Over the weekend, the LSU paintball club will attend the National Collegiate Paintball Association’s National Championship at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.
Curt Colson, a microbiology graduate student and founder of the Paintball Club at LSU, said the paintball team is ranked 7th in the nation.
According to the National Collegiate Paintball Association Web site, the organization is a non-profit organization comprised of college paintball clubs and teams across the country. The NCPA facilitates the growth of college and high school paintball activity and national coordination among college and high school clubs and teams.
Although the team has been around for only three years, Colson said the team has been working hard for nationals.
Colson said the team practices new tactics and fundamentals every weekend at Paintball Command in Mandeville.
“If we see a team doing something and it is working, then we will try to form something against it,” Colson said.
Colson said he is excited about the team attending nationals.
“I didn’t expect for it to happen so quickly,” Colson said.
Colson said the team struggled the first few years to find people who could play at a competitive level.
“A new group of freshmen have stepped up this semester, and we’ve placed first in many tournaments,” Colson said.
Paul Brouillette, a construction management sophomore, said attending nationals will help people recognize paintball as a sport.
“If we are national champions, it will show that we have actually done something,” Brouillette said.
Colson said the team has proven itself against strong teams in its conference.
“As long as the conference keeps building up, we are going to be one of the teams to beat,” Colson said.