READY FOR THEIR CLOSEUP..
The Muskoka Mercenaries show off their new GoPro cameras, which they won during the Canadian Xtreme Paintball League's Richmond Cup tournament in Ottawa on Sunday, September 19. The team placed third overall, and will be using their new toys to train and document their exploits in the sport. (Submitted photo)
A local paintball team has scored a new way to document their exploits after an award-winning weekend in Ottawa.
Placing third overall in the Canadian Extreme Paintball League’s (CXBL) Richmond Cup finals on Sunday, Sept. 16, each of the Muskoka Mercenaries’ five members took home a GoPro portable sports camera as prizes. The Richmond Cup is the CXBL’s final event of the year.
Back Country Paintball owner Tony Armstrong, whose son Aaron coaches the team, said the Mercenaries will be using the waterproof and shockproof cameras to help them prepare for their next season.
“They were hugging them when I saw them last,” he said. “They’re going to fasten them to their guns, so now when they practice or play they’ll have some video footage right there.”
The team, which consists of Connor Miller, Billy Carr, Garrett McCoppen, Devin Baldwin and Steven Sly, was formed in September 2011, and has been competing in the CXBL since April. The team competed in the league’s CX4 division.
“The CX4 division is divided into three brackets, and the top bracket from the central and eastern divisions face off, as well as the second bracket central and eastern teams and third bracket teams,” said Armstrong.
The team was ranked seventh out of 15 teams in the mid-season, but pulled ahead during a decisive tournament in Kitchener during the summer.
“This event was the Mercenaries’ time to shine, and they did,” said Armstrong. “The Muskoka Mercs bumped the first-place team out of the finals for that event, moving the Mercs to a higher seed position.”
At Richmond Cup in Ottawa this past weekend, the team pulled through preliminary games with a 6:4 win/loss ratio before securing their third-place finish.
“For their age and their experience, I’m pretty impressed,” said Armstrong.