The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Paintball Club sealed their third consecutive Midwest North Conference title on April 2, securing them a spot in the National Collegiate Paintball Association national championship tournament April 15-17 in Florida.

“The hard work paid off for us,” paintball president and senior building construction management major Matt Jones said. “We were able to bring home another gold medal.”

According to the club’s mission statement, the UW-Platteville Paintball Club gives students the opportunity to compete in an adrenaline-pumping sport within a safe and fun environment.

“You meet new people and you get to develop camaraderie amongst the others,” Jones said. “We’ve had no injuries this year, surprisingly enough paintball is one of the safest sports.”

Currently, the paintball club consists of 30 active members, 14 of which will be competing in the national championship. Jones and his team, including treasurer and sophomore industrial engineer major Anthony Jensen, are confident that they can take on the 50 or more teams in Florida for a chance at the NCPA National Championship title.

“It’s expensive,” Jensen said, “so you’re not going to drive down to Florida if you don’t think you can participate.”

“If you’re not thinking you can win the event, you’re not going to travel down there,” Jones added.

To help in the club’s succession, Director of Recreational Sports and Facilities Curt Fatzinger worked with the club to help them schedule practice time in campus facilities. The club practiced after hours in the Pioneer Athletic Center usually once a week. During practices, roster and professional paintballers, Will Mann and Eliot Weaver, helped returning and incoming members to develop stronger skills. Because Mann and Weaver are active members and the club has access to campus practice facilities, the Platteville Paintball Club progresses a lot faster than other colleges.

Fatzinger has been following the Platteville Paintball Club since their inception in 1998 and believes they have a good chance at winning their second national championship.

“[The Platteville Paintball Team] have been very successful. We have several clubs that are successful, but they have been very successful in the last 10 years,” Fatzinger said. “Paintball is an expensive sport, so that’s a reason that not everybody paintballs, but we are fortunate enough to have some very good paintballers here.”

The UW-Platteville Paintball Club will leave Thursday morning to travel approximately 21 hours to Kissimmee, Fl. to compete in the NCPA national championship hoping to end the 2015-16 season as national champions.

[email protected]