Jump to content

Women's paintball in Iran: Difference between revisions

From WikiPaintball

Admin (talk | contribs)

3 user groups
4,960 edits
undo
Created page with "'''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, ..."
 
Add verified Instagram findings covering the 2024 national league round, Datis's attributed 2024 overall women's championship, 2025 recruitment and competition announcements, Asal Arab-Baraghi's MVP award and player profiles through 2026. Preserve the earlier league history, distinguish posting dates from playing dates, and update team links to the agreed naming convention.
 
(One intermediate revision by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''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]
'''Women's paintball in Iran''' includes women's participation in recreational [[paintball]], domestic leagues, national championships and international tournaments. A women's team was documented in published photographs in 2005, and the Iran Paintball Association recorded the opening round of a national women's league in December 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]
Domestic competition has included team and individual events using mechanical and electronic markers. Internationally, [[Datis Girls (Iran Paintball Team)|Datis Girls]] competed in Division 3 at [[Paintball World Cup Asia]] in 2012 and 2013. National league records and team publications document women's competition and player development during the 2020s.[3][4][5]


== History ==
== History ==


=== Early participation (2005–2010) ===
=== Early participation ===


Women's involvement in Iranian paintball was documented during the sport's early development in the country.
On 5 October 2005, ''The Iranian'' published a photographic feature entitled "Women's paintball team in Iran", credited to Hamid Nikpour. Its publication documents organised women's participation but does not establish the team's founding date.[1]


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]
On 4 February 2007, BBC Persian published an interview featuring Babak Esmaeili and Behnaz Foroutan, identified respectively as men's and women's paintball team captains. Foroutan described taking up paintball after encountering it through her husband. The interview explicitly stated that women's competitions were being held in Iran.[6]


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.
=== National league, 2011–2012 ===


=== Establishment of the women's national league (2011–2012) ===
The Iran Paintball Association published women's league entry conditions in November 2011. These required team registration, identification cards and compliance with INPL Division 2 rules. The rules reference did not place the women's teams within the men's second-division standings.[7]


Iranian paintball records identify 1390 in the Iranian calendar (2011–2012) as the inaugural season of the women's national league.
The association's results identify Babolsar, Mazandaran Province, as the host of the first women's round, held alongside the second men's round from 14 to 16 December 2011. Datis finished first, Javidan second and the host team Roham Babolsar third.[2]


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]
An association announcement in December 2011 appointed Leila Niyam to lead the national women's paintball committee and credited her involvement in launching the women's league.[8]


Contemporary reporting recorded the following results from the opening competition:
On 27 February 2012, [[Planet Eclipse]] reported that Datis Girls had won the women's cup and been crowned champions for the Iranian calendar year 1390. The report described an INPL event involving 26 teams across three divisions, including a dedicated women's bracket. The total covered the combined event rather than the women's competition alone.[9]
 
On 17 May 2012, the opening women's league round of 1391 took place in Tehran. Seven teams represented Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Isfahan and East Azerbaijan provinces. Datis Alborz won, followed by Javidan Tehran and Titan Qazvin.[10]
 
=== Provincial and three-player competition, 2013–2014 ===
 
An Isfahan provincial amateur event at Saital in July 2013 included five women's teams alongside nine men's teams. Tandis won the women's competition.[11]
 
For 1393, the association announced a women's programme using three players on the field, with three reserves permitted and three rounds planned under INPL rules.[12]
 
The opening event took place in Karaj on 18 April 2014 with six teams. Ariaman One won, followed by Datis, Ariaman Two, Amertat, Adrenaline and Griffin.[13]
 
=== Organisation and university participation, 2016–2017 ===
 
Contemporary interviews describe difficulties in organising women's competition. In February 2016, Hamid Nikpour told the Young Journalists Club that the association had not managed to organise women's competition that year, citing venue and participation difficulties. In April, women's official Leila Niyam discussed domestic activity but identified weak coordination in attending competitions as a problem.[14][15]
 
University records document a separate strand of participation. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad's sports channel published a notice linking to a female students' paintball competition report in January 2017. In December, it published women's podium groups from its public-sport festival, listing five players in each of the top three groups.[16][17]
 
