Paintball Training Institute

The Paintball Training Institute (PTI) is an American paintball-industry training organisation associated with technical education, compressed-gas safety, field operation, refereeing and airsmith certification. It was operating by the late 1990s and was founded by Bud Orr, Bob McGuire and John Henry.[1][2]

PTI developed a numbered certification programme covering air-system operation, player safety, refereeing, marker repair and commercial field management. Its courses combined classroom instruction, examinations and practical work with paintball markers, compressed-gas cylinders and filling equipment.[1][3]

Name

The organisation is identified as the Paintball Training Institute in its course materials, later certification announcements and a 2000 feature in Action Pursuit Games.[1][3] Some retrospective coverage, including a 2004 WARPIG profile of Bud Orr, expands PTI as the Paintball Technical Institute.[2]

The Paintball Training Institute form is used here because it appeared in contemporary course coverage and remained in use in later descriptions of the organisation.

History

Establishment

PTI was founded by Worr Game Products founder Bud Orr, Bob McGuire of the American Paintball League and John Henry, formerly associated with Paintball 2 Xtremes.[2]

A 1999 WARPIG interview with Orr discussed his involvement in PTI and his willingness to teach technicians to repair equipment made by manufacturers competing with Worr Game Products. PTI was therefore operating by 1999, although its precise formation date has not been established.[2]

The organisation emerged during a period in which increasingly complex semiautomatic and electronic markers, high-pressure air systems and commercial paintball fields created demand for specialist technical and safety training.

March 2000 course

From 4 to 8 March 2000, PTI conducted a certification programme at the Worr Game Products facility in Santa Fe Springs, California. The programme was documented by Raymond Gong in Action Pursuit Games.[1]

The course initially included 18 students from California, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. Attendance increased to 23 for the advanced airsmith section.[1]

Instruction and support were provided by personnel including:

Bud Orr of Worr Game Products;
Bob McGuire of the American Paintball League;
Kevin Polk of Worr Game Products;
Cole Krebs of Krebs Paintball Store and Godessen Paintball; and
Tim Arnold of The Alternative Sport in Blountville, Tennessee.[1]

Jeri McGuire managed registration and prepared the course materials.[1]

The programme included the C1 Basic Air Technician, C2 Advanced Air Technician, C3 Player Safety Instructor and C5 Advanced Airsmith courses. The C1, C2 and C3 courses were prerequisites for the advanced airsmith programme.[1]

Technical instruction

The opening portion of the March 2000 programme addressed:

workshop tools and threaded fasteners;
barrel theory;
blow-forward, blowback and closed-bolt operating systems;
paintball-marker design;
fault diagnosis;
carbon dioxide and high-pressure air systems;
pressure-vessel construction and inspection;
compressed-gas filling equipment; and
relevant United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Department of Transportation requirements.[1]

Students received instruction in visually inspecting compressed-gas cylinders, identifying damage to fibre-wrapped tanks and understanding cylinder-test periods. Practical work included removing and installing tank valves and burst discs, fitting anti-siphon systems and operating carbon-dioxide and compressed-air fill stations.[1]

The course also addressed workshop safety. Students used eye and hearing protection and were warned about hazards from machinery, long hair, loose clothing and jewellery.[1]

Advanced airsmith course

The C5 Advanced Airsmith course occupied the final three days of the March 2000 programme. Each student received a toolbox containing workshop tools and parts used during the practical sessions.[1]

Exercises included drilling and tapping metal, installing thread-repair inserts, disassembling markers, inspecting components, diagnosing deliberately introduced faults and reassembling the equipment into working condition.[1]

Manufacturer representatives and technicians supplied instruction and equipment. Companies represented included:

Markers used during instruction included the Autococker, Tippmann Model 98, Brass Eagle Rainmaker, Raptor and Stingray, Indian Creek Bushmaster and Desert Fox, Kingman Spyder models, and Airgun Designs Automag, Minimag and RT.[1]

Students who completed the programme received certificates from participating manufacturers. Airgun Designs issued a PTI-trained certificate rather than a manufacturer factory-training certificate.[1]

Certification programme

By 2006, PTI publicised the following certification structure:[3]

Code	Course	Subject
C1	Basic Certified Air Technician	Operation of carbon-dioxide and high-pressure-air filling systems, booster pumps and compressors
C2	Advanced CO2 and High-Pressure Air Technician	Fill-station operation, cylinder inspection, compressed-gas safety and selected marker servicing
C3	Safety Instructor and Game Organiser	Player-safety instruction and the organisation of paintball games
C4	Referee	Recreational-game and tournament officiating
C5	Advanced Airsmith	Advanced marker and propellant-system repair
C5a	Master Airsmith	Fault diagnosis and repair of advanced markers
C6	Field Operator	Daily operation of paintball fields and stores, with emphasis on filling systems and cylinder inspection

PTI also offered business and marketing instruction concerning the establishment and operation of paintball fields and retail stores.[3]

These were industry certificates issued through PTI and participating manufacturers. The surviving course material does not establish that they constituted government licences or independent academic qualifications.

Manufacturer partnerships

The training programme incorporated support from paintball manufacturers, allowing students to work on current products and receive model-specific instruction.

In 2006, Real Action Paintball announced a partnership under which PTI would add the RAP4 and RAP5 markers to its Master Airsmith curriculum. The course was to cover complete disassembly, adjustment, maintenance and rebuilding of the marker mechanism.[3]

PTI's manufacturer relationships also extended the programme's influence beyond its own certificates. Tippmann manuals directed owners with potentially unsafe cylinder-and-valve assemblies to seek assistance from a C5-certified airsmith and provided PTI's website as a directory.[4]

Safety and standards work

Bob McGuire served as president of the Paintball Training Institute and participated in ASTM International's F08 committee dealing with sports equipment and facilities.[5]

In 2011, McGuire was identified as a participant in the development of proposed ASTM standard WK34588, concerning the operation of low-impact paintball fields. The proposed standard addressed game organisation, management, shooting distances and other procedures intended to make introductory paintball less intimidating to new players.[5]

PTI also provided instruction to personnel responsible for United States military recreational paintball programmes. A United States Army account published in 2016 described a garrison safety officer and a Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation manager attending PTI training in Tennessee. Their instruction included compressed-gas cylinder inspection and the layout and operation of a paintball field. The training was subsequently applied to military and youth recreational programmes.[6]

In 2018, McGuire continued to present paintball-business training through the Paintball Extravaganza. His sessions covered low-impact paintball, opening a safe field, fill-station operation and cylinder inspection.[7]

Training materials

PTI courses used printed notebooks, technical diagrams, manufacturers' manuals, cutaway markers and instructional video.

Associated video material included Airsmith Animation: Gas Flow Theory and Assembly Theory and a series of Paintball Tech Trix programmes. The series included marker-specific presentations featuring Bud Orr, Tom Kaye, Bill Gardner, Bob Long and Dennis Tippmann.[1]

Legacy

PTI represented an effort to provide structured education for paintball technicians, referees and commercial field personnel at a time when much technical knowledge was otherwise supplied informally by manufacturers, field operators and experienced players.

Its certification terminology entered wider industry use. Paintball fields and retailers advertised PTI-trained referees and C5 or C5a airsmiths, while manufacturer documentation referred equipment owners to PTI-certified technicians.[4][8]

The organisation remained associated with industry education and safety work into the 2010s. Its present operating status and the date on which regular certification courses ended have not been established.

References