The images included here are from Barrie Paintball of Ontario, Canada, (top) and Yankee Paintball of CT (above) respectively.

The other day it occurred to me that a lot of players haven't played hills, or at least have left their hill playing days far behind.

Hills play different than flat terrain, way different.  Take a look at that picture above.  Bad enough to break cover and see a wall of bunkers facing you, but that?  You're not just going to have to climb that hill.  You're going to have to RUN! up that hill.

Or crawl.  Or get some teammates to rain a hail of paint down on that ridge line and hope the other team doesn't notice that you're actually sneaking a couple of players up that hill somewhere else.

Hills play way differently than flat terrain and you know this if you've ever spent any serious playing time on them.

They can also do wonders for your team in terms of stamina; one of the smartest things I ever did was take my new team to a home field that was nothing BUT hills and ravines, knolls, mountains, even.  By the end of the first season, that team could run flat out for four days - and we only needed three for tournaments.

Anyone who has ever played one of the West Point Big Games will know what I'm talking about.  "Come on, we have to assault that hill.  Again!  We need all the bodies we can get!"

Heck.  Anyone who has ever played at a field in the northeast knows hills.  And they probably hate them with a passion normally reserved for things best left unmentioned.  Well, that's not exactly true.  Hate is usually reserved for players going UP hill, while something approaching love is often felt by those on the high ground.

Going up and down hills is how most people think of hills (if they think of them at all), whereas playing across hills is a completely  different animal.  Those familiar with this will know exactly what I'm talking about.  You've got those players at the top pushing the advance, while a line of teammates works lower down, and usually in a relieved position, an angled backwards line of players across the hillside.

Hills can get messy.  I've seen teams literally flip ends of the field while playing them.

And there's nothing else on the field like a downhill charge.

Hills are just plain fun, a tactically challenging addition to the game you'll find at woodsball events - like the WCPL.

Coming Soon:  The New York Classic at Paintball Sports New York.  (Yes, they have hills.  Ravines too!)  June 9, 10, 11.

Also coming soon, a chance to play in some foreign woods - the WCPL's UK Classic!

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