== IWPL and Paintball for All ==
 
=== Electronic competition ===
 
A ''Hamshahri'' report published on 16 December 2018 identified the second event of the national women's league using the initials '''IWPL'''. It distinguished that competition from '''Paintball for All''' (PFA), with electronic and mechanical events reported separately.[18]
 
The electronic three-player placings were Datis first, Griffin second, Ariaman third and Kartal fourth.[18]
 
Original PFA Media posts published on 1 December 2018 identify the second IWPL event as an electronic-marker competition and independently confirm the top three.[19]
 
=== Mechanical competition ===
 
PFA also organised women's mechanical-marker competitions in team and individual formats.
 
At the second women's round, held on 27 July 2018, Shahab One won the mechanical three-player competition ahead of Shahab Three and Shahab Two. Raheleh Hajian won the individual competition, followed by Mahdieh Darkhah and Mobina Pourmousa.[20]
 
At the third round on 28 September 2018, Shahab One again won the three-player competition, followed by Shahab Three and Shahab Four. A separate two-player competition placed Shahab Three first, Shahab One second and Shahab Two third.[21]
 
The fifth and final round took place on 25 January 2019 and also served as the women's national championship in the mechanical class. Six three-player teams and 21 individual competitors represented Tehran, Golestan, Khorasan Razavi and Isfahan provinces.[22]
 
Shahab Golestan won the final-round team competition, followed by Shahid Nikpasand vocational school and Shahab One. Raheleh Hajian won the individual event, followed by Mozhdeh Taghipour and Zohreh Alimohammadi.[22]
 
The overall league standings across five rounds differed from the final-round results:[22]


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Position
! Position
! Team
! Three-player mechanical team
! Location
! Individual mechanical player
|-
|-
| 1st
| 1st
| [[Datis Girls]]
| Shahab One
| Tehran
| Raheleh Hajian
|-
|-
| 2nd
| 2nd
| Javidan
| Shahab Three
| Tehran
| Mahdieh Darkhah
|-
|-
| 3rd
| 3rd
| Roham Babolsar
| Shahab Two
| Babolsar
| Mahsa Moradi
|}
|}


In February 2012, Datis Girls won the women's championship for the Iranian calendar year 1390.
These were PFA mechanical season standings, rather than an IWPL electronic championship table.[22]


The final was contested between Datis Girls and Javidan, with Persian Harp finishing third.[3][5]
=== Competition in 1398 ===


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]
The opening national women's PFA round of 1398 took place on 26 July 2019 at Takhti Stadium, Tehran. Shahab One won the mechanical three-player competition ahead of Shahab Three and Shahab Two. Raheleh Hajian won the individual mechanical event, followed by Mahdieh Darkhah and Fatemeh Fahim.[23]


=== Development of domestic competition (2010s) ===
At the fourth national round on 6 February 2020, also at Takhti Stadium, the team podiums were:[24][25]


Women's tournament paintball continued through the 2010s, with competitions organised in different regions of Iran.
{| class="wikitable"
 
! Position
By 2018, national women's competitions included both electronic and mechanical paintball formats, with three-player and individual events.
! Mechanical three-player
 
! Electronic three-player
The Paintball for All (PFA) competition series organised women's events in Tehran, including tournaments at Shahab Paintball Park.
|-
 
| 1st
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]
| Shahab
 
| Datis Tehran
Women's competition also developed in Isfahan.
|-
 
| 2nd
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]
| Hyrcania One
 
| Datis Shemiranat
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]
|-
| 3rd
| Hyrcania Two
| Number One
|}


During 2019 and early 2020, additional PFA women's competitions were organised in Tehran, featuring electronic and mechanical three-player and individual formats.[8]
Raheleh Hajian won the individual mechanical competition, followed by Hanieh Abedi and Maryam Kordi. Pardis Farnezhad won the individual electronic competition, followed by Mozhdeh Bashiri and Nahid Kelishadi.[24][25]


=== National competition in the 2020s ===
== Competition in the 2020s ==


Women's paintball remained part of Iran's national tournament structure during the 2020s.
=== National league in 2023 ===


