PROMOTERS

Bud Orr began his active involvement in paintball in the 1980s and is still active today, because, as he says - "You don't turn your back on family, I have always strived to make paintball safer and more fun for all. I still think there are exciting things to come in our great industry."

Bud believes that the WCPL League is the best thing that has happened to the resurgence of Classic Paintball in this generation.

His  involvement began when his daughter Lynne took him to play beginning his long career in the sport. 

And it is a long and important career that contributed to some of the basic technologies used in the game today: Bud invented the first barrel plug, developed the first bulk loader (the Ammo box), developed the first complete head helmet goggle system. 

Building on those early inventions, In the mid-'80s, Bud Orr started WGP (Worr Game Products, Inc.), inventing the Sniper, the Ranger, and a few other early pump markers. 

The Sniper, of course, later evolved into the legendary Autococker marker, which is still dominating the playing fields of Tournament Paintball today. 

Bud Orr's company went on to manufacture many other paintball markers & accessories, such as barrels specifically threaded to match the Autococker and other manufacturer's markers. 

In addition to Bud's iconic product line, he was also involved in getting safety rules passed, helping to establish it as a safe sport to play. 

No stranger to competitive play, Bud was also contributed to the creation of Arena ball at Sat Cong Village, which later evolved into Speed Ball. 

In the late '80s, Bud Orr was part of a legal team included Jessica Sparks, Russell Maynard, and several others that defeated a law that would have made Paintball illegal in New Jersey. He would also become the only member of the ASTM safety board to be asked to return as a member, despite a 1 year term limit.

There is no doubt that Bud Orr is a seminal, foundational member of our sport, and he supports and plays in the WCPL.

Bud Orr is a 2017 Paintball Hall of Fame inductee.

Fred Shultz stated, “In 1984 my partner and I had a large construction company, and his birthday was coming up and the crew and I wanted to get him something cool. One of the guys that worked for us suggested a Splatmaster paintball marker which I had no idea what the Splatmaster was, but I felt that would make a great gift. It wasn’t long before I realized that I also had to get in on the fun, so I purchased one for myself and by then everyone on the crew had to have one. I was hooked.” 

Fred stated that he started playing on a vacant lot that quickly grew into 45 players. The property became too small and Fred and his partner ended up relocating to a new location that could accommodate. At that time Fred started "Battle Action Games". The new location continued to grow and some of the players decided to form a team called Ironmen and he subsequently formed his own team named Constant Pursuit. 

Fred and his team played mostly local tournaments until they heard about Jim Lively's 15 man in Tennessee known as “The Masters”. 

Shortly after this event, Fred found a new way to create funding for charities and created events and played in charity events everywhere they had one. Fred stated that at one of the events he was approached by Randi Kamiya, the editor for APG. "He had seen me at other charity events and asked who my sponsors were." Fred told him that he had no sponsors and did not mind paying his own way support and play the game and the charities. To his surprise, a picture of him was used as a cover shot (one of many) which launched him into a career in the paintball industry as sponsorships came his way to support his efforts. 

Fred also says that he had the privilege to get sponsored by Tim Schloss, creator and distributor of the Tigerstripe design and brand products, shortly after, Dan Colby of then Air America, and now, Immortal Air, Ross Alexander of line SI, and eventually, Tom Kaye Airgun Designs, and many more supported him with sponsorships. 

Fred’s popularity increased to new heights and his main goal was to “build this sport as big as he could.” Since then, Fred had a number 1 show on ESPN2 shot on the actual New York St. on the Disney lot. The number one show on MTV, Roadrules, put out a video "The Fun Of Paintball With Fred Schultz " that sold almost a million copies and helped bring people into paintball with such great players like Tim Montressor. Fred stated that he has been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to help build our sport, and he feels blessed to have met and developed great friendships with some of the greatest people that have been his friends and supporters for so long.

