RULES

Firing Modes-
Young Gunz-
Semi Auto Uncapped
(Unlimited rate of fire as long as the gun shoots one shot per trigger pull/release)

Division 5/Rookie-

PSP Ramping 12.5 Balls Per Second Capped

Gun Penalties-
If a player on said team is caught using a mode that is a faster rate of fire than their classification allows, said team will be given a negative 100 points for the the game where this team was caught.
The opposing team will receive a score of 100 points for that game.

Point System Format-
100 point system per game:

7 points for every player on the opposing team eliminated.
3 points for every player on such team not eliminated.
20 points if it pulls the center flag first.
50 points when the flag is hung in its opponents flag station.

Age Restriction/Classification-

Young Guns Division- All players in this division must not be ranked higher than Division 5 (APPA ID Ranking all players are required to sign up for- it is free) and must be between the ages of 10 and must be 15 prior to the season starting. If a player turns 16 after the first event date they will be allowed to play the rest of the season assuming they have already played an event that year while they were 15 years old. If the player has not played an event yet and is 16 years old, the player will be required to play in the other bracket as Division 5.

Division 5/Rookie- This division is open to all ages division and all players in this division must not be ranked higher than Division 5 with the exception of 1 Division 4 player per team.  Some national event playing experience is allowed based on your APPA ID level. What this means is your team must be ranked Division 5 or lower with the exception of only 1 player who can have a ranking of Division 4.

Game Start-

The Head Referee of each field will begin a game by giving a five second warning so that both teams are made aware the game will start in 5 seconds. The head referee will do this by saying 3, 2, 1, five seconds!

The start of a game will start when the head referee says GO, GO, GO!

Game Completion-

A game is completed once 1 of 3 things occur.

1. A flag is hung successfully* on a flag station.

2. The 5 Minute game time has expired.

3. All players on both teams are eliminated resulting in a tie game.

A successful game occurs when a player  hangs a flag on the opposing teams flag station and is checked by the referees. If this player is considered “clean” or unmarked with a paintball mark, the flag hang is successful and the game is completed.

Emergencies-

In case of an emergency all games will be stopped and temporarily postponed until the emergency is handled and the playing fields are safe for the games to re start.

Start Of The Game-

The start of the game will be signaled by Head Referee announcing the “Game will start in 5 seconds in 3, 2, 1, 5 Seconds”.

Prior to the 5 seconds count down ending, all players are required to touch and hold their barrel tips to the air up bunker at the starting gate.

If a player is not touching the starting gate at the start of the game, that player will be eliminated immediately.

Once the Head Referee has counted down roughly 5 seconds to himself, he will announce GO! GO! GO!

At this time the game timer of 5 minutes will start.

Clothing & Protection-

NO metal cleats will be allowed. NO exceptions.

Players can not wear anything that has the color orange or yellow on it.
This is to keep the color of the paintballs from blending in with the color of the gear being used.

All players will be required to wear long bottoms and long sleeved top.

Players are only allowed to wear 2 layers for the top.

Head gear will be limited at a maximum of 3 layers with no exceptionally padded items on the head.

1 Pair of Knee Pads and 1 pair of arm pads are allowed per player.

All players are required to wear paintball industry produced facial protection.

Scoring-

All games will be based on a 100 point system.

Points are totaled at the end of each game.

After each game one player from each team is required to sign off the score sheet checking to make sure the points you are received are correct.

If a team is scheduled to play a team that does not show up to the tournament, the teams game score for that game will be determined after all other preliminary games of said team have been completed. The score will be determined by using the average of all other preliminary games of that team.

How to score points-

Points are given for each player eliminated by each team.

Points are awarded for each player alive at the end of each game.

Points are awarded to the team who grabs and controls the flag first and only first. Only 1 team will receive these points per game.

Points are awarded when one of the teams competing hangs the flag on the opposing teams flag station.

If a team hangs the flag on the wrong flag station, for example grabbing the flag and hanging it on your own flag station, the other team will receive the points for the flag hang.

A flag hang will not immediately be considered successful or clean until the flag carrier is checked for hits. Only once a flag carrier is announced ‘clean” will the points for a flag hang be given.

If a flag carrier is not “clean” after hanging the flag the flag carrier will be considered eliminated and one of two things will occur. Depending on where the flag hanger is eliminated will determine if a penalty will be assessed.

Option 1- The player will be eliminated and will be required to stand in place holding the flag out away from their body so the flag is clearly visible to all players. This is all that will occur if the player is marked in a not obvious  position on that players body or equipment.

Option 2- The player will be eliminated and will be required to stand in place holding the flag out away from their body so the flag is clearly visible to all players. If the player is found to be eliminated in an obvious place on that players body or equipment a playing on penalty will be assessed. This will eliminate an additional player of the flag carriers team.

A more detailed explanation of penalties can be found below.

Flag Carrier-

If the flag carrier is eliminated while holding the flag, this player will be required to stand straight up and hold the flag out away from the body so that all other players can clearly see the flag.

This flag carrier can not hide the flag from the opposing team at any point in the game.

Penalties-

A player will receive a 1 for 1 Penalty  if any of the following but not limited to occur-

1 for 1 (Minor) Penalty-

-If a player is marked and continues to play paintball with an “Obvious” hit, this player will be eliminated and an additional team mate will be eliminated.

An obvious hit includes anywhere on the body and equipment EXCEPT for the paintball harness and pods.

2 for 1 (Major) Penalty-

A player will receive a 2 for 1 Penalty  if any of the following but not limited to occur-

If a player is marked and continues to play paintball then attempts to remove the paintball mark, this player will be eliminated and two additional team mates will be eliminated.

End of Game Penalty-

PENDNG

Paintballs
The Houston Paintball League is an event only tournament series. This means that the players are only allowed to use paintballs provided by the HPL.

If a team is caught using outside paintballs, said team will be disqualified from the tournament. There won’t be any refunds.
Permanent Ban-

A player will be permanently banned if any of the following but not limited to occur-

A player attempts to fight on the tournament premises.

A player steals gear or property that is not theirs.

A player intentionally attempts to injure or harm a player or referee.

Playing Field Boundaries-
The playing fields will only have an out of bounds on each side of the field.
The fields will not have a back side out of bounds.
If a player goes out of bounds during game play, said player will be eliminated.
Restricted Colors-
Players and Teams participating in the Houston Paintball League will not be allowed to wear the colors Orange or Yellow.