In 2023, the Iranian women's club championship included a series of electronic three-player tournaments.
On 27 December 2023, Bandar Abbas hosted the fourth round of the women's electronic three-player league, with six teams competing. IRIB reported Singo Elite of Hormozgan as league champion with 377 points.[26]
 
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]


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
Line 83: Line 123:
|-
|-
| 2nd
| 2nd
| Bellona
| Belona, Rasht
| 315
| 315
|-
|-
Line 89: Line 129:
| Singo Persian Gulf
| Singo Persian Gulf
| 215
| 215
|-
| 4th
| Espad
| 133
|}
|}


The national competition continued in 2025, with a women's premier division documented by the Iranian paintball results website.
=== National league in 2024 ===
 
The third national league round of 1403 took place in Mashhad from 3 to 6 Mehr 1403 (24–27 September 2024). The organiser reported five women's teams and sixteen men's teams at the combined event.[4]


The standings listed four teams: Datis, Singo, Espad and Arya.
Datis Tehran won the women's professional electronic competition, followed by Persian Gulf Tehran and Spad Mashhad.[4]


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]
In a retrospective post published on 23 September 2025, the Datis organisation described its women's squad as "Overall champions 2024". The caption attributes the achievement to 2024 rather than its publication year, but does not provide a complete season table or points total.[5]


== International competition ==
=== Recruitment and competition in 2025 ===
 
An August 2025 announcement sought players for the Datis women's squad alongside Datis Tehran and Datis Shemiranat. It scheduled an online theory assessment followed by practical trials at the Sang Ahan Bafq paintball academy in Yazd Province.[27]
 
On 22 October 2025, the organisation announced another national competition victory for its women's team, using the name '''Datis Ladies'''. The caption identified Milock as the supporter of that event.[28]
 
A subsequent post named '''Asal Arab-Baraghi''', number 86, as the most valuable player of the second round of national competition. The announcement was published on 23 October 2025.[29]
 
=== Documented players and activity in 2026 ===


=== Paintball Asia League Series ===
The Datis organisation continued publishing material about its women players during 2026.


Iranian women's participation in international tournament paintball is documented through the [[Paintball Asia League Series]] (PALS).
An August post identified footage of Sepideh and Nazanin playing at a national championship held in Rasht. The caption specifies the location but does not establish the event's year or exact playing dates.[30]


[[Datis Girls]], associated with the wider [[Datis]] paintball organisation, competed at two consecutive [[World Cup Asia]] tournaments in Langkawi, Malaysia.
Individual profiles identified '''Zahra Afzali''', number 18, and '''Sarvenaz Komasi''', number 09.[31][32]


In November 2012, the team entered Division 3 X-Ball, finishing 44th among 46 teams.
An earlier Datis Ladies profile identified '''Pardis Farnezhad''', number 07, and described her participation in paintball as extending back to the Iranian year 1389 (2010–2011). This is an account of the player's experience rather than the team's founding date.[33]


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]
== International competition ==


The team's 2013 campaign included preliminary victories against Raging Phoenix, Hellion Reborn and Leopard.
[[Datis Girls (Iran Paintball Team)|Datis Girls]], associated with the wider [[Datis (Iran Paintball Team)|Datis]] organisation, competed at consecutive World Cup Asia tournaments in Langkawi, Malaysia.[3][9]


These appearances are notable examples of an Iranian all-female team participating in an international tournament division rather than a separate women's competition.
PBLeagues records the following results:[3]


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Dates
! Tournament
! Tournament
! Division
! Division
! Position
! Result
|-
|-
| 2012
| 9–11 November 2012
| [[World Cup Asia]], Langkawi
| [[Paintball World Cup Asia]]
| Division 3 X-Ball
| Division 3
| 44th of 46
| 44th of 46
|-
|-
| 2013
| 15–17 November 2013
| NAZA World Cup Asia, Langkawi
| NAZA Paintball World Cup Asia
| Division 3 X-Ball
| Division 3
| 25th of 54
| 25th of 54
|}
|}


== Teams and players ==
The team's 2013 preliminary results included victories against Raging Phoenix, Hellion Reborn and Leopard, and defeats against Hooligans and A.C.E.S. These appearances were in Division 3 rather than a separate women's tournament division.[34]
 
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.


