English
The idea of a players' association to unite paintball players in Germany has been floating around for many years. With the VDP (Association of German Paintball Players), such an association has now become a reality. We spoke with Felix Müller, the VDP's chairman, to find out what the association is all about and how he intends to support the interests of players in Germany in the future.
Many active paintballers know Felix Müller as one of the most successful tournament players of the past decades. He has played with various teams – including Ramstein Instinct – at the highest national and international levels. But he is also no stranger to competitions outside of sports, such as big games. In addition to his playing career, Felix has also organized his own tournaments and tournament series, including the CORE format. He therefore brings a wealth of experience in paintball and knows the many facets of this sport. He has been actively involved in paintball with heart and passion for 25 years – today in his new role as Chairman of the VDP (Association of German Paintballers). We are delighted to welcome him as an interview partner!
PBS Magazine: Felix, thank you for taking the time. First, please tell us a little about the association. How did you come up with the idea of founding the VDP right now, and what is the association's goal?
Felix Müller: Hello Karl, nice to be here. The basic idea arose 2-3 years ago, when the situation in paintball Germany was getting increasingly worse. Each region had its own league, hardly anyone spoke to each other anymore, and everywhere there was scorched earth. This situation gave rise to the UGPL, which brought leagues like the ICS, XSeries, and CORE together. Furthermore, we collaborated with DPL playing fields like Schwalmstadt and the PB Stadium. This group subsequently represented the majority of German tournament paintball players. The decisive impetus for the founding of the VDP ultimately came from discussions with the European Association, which requested the establishment of a German association. Our goal remains to bring all stakeholders of German paintball to the table and advance the sport together. A particularly important point for us is the German national team. In our view, this team must once again be open to all players and administered neutrally – here, too, we see ourselves as having a responsibility.
PBS Magazine: Can you be a bit more specific? What are the top three issues the association is currently working on?
Felix Müller: We've formed a task group to address the question of how to get more players back on the paintball fields. There are various approaches here – from youth development and collaborations with MagFed, Woodland Paintball, and SoftAir, to reactivating former players who have left the sport for various reasons. Another key topic is the representation of all of Paintball Germany in the European Association.
The third major point is the work on the association itself: This includes member recruitment, cooperation with the dealer association, working groups within the German Shooting Federation (DSB), and other structural issues. We're still in the early stages, but there's a lot to do.
PBS Magazine: Please tell us a little more about the association. Who is behind it, or who is currently part of the VDP?
Felix Müller: Our goal, of course, is for all of paintball Germany to eventually support the association. Besides me, the following people are currently on the executive board: Slava (Green Monkey Kings, Stuttgart), Mandy (Belldonna, Herne), Thomas (Braindead, Hanover), Matthias (Kidz Paintball Berlin Project), Dimi (Wetzlar), and Maiwi (representative of the dealer association). This means we have representatives from almost every region of Germany and from various areas of the sport: players, field operators, team captains, club chairmen, league organizers, media representatives, youth work—and, of course, Mandy as the women's representative.
PBS Magazine: Why should I join the VDP as a paintball player? What are the specific benefits, and how do I become a member?
Felix Müller: The golden question! Basically, there are two types of benefits: direct benefits for the members themselves and indirect benefits for the entire paintball sport.
A concrete example of a direct benefit:
Through the collaboration with the PRIME Series, members receive discounts on ID cards for 2025. However, this only applies to players in leagues such as the ICS or OGC, as they do not use an ID card system.
Indirectly, players benefit from many other measures, such as:
It's especially important to me to emphasize absolute transparency here: All VDP income and expenditures are publicly available on our website. Every euro goes exclusively to the development of the German paintball sport. Our goal is to improve paintball together with you!
This was our interview with Felix Müller from the VDP. We hope you were able to gain an insight into the association's work and now better understand what the Association of German Paintballers stands for. If you need further information, please visit the VDP website. There you will find current information and direct contacts. We would like to thank Felix and wish him continued success in building the association's structures. Of course, we will continue to follow this topic for you and inform you about the progress of the association's work in due course!
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