Huntington Beach 2007

Huntington Beach - for the last 5 years this event has kicked off the NPPL Super Seven Series and it never disappoints. Especially for a winter-bound Canadian who waits with anticipation for the event so that he can escape the cold weather and soak up a few days of sunshine and the best paintball action in the world. The layout at the event this year flowed well and was crowned with an absolutely huge set of grandstands packed to capacity. From those grandstands thousands of paintball enthusiasts watched as Edmonton Impact, making their debut in the Pro ranks, smashed their way into the finals and took second place.

Monkey with a Gun launched their latest movie, Heroes for a Day, at the event with a screening at the Lido theatre in Newport Beach. The audience was filled with a who's who of paintball celebrities and hundreds of fans were blown away by this new film from the company that brought you Push and Cereal Killerz. The film is a full-length documetary that traces the rise of team XSV to the top of the sport we all love. Badlands is proud to have been a part of this project and to have supported this great film. Get yourself a copy today, you won't be disappointed. Click here.

Mike Smith of Badlands Winnipeg (left, standing) attended the event and spent time working with WDP factory tech Frazer Colley (left sitting), and Angel Force Master Techs Eric and Sean Bratten (below and below left respectively). The new Angel 1 was everywhere to be seen at the event and continued to perform well. Many Angel owners had their software updated to v. 2.2 and went on to shoot tons of paint at ridiculously fast rates of fire.

JT Sports is back in force at the NPPL events. They've stepped it up this year with a full trailer showcasing the ViewLoader, JT, and WGP brands. Of course, Dynasty figures importantly in their marketing and the boys in blue were present signing posters and t-shirts for their fans. Make sure to check the Badlands website for the exciting new products JT Sports has in the works for later this year.

Zach Yachimec and Josh Davey of Edmonton Impact on their way to the Angel field.

Bart Yachimec, owner of Edmonton Impact, going over game plans.

Above - Both the U.S. Army and the Marines were at the event recruiting.

Left - Mike from Badlands Winnipeg spent two days at the Eclipse tech tent working on player's Egos so they could go out and win!

Above - A view of center court from the VIP area of the grandstands through a hole in the netting.

Left - Rocky Cagnoni. Kids, don't stay up all night and for heaven's sake, keep away from the Bushmills!

Above left and right - Travis Lemanski of team Infamous in the VIP. Things got breezy and cold during the finals and it paid to bundle up to keep warm.

Team Impact takes second place in the Pro Division! What a great bunch of games. In their first event as Pros, Edmonton Impact took the event by storm, fighting for first place against Oakland Blast. The Canadians really shook things up and were the talk of the tournament. As I waited to watch the finals from the VIP, the Pro players with me all felt that Impact was the favorite to win. Their first game against Blast ended in a draw and unfortunately they lost the next two giving them an impressive second place finish.

The guys on Impact have worked hard and have proven time and time again that they are worthy of playing at the highest level of the sport. Badlands is proud to sponsor Impact, the only all Canadian Pro team, and we're doubly proud that our boys from Canada are making the podium in a sport dominated by US teams. This is the team to watch this year, no doot aboot it!