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 170: Line 186:
* [[Women's paintball]]
* [[Women's paintball]]
* [[Iranian paintball]]
* [[Iranian paintball]]
* [[Datis Girls]]
* [[Paintball in Iran]]
* [[Datis]]
* [[Datis Girls (Iran Paintball Team)|Datis Girls]]
* [[Datis (Iran Paintball Team)|Datis]]
* [[Iran National Paintball League]]
* [[Iran National Paintball League]]
* [[Paintball Asia League Series]]
* [[Paintball Asia League Series]]
* [[World Cup Asia]]
* [[Paintball World Cup Asia]]


== References ==
== References ==


# [https://iranian.com/PhotoDay/2005/October/paint1.html Iranian.com, "Women's Paintball Team in Iran", photographs by Hamid Nikpour, 5 October 2005.]
# [https://iranian.com/PhotoDay/2005/October/paint1.html The Iranian, "Women's paintball team in Iran", photographs by Hamid Nikpour, 5 October 2005.]
# [https://paintball33.blogfa.com/1390/12/1 Paintball Forever, "Paintball in Iran", historical account of the inaugural women's national league, February 2012 (Persian).]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20120119102016/http://www.paintball.ir:80/اخبار/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/25/----1390.aspx Iran Paintball Association, national league results for Azar 1390, archived 19 January 2012. Persian.]
# [https://eclipsehq.blogspot.com/2012/02/ Planet Eclipse, "Datis Make It a Clean Sweep!", 27 February 2012.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/team/1Jamp7bLWIzUQWIN PBLeagues, Datis Girls team profile and tournament history.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/team/1Jamp7bLWIzUQWIN PBLeagues, "Datis Girls", official international tournament history.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/p/DAfUvRFoJCc/ Iranian National Paintball League, third-round results for 1403, 28 September 2024. Persian.]
# [https://www.balatarin.com/permlink/2012/2/16/2928559 Balatarin, "Iranian Women's Paintball Players", report on the national women's final, 16 February 2012 (Persian).]
# [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO897O4iART/ Datis Paintball Team, "Overall champions 2024", published 23 September 2025. Persian and English.]
# [https://telegram.me/s/shahabpaintballpark?after=1204 Shahab Paintball Park, PFA women's mechanical tournament results, 1397 (2018), official Telegram archive (Persian).]
# [https://www.bbc.com/persian/seventhday/story/2007/02/printable/070204_bs_paintball BBC Persian, "Paintball", interviews with Babak Esmaeili and Behnaz Foroutan, 4 February 2007. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/s/isfahanpaintball?before=231 Isfahan Paintball Committee, women's national championship results and Artemis team information, January–February 2019, official Telegram archive (Persian).]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20120205034603/http://www.paintball.ir:80/اخبار/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/18/--.aspx Iran Paintball Association, women's league participation conditions, 9 Azar 1390, archived 5 February 2012. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/s/tehranpaintball?before=400 Tehran Paintball Committee, PFA women's tournament announcements and results, 1398 (2019–2020), official Telegram archive (Persian).]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20120119102022/http://www.paintball.ir:80/اخبار/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26/---.aspx Iran Paintball Association, appointment of the national women's paintball committee head, archived 19 January 2012. Persian.]
# [https://avayedarya.ir/category/news/page/123/ Avaye Darya, "Singo Elite Hormozgan Wins Women's Paintball Club League", 30 December 2023 (Persian).]
# [https://eclipsehq.blogspot.com/2012/02/datis-make-it-clean-sweep.html Planet Eclipse, "Datis make it a clean sweep!", 27 February 2012.]
# [https://paintball-iran.com/ Paintball Iran, national women's premier division standings, 1404 (2025), and outstanding female player records for 1403 (Persian).]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20120524051426/http://www.paintball.ir:80/اخبار/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/55/-----1391.aspx Iran Paintball Association, first women's league round of 1391, held 17 May 2012, archived 24 May 2012. Persian.