In the weeks leading up to the event, all indications from the chatter online signaled a great deal of excitement and anticipation within the local stock-class scene. The only real concern seemed to be the isolated heatwave that was forecast for both days. For once, the meteorologists were right.
Players who were camping began arriving on Friday night to set up and begin celebrating the joys of stock class early. Overnight Mother Nature provided some light precipitation that tapered off around 8:00am on Saturday morning. While the rest of the players rolled in, so did the heat and humidity. We were happy to see a robust turn out with around 36 players on hand for the Wild West Scenario games.
Familiar teams like The Oddballz and Ragnastock were in attendance, as well as our old friend Derek, who made the long-distance drive up from Florida. We also had a large number of first time attendees - some of whom had never played stock-class before, and some who had never attended an all stock-class event. One first timer to Slim's stock-class events, Alexander, made the long-distance drive down from Montreal, Canada and was seen smiling the ENTIRE WEEKEND!
Despite the rising temps, the Wild West scenarios went off without a hitch. The improvements made by Adventure Games to the Roanoke field were great. The field is massive and provided lots of room to prowl about and ambush foes.
Thanks to our friend Adam "Atom Jayyy" for his 3D printed "hammer" and "bell" which were used as props to end the games on both "The Alamo" and "Boot Hill". Adam also generously donated a ton of commemorative 3D printed spent 12-gram bottle openers for all the attendees to enjoy.
The High Noon Quick Draw contest continued the tradition of being a hilarious display of fun, courage, and skill. Congrats to Brian L. for dominating the competition and taking home the winner's plaque and patch!
The new chef (Jeff) at Snack Shot created a slew of delicious offerings specifically for our event. The mac & cheese chimichanga was a big hit, as was the BBQ pulled pork and chicken! During lunch, players were relieved to see that Adventure Games had not only erected a 10' X 10' misting tent to beat the heat, but also supplied our entire group with a large cooler filled with FREE iced bottled water!
The rest of the day was filled with more Wild West objectives and concluded with the usual single shot games on the speed ball field. By 5pm, the players were ready to chill out with some cold ones at the Snack Shot.
On Saturday night the players who were camping gathered in the Snack Shot area to enjoy tasty food and cold beverages. The laser tag games commenced and were as fun as they always are. One new tradition was created that night... Stock-Class Poker® where empty tubes are worth 25 cents, full 12-grams are worth 50 cents and a full tube of paint is worth $1. I can't remember who the big winner was, but then again, I don't remember too much from that night anyhow. I do remember having an awesome time! The 10PM Toast brought the evening to a close as the remaining players raised their tubes (some clean, some not) in celebration of the greatest format paintball has ever seen! As usual, Aric and Adventure Games/Snack Shot sponsored this illustrious tradition, so many thanks to them for supplying all the libations.
Sunday morning arrived with a lot of new players. While I don't have the exact numbers yet, we seemed to have around 42 to 45 players for Sunday's games. During the reading of the morning rules, Aric (the owner of Adventure Games) awarded me with the New Hampshire Paintball Alliance Player Acknowledgement Coin. Apparently, this was the first coin to ever be awarded and was given to me for all the work I have done promoting stock-class play. I am truly honored, humbled, and thankful to receive this recognition.
While the temperature rose faster than they did on Saturday, the heat did not slow down any of the action. The standard capture-the-flag format games proved as challenging as ever, as players advanced aggressively to skillfully eliminate opponents. The flag capture patches that were given out had been hard-earned. The games continued until late afternoon. By then most everybody was exhausted and preparing for the long drives home.
I want to thank Aric at Adventure Games for being the best partner an event organizer could ask for. Aric's unbridled generosity and unwavering commitment to always improving his fields and his business helps make all my events the best they can be. I simply couldn't provide the level of enjoyment of these events without his help and support. I also want to thank Chef Jeff, John Piper (field Manager) and all of the refs and staff at Adventure Games/Snack Shot for all their efforts.
Lastly, I want to thank ALL the players who came out on both days despite the heat to participate in this event. Thank you for making the drive, thank you for playing with honor and integrity, and thank you for contributing to the ref's tips! Basically, thank you for keeping it stock-classy! It is an amazing feeling to be able to organize an event that is enjoyed by so many. I'm so glad you guys and gals make the journey to these events and have as much fun as you do. I'm glad we all enjoyed this adventure and I look forward to seeing you at the next one (Arctic's Summer Stockstice on June 18th at MSG Paintball in Middletown, NY)!
Regards,
Slim
Comment