Fred stated, “Now I want the WCPL to continue to build paintball always thinking of the players. I have had many more achievements in my years involved with paintball, but I think you get the picture. The group that I am with now are some of the greatest people in the sport and I am so proud to be building this new organization with them. Play Hard, Play Safe, Play Fair. Mr.Fred”

In 1984, Fred Schultz was partners in a construction company.  He and hhis crew wanted to get something special for his partner's birthday.  Someone suggested getting him a Splatmaster paintball gun.

The sport being relatively young at that time, Fred was unaware of what a Splatmaster was, but upon being told, “ I felt that would make a great gift. It wasn’t long before I realized that I also had to get in on the fun, so I purchased one for myself.”

Pretty soon “everyone on the crew had to have one. I was hooked”, and they all began playing games in a vacant lot.  They quickly outgrew that location and Fred opened up “Battle Action Games”.  As play at Battle Action Games grew, teams began to form.  One of them was the Ironmen.  Fred put together Constant Pursuit.

Playing mostly locally, Fred and Constant Pursuit would make their national debut at the “Masters” 15 player woodsball tournament hosted in Tennessee by Jim Lively.

During that time, Fred discovered that paintball made an excellent fund raiser for charities and Fred began appearing at and hosting charity paintball events.  It was at one such event that he made the acquaintance of the editor of APG Magazine – Randy Kamiya – who had seen Fred at other charity events inquired about Fred's sponsors.  He responded that he didn't mind paying his own way and did not then have any sponsors.

A few months later, Fred was surprised to find himself on the cover of APG magazine (the first of numerous cover appearances), which helped to launch his paintball career.  Shortly thereafter, sponsorships began to flood in, including support from Tim Schloss, creator and distributor of the Tigerstripe camouflage design; Dan Colby of what was then Air America, and is now, Immortal Air; Ross Alexander of line SI (the Bushmaster paintball gun), and eventually, Tom Kaye of Airgun Designs and the Automag and Worr Game Products Autococker, among many others.

It was during this time that Fred decided that his primary goal would be to “build this sport as big as he could”. And to that end, Fred has helped create and has appeared on the number 1 show on ESPN2 shot on the actual New York St. on the Disney lot, the number one show on MTV - Roadrules, put out a video "The Fun Of Paintball With Fred Schultz " that sold almost a million copies and helped bring people like Tim Montressor into the game. 

Fred feels that he has been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to help build our sport, and he feels blessed to have met and developed great friendships with some of the greatest people that have been his friends and supporters for so long.

“Now I want the WCPL to continue to build paintball, always thinking of the players. I have had many more achievements in my years involved with paintball, but I think you get the picture. The group that I am with now are some of the greatest people in the sport and I am so proud to be building this new organization with them. Play Hard, Play Safe, Play Fair.” Mr. Fred

Fred Schultz hosts the Flag Pull Productions podcast Mr. Fred and Friends every Tuesday evening on Streamyard.

Fred Schultz is a 2020 Paintball Hall of Fame Inductee.

Flag Pull Productions Podcast Mr. Fred and Friends

Kevin Donaldson "I first learned about Paintball in early 1983 after reading a story about War Games in the New York Times on the train to work in Manhattan. Shortly after (April 1983), my childhood buddy, Jim Mcguffug, organized a group of us to go play Paintball at Jerry Braun's field Survival NY, and at the time, we were fortunate to have a field nearby since there were only 3 in the world. I was hooked!" 

Kevin started playing once a month but quickly began playing every weekend, becoming a referee at Jerry's paintball field. Kevin joined a new team in NY, known as the Master Blasters in 1986 and began to compete in tournaments at that time.

In 1988, Kevin opened his first of several Paintball retail and Pro shops located at 3 area fields under the name of Action Sports Outfitters, A.S.O.

In 1989, Jerry Braun and the Master Blasters team began work on what would become known as the World Cup. Together they created one of the most popular and well-attended events of all time. 

