Paintballing in Wicklow
Paintball.ie sat down with Michael of Special Ops Paintball Wicklow for a quick chat about their business and the world of Paintball near Dublin.
So, Michael, how long are you in Wicklow?
We founded Special Ops about 4 years ago here at the site of a previous paintball venue. We undertook some major renovations since then and we’ve expanded the game-zone and base camp areas extensively. We feel its a great place to come to as its only minutes from the M50 and is overlooking the beautiful Vartry reservoir.
Speaking of renovations, they are impressive, what did you do?
Well, firstly we cleared a great deal of the overgrown forest but given our eco-friendly approach we reused nearly all of it. The reclaimed wood formed the basis of new structures and trenches which our players love and anything we couldn’t use structurally, we used as cladding for the various forts and game zones. We expanded most of the game zone sizes, almost doubling them on average.
We noticed you have solar panels here, what is that used for?
We’re conscience we’re in the heart of Wicklow here, overlooked by Djouce and 5 mins from Roundwood on the road to Glendalough. We want to preserve this natural beauty and one of our favorite compliments is that people don’t even know we are so close by! We use solar to power our office and the air compressors for our paintball guns. We occasionally need a generator but I don’t think we’ve run it in weeks. Although Ireland is renowned for its rain, the rain has never ruined a paintball game thanks to our forested cover and the sun tops up the batteries more than adequentely when it does appear. We’re almost carbon neutral at this point.
You pride yourself on your game zones, whats your favorite?
I’m a particular fan of the fortress game zone. Its a great game as you start off in dense undergrowth but your cover becomes less and less as your approach. Of course, you could use the trenches but you’re overlooked from the sniper tower and the team within. Flanking is possible but it leaves you very exposed to enemy fire. A real challenge and it gets even better for night games with smoke, lighting and lasers.
Sounds fantastic, how often do you run a night game?
We run them mainly during the end of the summer as we approach autumn and then until early winter. They are announced on our facebook page and their is often a wait list, so we encourage people to like our page and drop us a message if they want first refusal, its not to be missed. We can do games upon request as well.
Whats the one piece of advice you would give to a player?
Have a chat with your paintball marshal with any doubts you might have. We hear it all, how many paintballs do we need, how do I defog my mask, the list is endless. They’re always happy to help and are a wealth of information. It might be your groups first or hundreth time to play, but there is always something to learn so don’t be afraid to ask.
Whats Special Ops plans for the future?
We’re always expanding. We recently opened a new game zone with two double decker buses and its only set for more expansion this summer. Besides this, we have expanded our activities to camping and bushcraft skills with Heath our resident expert. If paintball isn’t exciting enough for you, we can show you how to throw a long handled axe or two.
Seriously?
Of course, check our facebook page to see Padraig Harrington take a swing.
We will, thanks Michael!
Fancy a game @ Special Ops? You can find them on Paintball.ie