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20130814170012/http://www.paintball.ir:80/اخبار/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/86/-----1392--.aspx Iran Paintball Association, Isfahan provincial amateur competition results, July 2013, archived 14 August 2013. Persian.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20140407051005/http://www.paintball.ir:80/اخبار/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/134/-1393-----.aspx Iran Paintball Association, women's competition programme for 1393, archived 7 April 2014. Persian.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20140423030206/http://www.paintball.ir:80/اخبار/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/142/----29-1393.aspx Iran Paintball Association, opening women's professional competition results, 18 April 2014, archived 23 April 2014. Persian.]
# [https://www.yjc.ir/fa/amp/news/5506636 Young Journalists Club, interview with Hamid Nikpour, 20 February 2016. Persian.]
# [https://www.yjc.ir/fa/amp/news/5558392 Young Journalists Club, interview with Leila Niyam, 8 April 2016. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/ferdowsi_sport/184 Ferdowsi University of Mashhad sports channel, female students' paintball competition report notice, 1 January 2017. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/ferdowsi_sport/574 Ferdowsi University of Mashhad sports channel, women's paintball podium groups, 28 December 2017. Persian.]
# [https://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news/425561/نتایج-دو-لیگ-حرفه-ای-کشوری Hamshahri, "Results of two national professional leagues", 16 December 2018. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/s/pfamedia?before=306 PFA Media, second IWPL event identification and podium captions, posts 302–305, 1 December 2018. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/s/pfaleague?before=60 PFA Paintball League, women's second-round results, event held 27 July 2018. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/s/pfaleague?before=100 PFA Paintball League, women's third-round results, event held 28 September 2018. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/s/pfaleague?before=240 PFA Paintball League, women's final-round results and overall standings for 1397, event held 25 January 2019. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/s/pfaleague?before=300 PFA Paintball League, opening national women's round of 1398, event held 26 July 2019. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/pfaleague/456 PFA Paintball League, women's national round-four mechanical results, event held 6 February 2020, published 18 February 2020. Persian.]
# [https://t.me/pfaleague/471 PFA Paintball League, women's national round-four electronic results, event held 6 February 2020, published 18 February 2020. Persian.]
# [https://www.irib-news.ir/fa/news/4103623/قهرمانی-نماینده-هرمزگان-در-لیگ-پینت-بال-بانوان-کشور IRIB News Agency, "Hormozgan representative wins the national women's paintball league", 27 December 2023. Persian.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/p/DM8ZkoLop9g/ Datis Paintball Team, recruitment notice for Tehran, Shemiranat and women's squads, 4 August 2025. Persian.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQHp-wFCIXz/ Datis Paintball Team, Datis Ladies national competition victory announcement, 22 October 2025. Persian.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQKUBsKiMM0/ Datis Paintball Team, Asal Arab-Baraghi, second-round national competition MVP, 23 October 2025. Persian.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcL-oiTIckM/ Datis Paintball Team, women's national championship footage from Rasht, published August 2026. Persian.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/datispaintballteam/reel/Dd3Qf-QoqO9/ Datis Paintball Team, Zahra Afzali player profile, September 2026. Persian and English.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/datispaintballteam/reel/DeLxl_EoBZy/ Datis Paintball Team, Sarvenaz Komasi player profile, October 2026. Persian and English.]
# [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPuF4xNCPmi/ Datis Paintball Team, Pardis Farnezhad, number 07 of Datis Ladies, October 2025. Persian.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/team/roster/rdqqRMXeX0mOhjjs PBLeagues, Datis Girls at NAZA World Cup Asia Paintball 2013, preliminary match results, 16–17 November 2013.]


