February 9th, 2013 marked the first official Marcello Margott Clinic at one of Southern California’s finest paintball parks, Total Combat Paintball (TCP) in Chula Vista, California.  Here’s what Marcello of the Los Angeles Ironmen had to say after the event:

“Well, its safe to say my first clinic of the year was a success. Had the chance to meet some amazing field owners that in my opinion, are exactly what this sport needs if we want to grow. Diana J Ocampo and her business partner Julio at Total Combat Paintball are true ambassadors of our sport. Their mission is to generate as much new interest in paintball as possible and I fully support them and their field. It was a pleasure working with people who truly care about the growth of paintball as a community as much as I do. I can’t wait to play there again.

The morning started with greetings and small talk while we all geared up. All the kids seemed very excited, and very happy to be there playing paintball, I always love that. It’s amazing to see all of this talent around the globe, visualizing what could one day emerge from the raw talent of some of my students.

One of the kids was 12 years old, his name was Andrew and I can’t say enough about him. He reminded me of myself when I was 12, totally submerged into the sport of paintball and its fascinating journeys during those moments on the battle field. He was fearless and always wanted to be the first to go in any of my drill exercises. Another kid was recovering from a knee surgery to have a unexpected tumor removed. His enthusiasm and dedication kept a smile on my face all day as he put in the maximum amount of effort in each and every lesson. I don’t want to leave anyone out, because all of the kids were more than awesome, but these two really stood out.

After going through a series of drills, exercises, and situational lessons I had a chance to play some points with everyone for fun to finish out the day. We all just mixed in and played games street ball style. I had a blast, it was definitely one of my more memorable clinics just due to the fact that I was surrounded by such good people. I look forward to working with TCP and playing at their field in the future.” – Marcello Margott #33

Marcello fans can find him on Instagram @MarcelloMargott and on Facebook.com/MarcelloMargott

LA Ironmen fans should follow @TEAMIronmen on Instagram and check out Facebook.com/LosAngelesIronmen

For more info on Total Combat Paintball visit www.TotalCombatPaintball.com & Like them on Facebook.com/TotalCombatPaintball

Our Ukranian brothers HULK submitted a nice story about their recent birthday celebration and annual paintball tournament they host for the local media in Ukraine…

February 2, 2013

“Ukrainian paintball Champion Team HULK team celebrated their fourth birthday in style by hosting Hulk Cup – a traditional event for the Ukrainian media. 16 teams from TV, print and online media, radio listeners of AutoRadio and stars of Ukrainian show business all competed under the supervision of the best paintball players in Ukraine.

We gave both amateurs and newcomers the opportunity to experience the senses and the adrenaline, which are so familiar to professional players coming to the major international competitions.
In addition to media professionals, the team gave an unforgettable holiday to kids from  two orphanages, inviting them to the celebration and an opportunity to gain new experiences, which are always a delight, both in children and in adults.

Birthday congratulations were not only from the stars of show business, but from officials: Glushchenko Sergey, first deputy chairman of the State Service of Youth and Sport, Shevlyak Ilya – President of Sports Committee of Ukraine, Vadim Sysyuk – Deputy Chairman of the State Service of Youth and Sport and President of the Federation of paintball Ukraine – Dichek Alexander.
Tournament results are as follows:
Media Cup
1st place: “Ukraine” TV channel
2nd place: 1 +1 TV channel
3rd place: korrespondent.net
4-e place: 2 +2 TV channel
Children also were not without rewards, in addition to trophies for 1 st to 4 th place medals were awarded in the categories “Flash”, “Sniper”, etc. No one is left without a prize! And for us it was the best reward joy that shone the eyes of children. We will continue to provide all possible assistance to children’s centers.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to Autoradio Company, DJs – Igor Larin and Kate Solovieva and especially to Valentin Reznichenko for their continued assistance and support in the organization of our holiday!

About the team:

The “Hulk” – a three-time champion of Ukraine, the two-time Ukrainian Cup winner, gold medalist of the European Grand Tour series in the master category, a bronze medalist in the European Millennium Series 1st Division, silver and bronze medal winner of the PSP World Cup.

Check them out on Facebook here – www.Facebook.com/HulkPaintballTeam

Dye Europe is proud to announce that Team RMG Bratislava out of Slovakia has officially joined the Dye Family!  A charismatic group of pros and up-and-coming players, the 2013 RMG squad is looking to make a statement this year in the SPL division of the Millennium Series and in Division 1 of the OPLX Series.

RMG will be shooting the full line of Dye products, including Dye CG and Proto Advantage Paintballs, brand new DM13 markers, i4 Goggle systems, Rotor loaders, and a unique blend of 2013 Tactical and C13 playing gear.

Check out RMG on Facebook here – www.facebook.com/TeamRMG 

Follow Dye on Instagram – @DYEPaintball // @DYETactical

www.Millennium-Series.com

www.Paintball-liga.at

We are about to enter a new era of professional paintball…  Are you ready?  Here’s the latest from the PSP regarding their new Pro Divisions – Champions & Challengers:

[via PSPevents.com]  - “The level of talent in the PSP Professional Division is undisputedly the fiercest in the world.  Teams from all divisions train week in and out to ultimately one day become a Professional team in the PSP.  Actually making the advancement into Pro however, has historically been too large of a move for most teams to make. 

The PSP would like to change this by putting a system into place for fresh teams to move into an even stronger Pro League.  

The PSP Professional teams will compete against each other in the 2013 PSP Dallas Open.  The top 10 teams from that event will move on to PSP’s Event #2 and play in the newly established Champions Division.  They will perform on the main field for all the glory in front of thousands of fans watching from the PaintballAccess.com webcast and the PSP grandstands.

The other Pro teams from the Dallas Open will be enlisted in a new division known as the Challengers Division.  They will be joining other teams to be named at a later date.  The group of teams in the Challengers Divisions will use the same format and rules, but play on a secondary Professional field during the prelims and will play their final match on the main field for all their fans to watch.  Starting after Event #2, the top two teams from the Challengers Division in each event will move up and compete in the PSP Champions Division for the following event.  They will be replacing the bottom 2 finishers from the previous event’s Champions Division, who will instead perform in the Challengers Division. 

This system of constant circulation will continue event by event for seasons to come.  It is now more important than ever for teams to give their all in each match – as they no longer have just one goal of winning the event – but must perform at their top in every game to make sure they do not suffer the consequence of being knocked out of the Champions Division.  Likewise, the Challengers Division teams at each event have the option to perform and move up for the following event. 

The fight begins March 14, 2013 at the PSP Dallas Open.  Team Registration for all divisions opens soon at PSPevents.com.” 

The HULK know exactly what it takes to make the most out of an off-season… recruit the best and start an extensive three month training program!

In Ukraine, competitive paintball teams are few and far between.  If you’ve got the resources, the best way to improve is to hire a “big gun” to train the team on how to reach their full potential as paintball players.  Who better then Sergey Solnishkov of Art Chaos Moscow.

“Sergey is one of the best players in the world, and HULK is proud to work with him!” – Team HULK

Expect a new and improved HULK team this April for Millennium Series Event #1.  If you live nearby, be sure to check out Hulk Cup, a team birthday celebration and celebrity filled event coming this February 2nd, 2013 to Club Hyperion, Kiev!