Women's paintball in Iran

Women's paintball in Iran refers to the participation of Iranian women in recreational and competitive paintball, including domestic leagues, national championships and international tournaments. Women's teams were documented in Iran by 2005, with a dedicated national women's league established by 2011.[1][2]

Iranian women's teams have competed domestically in electronic and mechanical paintball formats, including three-player competitions. Internationally, Datis Girls represented Iran at the World Cup Asia tournaments in Langkawi, Malaysia, in 2012 and 2013.[3][4]

History

Early participation (2005–2010)

Women's involvement in Iranian paintball was documented during the sport's early development in the country.

On 5 October 2005, Iranian.com published a photographic feature entitled "Women's paintball team in Iran". The five-image feature, credited to photographer Hamid Nikpour, provides contemporary evidence of organised women's participation in the sport.[1]

Although women's teams were active by this period, the precise date of the first organised women's paintball competition in Iran has not been established.

Establishment of the women's national league (2011–2012)

Iranian paintball records identify 1390 in the Iranian calendar (2011–2012) as the inaugural season of the women's national league.

The first women's league tournament was held in Sari, Mazandaran Province, during 2011. Participating teams included Datis Girls and Javidan from Tehran, alongside the host team Roham Babolsar.[2]

Contemporary reporting recorded the following results from the opening competition:

Position	Team	Location
1st	Datis Girls	Tehran
2nd	Javidan	Tehran
3rd	Roham Babolsar	Babolsar

In February 2012, Datis Girls won the women's championship for the Iranian calendar year 1390.

The final was contested between Datis Girls and Javidan, with Persian Harp finishing third.[3][5]

Equipment manufacturer Planet Eclipse reported the results on 27 February 2012. The national competition involved 26 teams across three divisions, including a dedicated women's category.[3]

Development of domestic competition (2010s)

Women's tournament paintball continued through the 2010s, with competitions organised in different regions of Iran.

By 2018, national women's competitions included both electronic and mechanical paintball formats, with three-player and individual events.

The Paintball for All (PFA) competition series organised women's events in Tehran, including tournaments at Shahab Paintball Park.

In 2018, the PFA women's mechanical competition featured teams from Tehran and Tabriz. The three-player event was won by Shahab 2, while Mahdieh Darkhah won the individual competition.[6]

Women's competition also developed in Isfahan.

In January 2019, the Isfahan women's team Artemis participated in the national mechanical paintball championships in Tehran. Team member Mojdeh Taghipour finished second in the individual mechanical competition.[7]

Nahid Kalishadi, the women's vice-president of the Isfahan paintball committee, was also a member of the Datis Tehran team that secured the overall national women's professional championship for the Iranian year 1397 (2018–2019).[7]

During 2019 and early 2020, additional PFA women's competitions were organised in Tehran, featuring electronic and mechanical three-player and individual formats.[8]

National competition in the 2020s

Women's paintball remained part of Iran's national tournament structure during the 2020s.

In 2023, the Iranian women's club championship included a series of electronic three-player tournaments.

The final round was held in Bandar Abbas in December 2023, with six participating teams.

Singo Elite, representing Hormozgan Province, won the season championship with 377 points. Bellona from Rasht finished second with 315 points, followed by Singo Persian Gulf and Espad.[9]

Position	Team	Points
1st	Singo Elite	377
2nd	Bellona	315
3rd	Singo Persian Gulf	215
4th	Espad	133

The national competition continued in 2025, with a women's premier division documented by the Iranian paintball results website.

The standings listed four teams: Datis, Singo, Espad and Arya.

Datis led the published standings with 200 points, ahead of Singo on 70, Espad on 65 and Arya on 50. Datis was also listed as the winner of the first two women's tournament rounds of the 2025 season.[10]

International competition

Paintball Asia League Series

Iranian women's participation in international tournament paintball is documented through the Paintball Asia League Series (PALS).

Datis Girls, associated with the wider Datis paintball organisation, competed at two consecutive World Cup Asia tournaments in Langkawi, Malaysia.

In November 2012, the team entered Division 3 X-Ball, finishing 44th among 46 teams.

Datis Girls returned for the 2013 NAZA World Cup Asia, held from 15 to 17 November, and finished 25th among 54 Division 3 competitors.[4]

The team's 2013 campaign included preliminary victories against Raging Phoenix, Hellion Reborn and Leopard.

These appearances are notable examples of an Iranian all-female team participating in an international tournament division rather than a separate women's competition.

Year	Tournament	Division	Position
2012	World Cup Asia, Langkawi	Division 3 X-Ball	44th of 46
2013	NAZA World Cup Asia, Langkawi	Division 3 X-Ball	25th of 54

Teams and players

A number of women's paintball teams have appeared in Iranian tournament records.

These include:

Datis Girls / Datis Tehran – National championship winners and international PALS competitors.
Javidan – Tehran-based team and early national championship runner-up.
Roham Babolsar – Participant in the inaugural women's league competition in Sari.
Persian Harp – Third-place finisher in the 2012 women's national championship.
Artemis – Isfahan women's team active in national mechanical competition in 2019.
Singo Elite – Winners of the 2023 Iranian women's club championship.
Bellona – Rasht-based team and 2023 championship runner-up.
Espad – Mashhad-based women's tournament team.
Arya – Participant in the 2025 women's premier division.

Individual players documented in competition records include Nahid Kalishadi, who represented Datis Tehran and was involved in women's paintball administration in Isfahan, and Mojdeh Taghipour, a member of Artemis who finished second at the 2019 national individual mechanical championships.[7]

Sepideh Fakharzadeh (سپیده فخار زاده) of Datis was identified by the Iranian paintball results website as the outstanding female player for the Iranian year 1403 (2024–2025).[10]

Competition formats

Iranian women's paintball competitions have used several tournament formats.

Early national league competitions were associated with the country's developing electronic tournament paintball structure.

By the late 2010s, women's events were documented in both mechanical and electronic categories.

The PFA competition series included three-player team tournaments and individual competitions, while the 2023 women's national championship used a three-player electronic format.[6][8][9]

The use of different formats provided multiple forms of organised competition within the national women's paintball scene.

References

External links