English
Also in 2022 we have a new series of articles for you in the issue. This time we are dealing with some of the most famous and traditional German paintball teams of recent years. We introduce you to the team and its players, their career and sporting successes. In this issue we have focused on the Ballistics Göttingen team. The guys from Göttingen are a colorful mix of old hands and young up-and-coming players and have just finished the DPL 1st Bundesliga with a strong 6th place. We met team captain Dustin Hauk for an interview and talked to him about the plans for this and the coming season.
The Ballistics Göttingen team has been around since 1996. It was founded under the name Paintball Sportverein Göttingen eV and has been active in paintball for over 25 years. Very few teams can say that about themselves these days.
After building their own club and team hall, which unfortunately had to be sold again in 2015, the plan was pursued from 2009 to become an integral part of the DPL. Since 2010, the responsibility of the team has been in the hands of Dustin Hauk, who has been trying to combine performance-oriented paintball with fun in the sport ever since.
PBS Magazine: Dustin, welcome to the interview and thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Let's start with the current season. How are you positioned as Team Ballistics this year?
Dustin Hauk: The entire team currently consists of around 40 active tournament players in different performance classes. Every year we compete with at least four squads in the DPL, all of whom play under the Ballistics Göttingen flag. We also try to bring new players into the scene year after year. For this we offer, among other things, attractive offers for newcomers. The main focus is always on offering paintball to as many people as possible at the best possible conditions. This is probably also the reason for our very low player turnover. We live by the hashtag #BGFAMILY . One of our recipes for success, which we have taken to heart for years, is the fair distribution of costs within the teams. In many teams with several squads, the youth teams have to help finance the teams in the higher leagues. – We do not have that! Everyone only pays exactly what they play. Above all, this fulfills the desire of many players for transparency and fairness and is very well received.
PBS Magazin: Thank you for these first insights. That sounds really simple and, above all, fair. As a new player, you are in good hands with you and have the opportunity to grow with the team in the different divisions in which you compete. You are currently part of the permanent squad of the DPL 1. Bundesliga for several years. How did you get there?
Dustin Hauk: Our first squad began its DPL success story after a rebuild in the 2011 season in the DPL Landesliga. At that time X-Ball Light was still played and the season was held in the Paintball Dome Helmstedt. A really great time. With the promotion to the regional league and the parallel entry into the XPSL 2nd Bundesliga in the following season 2012, the training workload and thus the level of play increased significantly. This meant that we could also play at the top of the regional league and direct promotion to the 3rd Bundesliga of the DPL was realised. It continued to be so successful in the years that followed. Always with focus and the big goal of playing at the top of the 1st Bundesliga at some point. After a tough but very good winter preparation in 2012/2013, the following season was one of the most successful in our team's history. This year we won the championship title in the DPL 3rd Bundesliga North/East and at the same time managed to get promoted to the XPSL 1st Bundesliga. Since 2014 we have been among the top 24 teams in the DPL. Of course, this was celebrated properly and provided even more motivation in the team.
PBS Magazine: Two big titles in one season, strong performance. Even if it's been a while, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you again! As we know today, it was far from over for you. How did the further ascent go up to the 1st Bundesliga?
Dustin Hauk: The 2nd Bundesliga is something else again. When we got there, our first goal was to hold the class. Suddenly the teams came from all over Germany and the level of play rose sharply compared to the 3rd Bundesliga. But that really motivated us even more and in the years that followed we gave our all in every training session and every matchday. Our commitment was finally rewarded with winning the DPL 2nd Bundesliga in the 2016 season and the resulting promotion to the 1st Bundesliga of the DPL. Finally we had reached our goal and we were certain that we don’t want to leave again! Since then, the team has held its own in the premier class and recently, in the 2021/2022 season that just ended, celebrated its best team performance to date with a 6th place in the DPL 1. Bundesliga. Among other things, the reigning champion Breakout Spa and the reigning runner-up Cologne Hurricanes were defeated. This gives us confirmation as a team that we have established ourselves in the top performance area of the DPL and that we have also become a serious opponent for the teams right at the top.
PBS Magazine: Thank you for this interesting story about your team's career and congratulations on a strong 6th place this year. Do you already have plans for next season? What's next for Team Ballistics?
Dustin Hauk: It's not 100% clear where the journey is going for the coming season. However, a trip to various European leagues, including NXL Europe, is being toyed with. The current time in (European) tournament paintball is really not easy. The DPL is aiming for various changes that we are not entirely convinced of at this point in time. We'll see what the future brings and hope that more people out there will be interested in the hottest sport in the world and that the scene will grow again.
It's really a shame – if you look back 8 years, you get tears in your eyes. If you consider that at that time almost 500 DPL teams were listed and for 2023, with oh and no, about 5 fields all over Germany want to host "the" league of the nation. But history shows: after every low there is a high!
PBS Magazin: Clear words and you are certainly also addressing topics that many active and former tournament players see in the same way. Finally, please tell us a little bit about yourself as a team. Who are you and how do you see yourself as a player and as a team? Who would fit into your team if they wanted to play with you now?
Dustin Hauk: We think we stand out from other teams because we don't want to be the over the top guys. We are not 0815 Rambos who want to feel horny. We are us – a bunch of normal dudes who want to work our ass off year after year to compete with the best teams in Europe. We have never and will never pay any players to play for or with us. Everyone with us is 100% part of the team with everything that goes with it.
Inconspicuous but approachable – I think that describes us quite well. Any guy interested in paintball can talk to us. Any guy who has a question about game tactics, markers or anything else can just come up to us and ask. – And almost every guy who wants a green and black home is more than welcome! We do our best to represent German paintball without branding ourselves. Now that may sound pretty banal, but that's what makes us who we are. In addition to playing, we are also quite active in the scene.
As referees and organizers of various, very popular events on our home turf, the Paintball Battlefields Hildesheim, we always try to give something back to the scene and to ensure a good time for every participant.
PBS Magazine: Thank you Dustin for this really interesting interview. I think "a good time for everyone" is always a nice closing word. Whatever your path going forward, whether in the DPL, the NXL or anywhere else on the field, we wish you all the best and continue to have the success you've had in the past. Keep it up and stay authentic. That was our interview with Dustin Hauk from Team Ballistics Göttingen from the DPL 1. Bundesliga. At the end of the interview, Dustin revealed a few interesting fun facts about the team that we don't want to withhold from you.
Finally, a few fun facts about the team:
In the meantime, there have already been five marriages between players within the team! / There are now four BG babies! / Our eight-strong A-reef squad now has almost 60 years of reefing experience! / We have now received more than five offers for our own team markers and rejected every single one (resale value this that…;D)! / We are the first and so far only Dyzana Sports Pro Team in Europe – and damn proud of it! / We love 1 beer in the Shisha Bar in Wetzlar!
