary:

I met Zach at the onset of the night game and I'm glad that I did. Although I never found him during the day on Sunday his actions during the night game MORE than earned him kudos on the blog.

I linked up with him as we were about to assault the warehouse. He needed someone with a flashlight, I needed backup and no one else seemed to have a better plan than forcing in the front doors... not exactly the best way to stay alive. So Zach and I cooked up the idea of working the boundary line, passing through an ignored back route and breaching through the kitchen. To say we found success in our plan would be a serious understatement. Zach nailed a few guys from the right corner while I took to picking off targets in the warehouse's sniper tower. Probably about 10 guys painted on our first strike and a couple more the second time around.

The best part of Zach's gameplay was that, when I suggested we work the outside and come in behind them he made sure we asked the head ref if it was acceptable considering the boundary rules. For maintaining a ridiculous amount of energy and for focusing on fair play and abiding by the rules, Zach gets a well-earned place on this list.

The Wrap Up:

Well I can't write all day... Or, I could but then no one would ever finish my articles.

There's not much that I want out of the sport to be honest, my aspirations are fairly simple. First I'd like to just have fun and I've accomplished that every time I've taken to the field. Second? I'd like to make as many new friends as possible and I'm also on track for that one. Third is my most important goal though... I want to help this sport grow. I only set out originally looking for numbers 1&2 but the second I got off that field I just knew that I needed to do more. I want to grow the sport and the only way to do that is to expose the brighter, better side of paintball to offset the negatives that people have been misinformed about over the years.

That's why I write this blog folks, to expose the misconceptions and to try and help prospective ballers get involved in the sport by providing information to answer the questions they may have and to make their entrance into the sport that much smoother. If my posts help even one person get into the sport then I'll be happy.

Until next time folks,

Keep calm and throw paint!

Joshua J. Taylor - The 'Noob' Baller

P.S.

There is a post on its way for the photographers and sponsors who were at the event working their butts off. It's just a lot to put into one post when done properly :p