== External links ==
== External links ==


* [https://paintball-iran.com/ Iranian national paintball results]
* [https://t.me/s/pfaleague PFA Paintball League public archive]
* [https://pbleagues.com/team/1Jamp7bLWIzUQWIN Datis Girls on PBLeagues]
* [https://t.me/s/pfamedia PFA Media public archive]
* [https://t.me/s/isfahanpaintball Isfahan Paintball Committee archive]
* [https://www.instagram.com/irannationalpaintballleague/ Iranian national league on Instagram]
* [https://t.me/s/tehranpaintball Tehran Paintball Committee archive]
* [https://www.instagram.com/datispaintballteam/ Datis organisation on Instagram]
* [https://pbleagues.com/team/1Jamp7bLWIzUQWIN Datis Girls tournament history on PBLeagues]


[[Category:Women's paintball]]
[[Category:Women's paintball]]
[[Category:Iranian paintball history]]
[[Category:Paintball in Iran]]
[[Category:Paintball in Iran]]
[[Category:Asian paintball]]
[[Category:2000s in Iranian paintball]]
[[Category:Paintball history]]
[[Category:2010s in Iranian paintball]]
[[Category:2020s in Iranian paintball]]

Latest revision as of 04:03, 3 November 2026

Women's paintball in Iran includes women's participation in recreational paintball, domestic leagues, national championships and international tournaments. A women's team was documented in published photographs in 2005, and the Iran Paintball Association recorded the opening round of a national women's league in December 2011.[1][2]

Domestic competition has included team and individual events using mechanical and electronic markers. Internationally, Datis Girls competed in Division 3 at Paintball World Cup Asia in 2012 and 2013. National league records and team publications document women's competition and player development during the 2020s.[3][4][5]

History

[edit]

Early participation

[edit]

On 5 October 2005, The Iranian published a photographic feature entitled "Women's paintball team in Iran", credited to Hamid Nikpour. Its publication documents organised women's participation but does not establish the team's founding date.[1]

On 4 February 2007, BBC Persian published an interview featuring Babak Esmaeili and Behnaz Foroutan, identified respectively as men's and women's paintball team captains. Foroutan described taking up paintball after encountering it through her husband. The interview explicitly stated that women's competitions were being held in Iran.[6]

National league, 2011–2012

[edit]

The Iran Paintball Association published women's league entry conditions in November 2011. These required team registration, identification cards and compliance with INPL Division 2 rules. The rules reference did not place the women's teams within the men's second-division standings.[7]

The association's results identify Babolsar, Mazandaran Province, as the host of the first women's round, held alongside the second men's round from 14 to 16 December 2011. Datis finished first, Javidan second and the host team Roham Babolsar third.[2]

An association announcement in December 2011 appointed Leila Niyam to lead the national women's paintball committee and credited her involvement in launching the women's league.[8]

On 27 February 2012, Planet Eclipse reported that Datis Girls had won the women's cup and been crowned champions for the Iranian calendar year 1390. The report described an INPL event involving 26 teams across three divisions, including a dedicated women's bracket. The total covered the combined event rather than the women's competition alone.[9]

On 17 May 2012, the opening women's league round of 1391 took place in Tehran. Seven teams represented Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Isfahan and East Azerbaijan provinces. Datis Alborz won, followed by Javidan Tehran and Titan Qazvin.[10]

Provincial and three-player competition, 2013–2014

[edit]

An Isfahan provincial amateur event at Saital in July 2013 included five women's teams alongside nine men's teams. Tandis won the women's competition.[11]

For 1393, the association announced a women's programme using three players on the field, with three reserves permitted and three rounds planned under INPL rules.[12]

The opening event took place in Karaj on 18 April 2014 with six teams. Ariaman One won, followed by Datis, Ariaman Two, Amertat, Adrenaline and Griffin.[13]

Organisation and university participation, 2016–2017

[edit]

Contemporary interviews describe difficulties in organising women's competition. In February 2016, Hamid Nikpour told the Young Journalists Club that the association had not managed to organise women's competition that year, citing venue and participation difficulties. In April, women's official Leila Niyam discussed domestic activity but identified weak coordination in attending competitions as a problem.[14][15]

University records document a separate strand of participation. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad's sports channel published a notice linking to a female students' paintball competition report in January 2017. In December, it published women's podium groups from its public-sport festival, listing five players in each of the top three groups.[16][17]

IWPL and Paintball for All

[edit]

Electronic competition

[edit]

A Hamshahri report published on 16 December 2018 identified the second event of the national women's league using the initials IWPL. It distinguished that competition from Paintball for All (PFA), with electronic and mechanical events reported separately.[18]

The electronic three-player placings were Datis first, Griffin second, Ariaman third and Kartal fourth.[18]

Original PFA Media posts published on 1 December 2018 identify the second IWPL event as an electronic-marker competition and independently confirm the top three.[19]

Mechanical competition

[edit]

PFA also organised women's mechanical-marker competitions in team and individual formats.

