RaceTo

RaceTo, also written Race To, is a match format used in competitive paintball in which two teams play a series of points towards a specified winning score. Variants include RaceTo-2, RaceTo-4, RaceTo-5 and RaceTo-7. The number identifies the target score, rather than the number of players on each team.[1][2]

RaceTo was used extensively by Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP), combining multiple-point competition with score limits and timing rules that varied by division. Versions have also been used by regional leagues.[1][3]

Match structure

A RaceTo match consists of separate points between the same two teams. Reaching the specified score ends the match, although time limits or other conditions can end it before either team reaches that target.[1]

PSP distinguished between RaceTo-2 and its longer RaceTo formats. Under its 2012 rules, RaceTo-4, RaceTo-5 and RaceTo-7 used a shared game clock across successive points, with breaks between points. The team with the higher score won when playing time expired, subject to the applicable tie and overtime rules.[1]

RaceTo-2

RaceTo-2 can use individually timed points rather than a shared match clock. PSP's 2012 version allowed up to three five-minute points, with teams rotating through their scheduled opponents instead of necessarily playing every point of a match consecutively. Preliminary matches could finish as draws.[1]

The Social Paintball League's 2025 rules similarly provided RaceTo-2 for both three-player and five-player teams. Three-player points had a three-minute limit, while five-player points had a five-minute limit. A match ended when a team scored twice, three points had been played or a team forfeited.[3]

Use by Paintball Sports Promotions

At the 2009 PSP Phoenix Open, professional and semi-professional competition used RaceTo-7 with 20 minutes of playing time. Divisions 1 and 2 used RaceTo-5 with 15 minutes, while Division 3 X-Ball used RaceTo-4 with 10 minutes. The event also included five-player RaceTo-2 competition.[2]

These limits were not permanent standards for every RaceTo event. For example, PSP's 2012 rulebook specified 12 minutes for RaceTo-4.[1]

Relationship to X-Ball

RaceTo and X-Ball overlap in their use of multiple points within a match, but the terms do not identify an identical set of rules. PSP used RaceTo scoring for both its X-Ball divisions and its separately structured five-player competition.[1][2]

A fixed RaceTo target also differs from a mercy rule based on the score difference. Reaching four points in RaceTo-4 ends the match regardless of the opponent's score; a four-point mercy requires a lead of four points. The National Xball League describes its X-Ball format in terms of a match clock and a division-dependent mercy margin.[1][4]

See also

• X-Ball
• Speedball
• Paintball Sports Promotions
• Almost Famous Paintball League

References

1. PSP Rulebook: RaceTo-2 and RaceTo-4/5/7. Paintball Sports Promotions, 6 March 2012, revision 1. Archived transcription.
2. PSP Phoenix Open 2009. WARPIG, 2009.
3. SPL Rules: RaceTo-2, 3v3 / 5v5. Social Paintball League, 2025.
4. NXL U.S. Playing Formats. National Xball League.