Carolina Productions hosts paintball, capture the flag hybrid in Russell House
The Russell House ballroom became a war zone Wednesday afternoon as students took a midweek pause from class to duke it out in “What the Puck?” — a hybrid of paintball and capture the flag involving air pucks and giant bases.
Carolina Productions organized the game, which ran from 4 to 10 p.m. in order to accommodate students’ class schedules. Players lined up by the dozens to take a turn on the floor, where teams of six suited up and fired air pucks at each other.
The game began with a mutual advance and ended when a team’s designated runner, backed by five other armed comrades, reached the other team’s goal while trying to avoid open fire from the opposition. Getting hit with an air puck would send a player back to the team’s starting line. Most games ended within five minutes, but the thrill was enough to keep some players coming back.
“It was intense, but our team won in under a minute,” third-year international business student Jorge Villamizar-Escobar said as he emerged sweating from the war zone. “It definitely got my blood pumping.”
CP Special Programs Coordinator Kallie Linsberg said students had been trickling in throughout the day to enjoy the fun and “take out their anger” between classes and meetings.
First-year political science student Anthony Sullivan’s team lasted about four minutes in their round. Sullivan’s team did not walk away from the game victorious, but it was still the highlight of his day
“Sadly, we were defeated, but it was a great release,” Sullivan said. “I’m feeling relaxed and pumped to go do three hours of homework.”