RANKIN INLET
Folks who don't mind a little rough-and-tumble action have a new adrenalin-pumping sport to play in Rankin Inlet.

Nauya Fredlund and Mello Sigurdson, right, are ready to give the new paint ball park a go in Rankin Inlet. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

The new Rankin Inlet Paintball Park conducted its initial test run earlier this month.

The facility is owned by Nauya Fredlund and Mellow Sigurdson, and managed by David Fredlund and Gary Sigurdson.

David said they decided to hold a "soft opening" on the weekend of June 13 and 14 to gauge initial response to the attraction.

He said 17 people came out to give the park a try.

"We're, really, waiting for the weather to get nicer and then we hope to be open in the evenings and on the weekends," said David.

"Having a paintball facility in Rankin has been talked about quite a bit by quite a few people over the years, but nobody ever got one up and running.

"We decided it's a different kind of sport and we'd like to see how it goes in Rankin, so we're taking a shot."

The new Rankin facility - the only one in Nunavut and the most Northerly paintball park in Canada - has the equipment to offer one-on-one play up to two teams of a dozen players each squaring off.

Paintball can be played a variety of ways, such as team elimination, last person standing or capture the flag.

David said it will take a little time to determine which forms of the sport prove to be most popular in Rankin.

He said the type of game being played determines how a player is eliminated.

"In some games, if you're shot, you have to go back and tag a certain spot to be able to rejoin the action.

"In other games, once you take a direct hit you're out, while, in others, you have to call yourself out because you can't stand there any longer."

Being hit with one of the paintballs can sting, but protective gear is supplied to prevent injuries.

Players receive face masks, neck guards, chest protectors and gloves before going into action.

David said the adrenalin you get while playing the sport helps ease the pain of being hit in the arm or leg.

He said the worst that can happen from the paintballs is a bruise, if you're hit point-blank in an unprotected area.

"We're starting out with a fee of $20 to rent the equipment, which comes with a gun, mask, and the other safety equipment I mentioned.

"You also have to purchase the paintballs, which we're basically selling at cost, which is $40 for a bag of 500 or $120 for a case of 2,000.

"In normal games, you can fire an unlimited number of shots, but we may host special events on Canada Day or Nunavut Day where everyone only gets 10 shots, or something along those lines.

"The guns, themselves, are semi-automatics (fires a paintball every time you pull the trigger) and each clip, or hopper, holds 200 paintballs."

David said he's encouraged by what he saw during the trial run.

He said everyone who gave it a try seemed to enjoy themselves very much.

"They all wanted to know if we were going to be open the next day, so that was a pretty good sign.

"Everyone definitely had a lot of fun, and said they were going to bring their friends along next time.

"So, hopefully, that will get us off to a good start and we'll go from there."

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