Editing Women's paintball (section)

== History ==

=== Early participation ===

Women have been involved in paintball since the sport emerged in the early 1980s. A 2019 retrospective in ''Paintball.Media'' recounted Cornelia Wallace's participation in a game in Wilcox County, Alabama, following the first organised game in New Hampshire on 27 June 1981.[16]

Among the early figures was [[Debra Dion Krischke]], who worked with the [[National Survival Game]] organisation and subsequently became an influential tournament organiser through the [[International Amateur Open]]. The 2019 historical feature identified her work as National Survival Game's public relations director and as the founder of [[Three Rivers Paintball]] in Pennsylvania.[1][16]

Women also competed alongside men in organised tournament paintball. [[Karen Barber]], who played for the [[All Americans]], was identified by contemporary paintball publication [[WARPIG]] as the first woman to attain professional status in the [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL).[2]

Early all-female teams included the Puffs and Lady Tree Dancers, which predated later teams such as [[Femmes Fatale]] and [[Destiny (paintball team)|Destiny]].[16] Femmes Fatale was formed in 1999. The team competed in several formats, including ten-player, seven-player, five-player and three-player tournaments.[5]

=== Women's tournaments in the 2000s ===

Dedicated women's tournament divisions became increasingly visible during the early 2000s.

The [[Ultimate Madness]] indoor tournament in Huntington, West Virginia, featured a women's three-player division from its inaugural event in 2001. The competition attracted players who also competed on mixed-gender teams.

The first women's division was won by Dye Girls, ahead of Devil's Angels, Iron Maidens and High Maintenance.[3]

The women's competition continued in subsequent editions:

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Ultimate Madness women's champion
|-
| 2001
| Dye Girls
|-
| 2002
| Superficial Silver
|-
| 2003
| [[Femmes Fatale]]
|-
| 2004
| [[Femmes Fatale]]
|}

The tournaments featured teams including Valkyries, Warped Girls, Lady T&A, Wicked Sistas and Women of Worr.[2][3][6][7]

Women's teams also competed in open divisions against predominantly male opposition.

In October 2013, the all-female [[Destiny (paintball team)|Destiny]] team won a championship at the NPPL World Championships in Las Vegas. The achievement attracted attention because the team had won a national competition without competing in a separate women's division.[8]

=== International development ===

Women's participation in international tournaments expanded through national team competitions and dedicated women's events.

By 2014, women's national teams were competing in the European Nations Cup associated with the [[Millennium Series]]. A contemporary account documents Great Britain's participation at Bitburg, Germany, where the team finished fourth.[9]

In Asia, the [[Asia Girls Paintball International Championship]] (AGPIC) was established in Singapore in 2017 by organisers associated with the Singapore Paintball Series.

The tournament brought together female competitors from the region and was organised as a dedicated women's competition. By 2019, it was using a five-player format, with teams permitted to register up to eight players.[10]