In 1992, working off of the World Cup's success, Kevin created the ASO Players Cup, introducing Bring-Your-Own-Paint (BYOP) tournaments for the first time in the sport. With low entry fees, world-class officiating, and generous prize packages. 

This event was the test for what he believed would be the future of tournament paintball and the beginning steps for what would become a new national league, knows as the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL). 

After the ASO Cup's success, Kevin, along with Steve Davidson and Jim Anderson began calling the captains of traveling tournament teams, asking them to attend a meeting that would create a league that would truly be for the teams and the players, and the NPPL was born. 

By then, Kevin had been a player, a team captain, an innovator of products, a referee, a tournament promoter, a store owner, and just about everything related to the business of Paintball for almost 38 years. He had also participated and competed in every style and format in the competitive formats from 15 player to today's newest formats. 

In 1992, Kevin believed that the industry and promoters needed to do a better job of providing players with the best possible events to make their experience the best it could be, ie good fields, great referees, reasonable fees and prizes, and just an overall good time for all involved but mostly something truly for the player, the customer, the heart of the game. Because of it, he decided to join up once again with the people he believed are like-minded with the way he believed tournament Paintball should be. 

Kevin stated, “This newly formed group includes some of the finest people that the sport has ever seen. The WCPL is committed to providing top-level events for top-level players. I am excited to see if we can get it right together this time for the better of our sport.” 

Kevin Donaldson is a 2018 Paintball Hall of Fame Inductee.

Paintball Sports New York

Jerry Braun played his first paintball game in the Summer of 1982, (the second formal game ever played).

Jerry, like many others, said "I was hooked immediately." As an adult, it brought back memories of himself at age 3 playing the popular kids game "hide and seek," where he would hide under the porch, and felt that the world would end if his friends found him. 

Jerry began new friendships with "all the original players," and became fast friends with Bob Gurnsey, one of the sport's originators. Soon thereafter, he started a field that continues to operate to this day as the longest-continuously operating paintball field in the world. 

In 1987, Jerry hosted the Air Pistol Open Paintball Tournament, which ultimately morphed into the Paintball World Cup that we know today. During that time, Jerry watched the Master Blasters come to fruition as a powerhouse team, making Paintball Sports NY its home. 

Jerry has stated that the Master Blasters was the best judging team in paintball, and he feels that they are continuing this tradition to this day. 

In 1991, Jerry televised the first major 15 player tournament, followed this debut through the decades to 2006, hosting at least 22 major television competitions, mostly produced on ESPN and ESPN2. 

Jerry was also involved in the formation of the NPPL and ran four of their five major tournaments in the first year (voluntarily taking over events dropped by other promoters).

In 1989, Jerry began publishing Paintball Sports Magazine, which would publish monthly through 2009, featuring articles and event coverage that made their own contributions to the game.

Like many from that era, Jerry also established a gun manufacturing business, which was eventually sold to Dye. 

During these years, Jerry also sponsored many teams such as the Master Blasters, Ground Zero, New York Xtreme, etc. 

Jerry's has said that his greatest joy is the friendships he has made throughout his paintball journey, and feels fortunate to have maintained those friendships with so many of them to this day. For Jerry, keeping such dear friends is his greatest paintball achievement. 

Jerry also stated that he genuinely wants to ensure that the WCPL gives the participants everything they deserve.

“This is not about the money, this is about giving back to the sport that I love.” - Jerry Braun

Jerry Braun is a 2021 Paintball Hall of Fame Inductee.

Paintball Sports New York

Marcus was first introduced to paintball in the late ’80s by his brother, who took him to a game that he instantly fell in love with. 

Marcus took the route many have by marshaling/refereeing and slowly forming a team. 

Originally passionate about boxing, which he maintains to this day, Marcus discovered that paintball was another form of outwitting your opponent and gaining dominance, making the game a perfect match for him.

People know Marcus as the captain of the UK Predators, the first non-US based team to win an international event in the United States.

He has participated throughout the world in many competitive paintball events, including the US, where he and his team were challenged with some of the best and most challenging matches to date. 

