English
The second major junior tournament for German tournament sport took place at Paintball Battlefields Hildesheim at the end of September 2024. The Paintball Rookie Open was once again a complete success in 2024 and by far the largest tournament of its kind on German soil. We were there live when the best junior teams in the country crowned their champion. It was a mega event with great impressions, exciting games and a few real highlights. Here is all the information…
The Paintball Rookie Open took place in September 2024 for the second time in a row. The tournament, advertised as Germany's largest paintball junior tournament, was again held at Paintball Battlefields in Hildesheim for the second time. The reason for choosing this venue was the local conditions. The first event in 2023 was fully booked with 60 teams. Around 300 active paintball junior players from the tournament sector had gathered at the facility that day, which pushed the capacity to its limits. Nevertheless, everything went smoothly and the large paintball facility in Hildesheim, with its two full-size tournament fields, offered optimal conditions for such a tournament. Therefore, this location was chosen again for the second event. What had changed from the previous year, however, was the day. While in 2023 it was still played on Saturday, in 2024 the tournament was scheduled for Sunday. This was done in consultation with the field operator and taking into account the capacities available on site. However, this change of match day probably ultimately contributed to the fact that the event was not as well attended the second time. What was noticeable when looking at the starting field was that many of the teams that would have had to travel a long way and were still there last year apparently did not want to make the journey this time and so the Paintball Rookie Open 2024 started with "only" 36 teams. As I said, it was still by far the largest junior tournament on German soil and really a complete success again.
Of the 36 teams that took part, 18 teams were taking part in the Paintball Rookie Open for the first time. The organizers were particularly pleased about this, as it meant that 50% of the teams were "new". This is exactly what the organizers of the event wanted: to create new talent for tournament sport, who can experience competitive sports at a professional level, but with lots of fun, as part of the tournament. The surrounding events were also not to be missed, and so the trade show has grown again this year. At no other event, right up to the 1st Bundesliga, do you meet as many representatives of the big brands and shops as at the Paintball Rookie Open.
Some participants even jokingly spoke of a small mille (in reference to the former Millenium Series and its large trade shows). There were stands from DYE, BALLERN., PAINTBALL SPORTS, AN CRAFT, the German Paintball League DPL and an official tech stand from PLANET ECLIPSE. So there was a lot on offer for the players. You could even pick up the new DYE MXR marker, which had been presented to the public for the first time a few weeks previously, and even take it out for a spin on the field to test it out in practice. A food truck called "Burgerschmied.de" looked after the physical well-being of the players and spectators, serving delicious burgers and fries as well as cold drinks.
A highlight of the Paintball Rookie Open every year are the non-cash prizes that can be won at the tournament. This year, there were raffle tickets for every box of paintballs purchased, with which you could win lots of cool stuff worth a total of 1,000 euros after the preliminary round. Numerous players secured the first prize of the day. Later, at the awards ceremony, there was a lot more on the podium. Places one to three alone could look forward to non-cash prizes worth a total of over 1,750 euros. In addition to masks, packs and bags, there were also starting places for the DPL district league to be won for all teams on the podium.
The winners this year were the Naturfreunde Wedemark in first place, closely followed by the Lohmar Hornets Blue team in second place and the Little Knights Hildesheim Purple in third place. You can find the entire ranking at www.Paintball-Rookie-Open.de. We would like to specifically highlight the Little Knights again at this point, because this team is not only something special, but also a small sensation for German paintball tournament sport. The term "young team" could hardly be more appropriate than for the Little Knights. The team is based in Hildesheim and is by far the youngest and most successful paintball tournament team currently to be found in Germany. The average age of the team that came third in this year's Paintball Rookie Open was around 15 years! – How does that work? – It is made possible by a so-called shooting range permit that the paintball field in Hildesheim holds. This means that minors can also play paintball with adult markers on site, under the supervision of a parent or guardian. Similar to what is possible at a shooting range for live weapons elsewhere. This young team and its sister team, the Little Knights Orange, whose average age was similarly low, competed in the Paintball Rookie Open against 34 other teams, all of which were made up exclusively of adult players, some of whom had significantly more gaming experience. Nevertheless, the Little Knights Purple managed to finish in a respectable third place and the Little Knights Orange in an equally strong tenth place in the overall ranking, leaving many "older" teams far behind.
We think this development is outstanding and congratulate the Little Knights on this great performance. But of course our thanks for taking part and for a strong tournament also go to all the other teams. You are the future of tournament sport and we wish you all the best and much success for the further development of your team. A big thank you goes to the marshals, who were once again mostly provided by the Ballistics Göttingen team and who did an excellent job under the leadership of the experienced head marshal and Bundesliga and NXL semi-pro player Dustin Hauk. Without them it simply wouldn't work. Good and fair paintball tournament sport stands and falls with good marshalling. So a huge compliment to the marshals too.
We hope that all teams and spectators enjoyed the tournament as much as we did. We were there cheering on the teams until the last minute. Whether in the semi-final with the Little Knights, when it was all about third place, or in the grand final, when the title was between Naturfreuden Wedemark and the Lohmar Hornets. A great day for paintball tournament sport, which we would like to repeat next year. So you can already look forward to the Paintball Rookie Open 2025!
