By Gail Wood
Crouched as they walked, Sam Moore and Demar Holtz sneak quietly through the corn maze, listening for a possible attack.
Suddenly, Moore, hidden in the stall cornstalks, hears the pop of gun fire behind him. He turns to return fire. But a paintball hits him in the plastic shield covering his mouth. He can taste paint.
“It’s intense,” Moore said. “They got me right in the mouth. It’s real bitter.”
For eight hours Saturday, Rutledge Corn Maze in Tumwater was transformed into a paintball battleground. Over 50 people ages 7 to 52 were split into two teams and competed. Sam Altman, 13, competed on the same team as his dad, two brothers and his brother’s girlfriend.
“It’s fun,” Altman said during a lunch break. “My older brother is the best shot.”
For five years, Ryan Rutledge and John Heater have teamed up to put on a paintball competition at Rutledge Corn Maze. Rutledge’s uncle now owns about 21 acres of cornfield near the Tumwater airport. While attending a corn maze convention in Wisconsin 10 years ago, Rutledge first heard of the idea of paintball tournaments.
“I thought it would be one way to capture attention and be one more cool thing to do on the corn maze,” Rutledge said.
The first competition was Dec. 10 and following battles are Dec. 26 and Jan. 7.
The theme of this year’s competition is twilight breaking dawn, following the popular twilight movie series of vampire versus werewolves.
“The vampires and the wolves are doing battle for control of the Rutledge Valley,” Heater said.
Heater has owned the Elma paintball business for 20 years. He owns over 200 paintball guns. Contestants who own their own guns, protective mask and paintball canisters can entered the competition for just $15. Those needing equipment pay $35.
The game is a cross between laser tag, capture the flag and simply being a moving target. The objective is to raise your team flag at designated forts throughout the corn maze.
The small paintball pellets travel at 300 feet per second and splatter on impact. The impact stings, often leaving a red welt.
“It hurts bad enough that you don’t want to get hit,” Holtz said. “But it doesn’t hurt bad enough That you don’t want to get out there.”
The risk of getting popped with a paintball pellet brings an adrenaline rush and a sense of suspense as you sneak through the corn maze. No one wants to get popped.
“That’s part of the fun,” Holtz said. “It gets your heart going.”
The worst injury Heater has seen in his 22 years in the paintball game business is a sprained ankle. Contestants are required to wear protective head gear.
But being cautious and vigilant are the best ways to keep from getting popped in a paintball gun battle.
At the same moment, Holtz and Moore are the hunted and the hunter. Since paintball guns are accurate for about 200 feet, contestants are targets for a long range. That adds to the adrenaline drama of the competition.
The range of the rifles also changes strategy.
“At first, I thought you just ran out there all wild the first time I did it,” Moore said. “But I got blasted three times in the first 15 minutes. It’s all about creep and slow and hide in the corn maze from the little kids. The little kids have an advantage because they’re so small.”
The risk of getting popped is all part of the excitement.
“It definitely stings, but it goes away real quick,” Holtz said.
There’s a variety of paintball guns. It goes from the standard single shot to machine gun to sniper. An electric machine gun shoots 15 to 18 paintballs per second.
Tim Hedgpeth was one of several referees at Saturday’s battle. He patrols the corn maze to ensure everyone is following the rules.
“You want to make sure everyone is having a good time and not getting shot too much,” Hedgpeth said.
He makes sure everyone is following the 10-foot surrender rule. Anyone who spots an opponent and is within 10 feet has to shout, “Surrender or engage.” Shots that close have a little more sting to it.
“It’s a good rule,” Holtz said. “You don’t want someone all bruised up and not wanting to play.”
After getting shot, contestants have to leave the game for 20 minutes.
When Hedgpeth walks through the corn field, he walks with his hand raised and occasionally says, “Referee.” It’s to ensure he doesn’t get shot. But he does.
“If you’re a referee in paintball, you better expect to get shot,” Hedgpeth said. “I completely get it. You come around a corner and there’s a guy standing there. His reaction is pull the trigger. You put yourself in the line of fire. You get used to it.”
In addition to teaming up with Rutledge, Heater also hosts every year at his Elma park “D-Day,” which is held in June.
Paintball at Rutledge Corn Maze
Location: 302 93rd Ave, Tumwater
Event dates; Dec. 10, Dec. 26, Jan. 7
Costs: $15 for contestants with equipment, $35 for those who need to rent equipment
Times: Gates open at 8 a.m.; registration at 8:15 a.m.; 9:15 a.m. players assigned to team; 9:45 a.m. battle begins; 12:30 p.m. break for ½ hour lunch; 1 p.m. battle resumes; final prize toss, scores totaled and winner announced.
Website: http://www.emeraldcityhobbies.com/events/twilight/