Marcus has said that the main reason for being part of the WCPL is that he was actively promoting and pushing for the resurgence of the classic series for the last handful of years, or as he calls it, “a truly classic series” in Europe. 

Marcus is excited to be part of the WCPL organization for many reasons, including his friendships with the members of this league. 

In addition, Marcus believes that the WCPL league members all have one important element in common: the goal to grow the classic formats that were played 20 to 30 years ago. Marcus is committed to develop and growth of paintball in the UK and other countries across the world. 

Holmbush Paintball

Martin's paintball career started like many others. In 1986, Martin went out to play in a game organized by his work colleagues, and as he stated, “I never looked back.” 

Work days with friends turned into walk-on days, walk-on days into the site team, etc. 

Martin ran a paintball shop for four years and a field for five years before his career took him in another direction. However, Martin continued to play regularly during that time.

Martin and Marcus met at a field and became terrific friends and are now business partners. 

Martin has covered paintball for media groups from the Millennium circuit, NPPL, NXL, and more European events and gained an appreciation of what it takes to run a quality event. 

Both Martin and Marcus started their Classic Paintball Events in the UK to expose new players to the Classic Format. 

Since then, interest has grown with the success of their events and they decided to scale that resurgence worldwide, working with the newly formed WCPL league. 

Martin dedicates a lot of his free time to ensure that Marcus and his events are well organized and focused on giving the players the best experience that he can offer. 

Holmbush Paintball

Tim Schloss started playing paintball with a friendly game with his wife, Terry, and a group of friends in 1984. That was 37 years ago, and his passion for the game has never wavered. 

His first tournament was in the fall of 1984. Tim would be inducted into the Paintball Hall Of Fame in 2021. 

During his competitive years, Tim participated in over 50 world-class level tournaments. He was also part of Fred Schultz's Disney Special on ESPN with members of Constant Pursuit and several industry leaders. 

In 1992 Tim changed the look of paintball with V-neck pullovers and baggy pants for paintball clothing. 

Tim also holds the copyright on the Tiger Stripe pattern marketed worldwide that became so popular amongst many teams in the classic paintball format. 

Tim has been involved in all aspects of the paintball industry: manufacturer, player, promoter, and store owner. He is still active today as the field owner of Gateway Paintball Park in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Tim's future goal is to join others as passionate as he is and grow the classic paintball movement that has taken over the nation in the past few years. 

Tim is excited to host the last event of the WCPL season at his beautiful facility. 

Tim Schloss is a 2021 Paintball Hall of Fame Inductee.

William Bailey, also known as "Bill," started playing paintball in 1984. Within a month, Bill began working in the paintball industry for a local field. Nine months later, he decided that he wanted to grow the sport and started his very own field naming it after himself - Bailey's Battlefield. 

Bill worked on developing and distributing Worrpaint, Karnage paintballs, and his own brand of paintballs, known as Battleline. 

Bill also wrote numerous paintball-related articles for the very popular APG Magazine. 

In competitive events, Bill has played for teams the Woodland Warriors, Bruise Brothers, and Missouri Magic. 

He participated in most of Randy Baxter's and Jim's lively events, all national scale tournaments. 

Bill competed in major tournaments until 2000, and after that, he re-focused on creating and playing in big games. He created the WW2 Tour of Duty Big Game Series and ran that for about ten years with games like Panzer Attack, Monte Cassino, and Raid on Brunaval. 

Bill also created a popular FaceBook page known as "Old School Paintball Guns." 

Bill also owns "The Old School Paintball Guns Museum" and travels and displays some of the rarest paintball guns created from the '80s to today. 

Bill currently works with Fred Schultz with his podcast Fred and Friends.

Bill's goal is to be an ambassador of the game in every playing format.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldschoolpaintballguns

In 1990 Dan founded Air America. The company was the catalyst for air delivery systems & set standards for HPA that the industry still follows today. 

