Gelball Stories

Well when I first started I was a nervous to play but when I met these people they were nice to me and they were fun to play with but now that it’s been taken away from us it’s been really sad that’s gone and now I have to watch videos of people playing it i mean like I was stuck in the plane with some guys and they were nice night and I was helping them out by finding people but later on we got ambushed but it was fun and they were very respectful of me playing my new hobby is now making 3D prints

I own A few gelblasters and mainly use them Primarily to shoot targets. Recent My sister had to leave her husband because of Domestic Violence and is currently going through a divorce. She moved into my household and I became carer for my nephew. Being very stressed out and introverted not talking to his phycologist, he got bullied and school by older kids and even started to physically vomit from the stress, he now has to be home schooled and spend all day on his computer gaming. There are only two ways i can get him outside to do any physical activity, Disconnect the internet, Or invite his cousins over and have a few gel blaster games. When we play the games usually last for 2 to 3 hours, we have a huge 2 storey house so we run around like crazy. He is a hands on kid and likes researching guns and finding out what we can do to upgrade the guns and often strips down his gun to fix things himself. I also work with disengaged kids, I think having a gelblaster club in my community would be a valuable tool for people working with kids to turn them away from smoking, drinking, drugs, teenage pregnancy. I could see a potential for schools using gelblaster club as a positive reinforcement and motivation tool for positive behavior in my community. Talk to youth workers like myself, and school councilors getting some of these kids interested in a hobby can save their lives and keep some in school.

Not as much as those who regularly play the sport, but the gel blaster guns are some of the best around for accuracy when participating in a LARP (Live Action Role-Playing) game event or attending a Cosplay (costume play) event. At all times safety is priority when my one has been with me at either event and there has never been an injury caused by the one combination airsoft/gel blaster plastic gun that I possess as part of my Aliens USCM costume. I even went as far as commissioning a local leather crafter to design and make a special holster for it at a cost of $300.00, so it was as accurate as possible to the movie when worn with my Aliens USCM costume and holstered at all times to not be a threat to anyone. I was quite insulted when the current WA McGowan government insinuated that the only people who would own a gel blaster item would also be a criminal offender: he needs to talk to MP David Templeman and remember that the RahCon Pop Culture Convention happens on his doorstep at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. I’m sure they’ll both be just as happy to go on stage there in 2021 and tell all of the LARP and Cosplay paying attendees that they’re all criminals because of their costume and hobby choices. Then we’ll respond by spending our money elsewhere and the event will no longer support the local community businesses who still really need it: they missed our money in 2020 when the event was cancelled due to Coronavirus lockdowns.

Well today the 3rd of July 2021 is the day the Communist labour Party of Western Australia banned public fun in the community.
One for the history books and one i think they wont live down.
I am in a small rural community a few months ago and after some research and information gathering: something the government cant seem to do: i found a thriving gelball community in the west not just QLD.
I began to talk to some friends about it and there overwhelming reaction was hell yes, so i ran a survey in the local shopping center and received a very positive reaction to starting the activity, every answer came back where and when.
The idea was to purchase some equipment and hold a BBQ information and try it day at which people became excited about. Then the announcement and it was over before it began.The words used by the community to describe the ministers action can not be put to print.
The clear manipulation of this situation thru misinformation and blatant lies has an agenda behind it and that in itself is criminal.
This activity thru roll play is practiced all over the world, we need to stop cowering like rabbits behind a fence and step out and engage the world for a children and for what our ancestors fought for.
The minister and premier should be ashamed to call them selves Australian and should never be called West Australian.

I started gel blasting about 3 years ago. My best friend introduced it to me one day when he brought his blaster a M4 Gen8. That week I looked online to see what was there and brought My first blaster an M4SS a few weeks later.

When we had enough gear we went to our first game and was that an experience. The mental and physical strain on me was enormous. You had to squat, crawl and run, while looking around to see what is happening on the whole field. I was sore the next 2 weeks, but as the more I played the easier it became.

For me I am not very outgoing, you could have counted the number of friend on less than one hand, but gel blasting made it easier for me to meet new people and have more of a social life. When we are at the games we all have something in common and it made it easy to talk with people and expand friendships between other group members. Even my wife had noticed a difference in me and my social life.

I enjoyed going to the games as it let me have an “outlet” from the day to day things of that week.
Some weeks my job can be very stressful and I need to “let go” of that and gel blasting gave me that, a way to just go out and do some of the things I did as a child, playing soldiers with my friends. It also gave me something to do at home with repairs and “tinkering” with them to get the best performance out of the blaster.

