Editing Paintball field (section)

== Types of paintball fields ==

=== Woodland fields ===

Woodland fields are associated with the origins of paintball and the development of [[woodsball]].

These fields use natural terrain, including trees, vegetation, rocks and changes in elevation, to provide cover for players.

Some facilities incorporate additional structures, such as wooden barricades, trenches, bunkers and observation towers.

The first recorded organised paintball game took place on natural woodland terrain in New Hampshire, United States, on 27 June 1981.[2]

Woodland fields remain widely used for recreational paintball, scenario events and some competitive formats.

=== Recreational fields ===

Commercial recreational fields may combine natural and artificial obstacles to create different playing environments.

Common features include wooden bunkers, barrels, drainage pipes, barricades, buildings and other purpose-built structures.

Some recreational fields are designed around particular themes, such as villages, military-style environments or urban landscapes.

Commercial venues may operate several different playing areas, allowing games with different team sizes and formats.

=== Speedball fields ===

[[Speedball]] fields are relatively compact playing areas using artificial bunkers rather than natural terrain.

Early speedball fields used obstacles constructed from materials including timber, plastic drainage pipes, barrels and other rigid structures.

These layouts allowed organisers to create more predictable playing environments than conventional woodland fields.

During the 1990s, inflatable bunker systems became increasingly common in tournament competition.

Modern speedball fields generally use inflatable bunkers arranged according to published tournament layouts.

These layouts may be symmetrical or otherwise designed to provide comparable playing conditions for opposing teams.

=== Hyperball fields ===

'''Hyperball''' is a style of artificial-bunker field associated with the development of tournament paintball during the 1990s.

Hyperball fields traditionally use large plastic drainage pipes and similar cylindrical obstacles.

The pipes can be arranged vertically or horizontally to create bunkers, tunnels and other forms of cover.

Hyperball was widely used before inflatable bunkers became the principal format for major speedball tournaments.

It remains a recognised style of recreational and competitive paintball field.

=== Inflatable tournament fields ===

Inflatable tournament fields use air-filled bunkers designed specifically for paintball.

[[Sup'Air Ball]] began manufacturing inflatable paintball bunkers in 1996.

The manufacturer's first generation used sealed structures constructed from heavy tarpaulin and stabilised with water.

Sup'Air Ball fields were demonstrated at the seven-player World Cup in Toulouse and the [[Paintball World Cup]] in Orlando during 1997.[4]

Subsequent developments included ground anchoring systems and continuously inflated bunker designs.

Inflatable bunkers became established in professional and amateur speedball competition because they could be transported, rearranged and used to reproduce tournament layouts.