At the second women's round, held on 27 July 2018, Shahab One won the mechanical three-player competition ahead of Shahab Three and Shahab Two. Raheleh Hajian won the individual competition, followed by Mahdieh Darkhah and Mobina Pourmousa.[20]

At the third round on 28 September 2018, Shahab One again won the three-player competition, followed by Shahab Three and Shahab Four. A separate two-player competition placed Shahab Three first, Shahab One second and Shahab Two third.[21]

The fifth and final round took place on 25 January 2019 and also served as the women's national championship in the mechanical class. Six three-player teams and 21 individual competitors represented Tehran, Golestan, Khorasan Razavi and Isfahan provinces.[22]

Shahab Golestan won the final-round team competition, followed by Shahid Nikpasand vocational school and Shahab One. Raheleh Hajian won the individual event, followed by Mozhdeh Taghipour and Zohreh Alimohammadi.[22]

The overall league standings across five rounds differed from the final-round results:[22]

Position Three-player mechanical team Individual mechanical player
1st Shahab One Raheleh Hajian
2nd Shahab Three Mahdieh Darkhah
3rd Shahab Two Mahsa Moradi

These were PFA mechanical season standings, rather than an IWPL electronic championship table.[22]

Competition in 1398

[edit]

The opening national women's PFA round of 1398 took place on 26 July 2019 at Takhti Stadium, Tehran. Shahab One won the mechanical three-player competition ahead of Shahab Three and Shahab Two. Raheleh Hajian won the individual mechanical event, followed by Mahdieh Darkhah and Fatemeh Fahim.[23]

At the fourth national round on 6 February 2020, also at Takhti Stadium, the team podiums were:[24][25]

Position Mechanical three-player Electronic three-player
1st Shahab Datis Tehran
2nd Hyrcania One Datis Shemiranat
3rd Hyrcania Two Number One

Raheleh Hajian won the individual mechanical competition, followed by Hanieh Abedi and Maryam Kordi. Pardis Farnezhad won the individual electronic competition, followed by Mozhdeh Bashiri and Nahid Kelishadi.[24][25]

Competition in the 2020s

[edit]

National league in 2023

[edit]

On 27 December 2023, Bandar Abbas hosted the fourth round of the women's electronic three-player league, with six teams competing. IRIB reported Singo Elite of Hormozgan as league champion with 377 points.[26]

Position Team Points
1st Singo Elite 377
2nd Belona, Rasht 315
3rd Singo Persian Gulf 215

National league in 2024

[edit]

The third national league round of 1403 took place in Mashhad from 3 to 6 Mehr 1403 (24–27 September 2024). The organiser reported five women's teams and sixteen men's teams at the combined event.[4]

Datis Tehran won the women's professional electronic competition, followed by Persian Gulf Tehran and Spad Mashhad.[4]

In a retrospective post published on 23 September 2025, the Datis organisation described its women's squad as "Overall champions 2024". The caption attributes the achievement to 2024 rather than its publication year, but does not provide a complete season table or points total.[5]

Recruitment and competition in 2025

[edit]

An August 2025 announcement sought players for the Datis women's squad alongside Datis Tehran and Datis Shemiranat. It scheduled an online theory assessment followed by practical trials at the Sang Ahan Bafq paintball academy in Yazd Province.[27]

On 22 October 2025, the organisation announced another national competition victory for its women's team, using the name Datis Ladies. The caption identified Milock as the supporter of that event.[28]

A subsequent post named Asal Arab-Baraghi, number 86, as the most valuable player of the second round of national competition. The announcement was published on 23 October 2025.[29]

Documented players and activity in 2026

[edit]

The Datis organisation continued publishing material about its women players during 2026.