Dan developed a long line of “firsts” that have withstood the test of time. Those include the 1st expansion chamber-Whispering Death, the Uni-Reg Air System, the Apocalypse on/off, the Raptor 3000k, the Raptor Rex 4500k, the removable bottle – the Armageddon, the dovetail mount, the cradle mount, the Genesis booster pump, the tool-free regulator – Abbadon, the titanium regulator – Prophesy, a noise enhancement device – the Intimidator, both regulated & unregulated fill stations, & the Melee field regulator. 

Later,  the ORIGINAL GUERRILLA AIR company was formed, creating the Ambush regulator, the Assault regulator with auto shut-off (the 1st to be able to open without fully venting), the original Myth regulator which has the regulator in the bottle & which outshot everything on the market, & the rotating collar regulator. 

Today, Dan’s company is IMMORTAL AIR which has come full circle with its AURA & TELOS regulators, & has patented a one-piece spring pack & wrench flats. 

Air America was the beginning of a lifelong passion & commitment to the sport & its players. A  former United States Marine, Dan has operated paintball fields – currently Panhandle Paintball in Florida - as well as being a regular presence in and around events across the country.

Dan Colby is a 2017 Paintball Hall of Fame Inductee.

www.panhandlepaintball.com

Steve began playing paintball at Paintball Blitz, in Gurnee IL when he was 16 years old. That first day, he learned what the paintball community was like, and that is what hooked him. He  was about to leave before the last game of the day, because he had run out of paint, and Dan (Colby) himself took his rental, filled it with paint, and sent him back out to play the last game. That was the moment that Steve knew paintball was going to be his sport for life. 

Steve grew up in an overprotective household, so he had to sneak out to play, and hide his gear at a friends house until he left for college, where he still drove 4 hours on the weekends to play at Dan's field, before asking him for a job. Eventually, Steve was hired to work at Air America Weapon Systems, where he learned at the feet of the master how to build, diagnose, repair, and design High Pressure air regulators for everything from Paintball, to space travel. Steve stayed at Air America until the last day of the company, and transitioned to work at Guerrilla Air.

In the early 2000's, Steve was asked to be a moderator for PBNation as it was hitting it's height of popularity, and he moderated the Air Systems Forum. Most people knew him back then as P8ntballSteve, where he answered any question about air systems, regulators, regulations, laws concerning air systems, etc

To Steve, the game had changed by the late 2000's, and most paintball events had turned into a hyper-competitive atmosphere. It was no longer the community he had fallen in love with, and he left the mainstream of events, opting for those very few Scenario games a year, where the community was still like it had been before airball.

By 2017, Steve found myself a contractor for the military, and was moved from Northern Illinois, to Pensacola, FL, where he found more time in his life, and the itch to play more often returned, however the lack of paintball was very easy for him to see. At the time, the only field in the area was a club run in the owners backyard. Steve didn't expect much, but found that this small, local field, with only scuba tanks (and eventually a Genesis he donated to be able to get more usable fills) had the same feel of community as Paintball Blitz had had 20 years before. Steve was again hooked, and worked with other local fields as they started to open in the area, explaining the ins and outs of running a field, and maintaining all of the fields and equipment. In 2019, he was honored to be accepted as a member of B.o.B. White, and continue to travel to play big games with them, although not as often as he would have liked to. 

Then, in 2021, Dan Colby and Steve purchased one of the local fields, and Panhandle Paintball was born. They began Panhandle Paintball with one main goal for the field; they wanted the field to have the kind of community Paintball Blitz had had. The kind of field anyone could show up to play, and everyone is welcoming. Where everyone is willing to help each other, teach each other, share stories, and form real friendships. Steve is proud of Panhandle Paintball, proud of the local paintball community for exceeding this goal, and  proud to be part of the World Classic Paintball League, which strives to bring this kind of community back to those who were left behind when tournament paintball became fast paced.

www.PanhandlePaintball.com