Steve Davidson has been playing paintball since 1983. Here’s a picture of him running away with a flag from back then when he was known as Demolition Davidson at his favorite paintball field – Skirmish USA. (“Why do they call him that?” “Just watch what happens to the other team!”)
(If you are at all familiar with paintball, you’ll know that we now wear full face protection, rarely wear combat boots and use paintball guns that can fire a heck of a lot faster than my old no-pump PGP.)
Steve worked and/or competed in some of the earliest paintball tournaments ever held and helped to develop the rules, seeding, scheduling and team ranking criteria still in use today. Steve has served as a referee, an ultimate referee, scorekeeper, stats keeper and game scheduler for some of the largest events in the country, including the World Cup, Lively Masters, International Amateur Open, PaintCheck 5 Man and NPPL.
Those efforts led him to organize the meeting that led to the country’s first national tournament league, the NPPL, in 1992. Steve served the organization as its coordinator from 1992 through 1994 and was later elected to the position of executive secretary in 1996.
Steve then went on to develop the patented game format that is now known as X-Ball; introducing it at a new tournament series in 2000 (the third largest of that year; it was also the first national event to offer combined championships, hosted the first National College Championship and the first to use state facilities; it was also the first event to offer a million dollar prize).
Steve was also one of the first regular contributors to the growing number of paintball magazines – starting with an article in Action Pursuit Games magazine in 1986. His articles, editorials, reviews and commentary on the sport have appeared in Paintball News, Paintball Sports International, PaintCheck, Paintball, Paint the Online Magazine, Pursuit Games International, Paintball 2Xtremes, Paintball Players Bible and Paintball Consumer Reports.
Steve has written three books about the sport – MAXING: A Guide To Winning Tournament Play (Rabidchihauhau Publications, 1989), The Complete Guide To Paintball (Hatherleigh Press, 2000) and A Parent’s Guide To Paintball (Liaison Press, 2009 – which was recently distributed by Kee at the 100th Boy Scout Jamboree).
Steve has played for, captained, organized and or coached -
The Muthers of Destruction, The Werewolves Competition Paintball Team, Texas Black Diamonds, New England Express, Special Delivery, Blackhearts, NPS Psyclones, Nemesis, SideFX and most recently the Master Blasters Traveling Road Show.
Steve is currently working on – The Woodsball World Cup, the National Pump League and a host of other paintball-related projects, including editing 68Caliber.com
Steve contributed to the FAQ for the rec.sports.paintball newsgroup
and has been profiled, quoted and interviewed on several occasions:
Article in a Fantasy fiction magazine