An August post identified footage of Sepideh and Nazanin playing at a national championship held in Rasht. The caption specifies the location but does not establish the event's year or exact playing dates.[30]

Individual profiles identified Zahra Afzali, number 18, and Sarvenaz Komasi, number 09.[31][32]

An earlier Datis Ladies profile identified Pardis Farnezhad, number 07, and described her participation in paintball as extending back to the Iranian year 1389 (2010–2011). This is an account of the player's experience rather than the team's founding date.[33]

International competition

[edit]

Datis Girls, associated with the wider Datis organisation, competed at consecutive World Cup Asia tournaments in Langkawi, Malaysia.[3][9]

PBLeagues records the following results:[3]

Dates Tournament Division Result
9–11 November 2012 Paintball World Cup Asia Division 3 44th of 46
15–17 November 2013 NAZA Paintball World Cup Asia Division 3 25th of 54

The team's 2013 preliminary results included victories against Raging Phoenix, Hellion Reborn and Leopard, and defeats against Hooligans and A.C.E.S. These appearances were in Division 3 rather than a separate women's tournament division.[34]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. The Iranian, "Women's paintball team in Iran", photographs by Hamid Nikpour, 5 October 2005.
  2. Iran Paintball Association, national league results for Azar 1390, archived 19 January 2012. Persian.
  3. PBLeagues, Datis Girls team profile and tournament history.
  4. Iranian National Paintball League, third-round results for 1403, 28 September 2024. Persian.
  5. Datis Paintball Team, "Overall champions 2024", published 23 September 2025. Persian and English.
  6. BBC Persian, "Paintball", interviews with Babak Esmaeili and Behnaz Foroutan, 4 February 2007. Persian.
  7. Iran Paintball Association, women's league participation conditions, 9 Azar 1390, archived 5 February 2012. Persian.
  8. Iran Paintball Association, appointment of the national women's paintball committee head, archived 19 January 2012. Persian.
  9. Planet Eclipse, "Datis make it a clean sweep!", 27 February 2012.
  10. Iran Paintball Association, first women's league round of 1391, held 17 May 2012, archived 24 May 2012. Persian.
  11. Iran Paintball Association, Isfahan provincial amateur competition results, July 2013, archived 14 August 2013. Persian.
  12. Iran Paintball Association, women's competition programme for 1393, archived 7 April 2014. Persian.
  13. Iran Paintball Association, opening women's professional competition results, 18 April 2014, archived 23 April 2014. Persian.
  14. Young Journalists Club, interview with Hamid Nikpour, 20 February 2016. Persian.
  15. Young Journalists Club, interview with Leila Niyam, 8 April 2016. Persian.
  16. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad sports channel, female students' paintball competition report notice, 1 January 2017. Persian.
  17. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad sports channel, women's paintball podium groups, 28 December 2017. Persian.
  18. Hamshahri, "Results of two national professional leagues", 16 December 2018. Persian.
  19. PFA Media, second IWPL event identification and podium captions, posts 302–305, 1 December 2018. Persian.
  20. PFA Paintball League, women's second-round results, event held 27 July 2018. Persian.
  21. PFA Paintball League, women's third-round results, event held 28 September 2018. Persian.
  22. PFA Paintball League, women's final-round results and overall standings for 1397, event held 25 January 2019. Persian.
  23. PFA Paintball League, opening national women's round of 1398, event held 26 July 2019. Persian.
  24. PFA Paintball League, women's national round-four mechanical results, event held 6 February 2020, published 18 February 2020. Persian.
  25. PFA Paintball League, women's national round-four electronic results, event held 6 February 2020, published 18 February 2020. Persian.
  26. IRIB News Agency, "Hormozgan representative wins the national women's paintball league", 27 December 2023. Persian.
  27. Datis Paintball Team, recruitment notice for Tehran, Shemiranat and women's squads, 4 August 2025. Persian.
  28. Datis Paintball Team, Datis Ladies national competition victory announcement, 22 October 2025. Persian.
  29. Datis Paintball Team, Asal Arab-Baraghi, second-round national competition MVP, 23 October 2025. Persian.
  30. Datis Paintball Team, women's national championship footage from Rasht, published August 2026. Persian.
  31. Datis Paintball Team, Zahra Afzali player profile, September 2026. Persian and English.
  32. Datis Paintball Team, Sarvenaz Komasi player profile, October 2026. Persian and English.
  33. Datis Paintball Team, Pardis Farnezhad, number 07 of Datis Ladies, October 2025. Persian.
  34. PBLeagues, Datis Girls at NAZA World Cup Asia Paintball 2013, preliminary match results, 16–17 November 2013.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://www.wikipaintball.com/index.php?title=Women%27s_paintball_in_Iran&oldid=4899"