“It’s a little different than most of the other state games,” Copeland said. “Basketball, we find a basketball court. Soccer, we find a soccer field. Pikes Peak, wow, we have Pikes Peak. We don’t have the things we need for paintball here.”
– Click here for the full weekend schedule
Paintball, along with stand-up paddle boarding and air hockey, are the three new sports that were added to this year’s Rocky Mountain State Games, which will take place this weekend and next at various locations across Colorado Springs.
The events, according to their commissioners, will add diversity to the already inclusive games.
Copeland, air hockey commissioner Chris Lee and SUP commissioner Randi Hitchcock were contacted by the RMSG coordinators late last year about organizing events. The organization process was more difficult for some.
Where Copeland had to import all of his materials and improvise a playing field because his paintball company is in the process of moving locations, Hitchcock said her own process was relatively easy.
“It’s pretty simple because it’s just a real quick and easy race,” she said. “They’ll do two laps around [Prospect Lake] and if we get a lot of participants, we’ll do heats, like a track meet.”
Likewise, Lee said the RMSG coordinators helped him with the organization process.
“It was really more of a partnership,” he said.
The common denominator between the three sports, however, is the amount of diversity they add to the games. Air hockey and stand-up paddle boarding in particular, allow an opportunity for people of all ages and athletic abilities to compete.
“It’s really a sport for everyone,” Lee said. “Big, small, men, women, young, old, everyone can play.”
All three are also up-and-coming sports, and putting them in the games will help increase their popularity, according to Copeland.
For relatively unheard of sports, Lee said it was relatively easy to recruit competitors. His air hockey competition, for example, features nearly 40 professional players in the pro division, including one of the sport’s best young players, a 16-year-old from Texas.
“He could be the youngest champion the sport has ever seen,” Lee said.
OPENING CEREMONIES
Saturday in downtown Colorado Springs
– Four-Time Olympian Lauryn Williams will light the torch
– Free and open to the public
– There will be live music, taekwondo demonstrations, a beer garden and an autograph session with Broncos cheerleaders
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Paintball, on the other hand, was slightly more difficult. Copeland said he utilized social media to promote the event.
While several professional teams signed up, many said if the event runs smoothly this year, they’ll come next year.
“A lot of teams sit back and see how the first event goes, kind of like ‘let’s test it out,'” Copeland said. “Next year, it’ll be way bigger.”
One thing that all three can agree on, however, is that their sports are perfect for the state games.
“There’s somewhat of an extreme side to the Rocky Mountain State Games that brings them out differently than just basketball or football or soccer, traditional team sports,” Copeland said. “Paintball falls into that category of extreme.”