I enjoy all the aspects of the sport it keeps me mentally and physically challenged and I was meeting new people all the time and helping them out, that is another part of the sport, everyone is willing to help anyone when needed. I have helped out multiple people at the games from what blaster they should look at buying, repairs and even lending out my personal blasters, batteries or other items if they were having problems with theirs so they could stay longer.

I was starting to get my daughter into gel blasting as she has Down Syndrome. For her she has sensory issues and we were working on that at home, like holding and using the blaster safely & correctly, firing the blaster so she could get use to the sound that it makes and the feel of the gels from them in your hands to when they hit you and they don’t hurt. She though it was really funny shooting me in the butt or just shooting me altogether.

Now that is all gone due to the decision the WA Government has made with little to no consultation to the community. At the moment I am feel angry and lost mentally, I don’t know what I will do now as I feel lost. It was the easy option for the WA Government to ban gel blasters than it was to consult the community and now they are ignoring our calls for consultation.

This is some of what gel blasting means to me and I hope we can get it back in some form in the future.

I am a young older lady with some physical disabilities that keep me at home a lot, even before Covid!
I am lucky enough to have large groups of native birds visit my, completely private and contained, backyard daily. They love the olive, peach, and fig trees and I am happy to share the fruit and yard with them. I also put out a smallish amount of seed for them too. Unfortunately, there is a large population of feral pigeons in the area that are a real nuisance. I was using a “Nerf” style gun to “scare” the pigeons but these projectiles now litter my backyard because it is difficult for me to collect them. My nephew was aware and gave me an older gel-soft “handgun” with a plastic barrel top ball loader. So much more environmentally friendly and more effective too, without causing injury to any birds or damage to property.
My “weapon” does not look real, is not used to hurt or intimidate anyone, and NEVER leaves my property. It’s fun to use and a great conversation piece too.
There has to be a better way than this apparent knee-jerk reaction; Make it mandatory to have them painted any colour combo that is not metallic, camouflage or black…. Require them to be registered with police even if it means a small rego fee to help with costs.

My 8 year old son is diagnosed autistic ASD level 2 as well as ADHD. He struggles with emotional regulation amongst other things and we have a number of supports in place through autism WA, OT, social skills classes, etc. taking him to gel blaster games however has proved to be one of the best supports for him – he enjoys it so much and this is a great outlet for him where he doesn’t struggle to regulate. It is also great to see him being physically active as before gel blasting he wasnt very interested in other sports and spent most of his free time on an iPad. From my wife and my perspective, gel blasting has been a major positive in my son’s life, and enabled him to have an environment where he is accepted and doesn’t struggle to fit in. To see this taken away is heartbreaking as he had started to come out of his shell through gel blasting. We are perfectly normal people, my wife and I are both business professionals, with post-graduate university educations, and I am also an army veteran. I say this to try and make the powers that be realise that just because we have an affinity with gel blasting and collecting some blasters, we aren’t irresponsible or the types of people who would have any criminal intent or do anything silly with our blasters. We are law abiding citizens and just feel that this whole situation could have been handled in a way that could have met the needs of all stakeholders. We understand the concerns of the police, but inadvertently the people who do the wrong thing with gel blasters are not the same people who practice it as a sport. Surely an outcome could be achieved whereby wrongdoers could be deterred or punished suitably, whilst still allowing the legitimate gel blaster sporting community to exist. There are major health benefits to those in the gel blaster community as a result, which has a flow on effect to the overall WA community.

A couple of months back, I discovered gel balling online, and I planned to go sometime, but I never really got around to doing it. After this ban was announced, I decided that it was now or never, so I went to the farewell party at the CQB building. Overall, I had a blast! (pun intended) And I am disappointed that I did not try this earlier. It pains me to see all of the people who have spent thousands of dollars on their equipment, and who play very often. Of course, I only rented a blaster for a cheap price, but I still had much more fun than I thought, and the gel balls don’t hurt nearly as much as I thought they would. The games played very similar to a videogame, and the close quarters environment gave off a very Rainbow Six Siege vibe. If this ban hadn’t been announced, I would have bought a full loadout, and played more often, and I don’t even know what outdoor games are like. I hope that the authorities reconsider the ban, and recognise the massive community that is gel balling.

As a young Australian and AAFC cadet, I feel that it is only right that marksmanship is a part of my ever-growing skillset. On that note, the entire reason I got involved with this amazing community was that gel blasters, even as totally innocuous toys, are a pivotal tool for training safety, motor skills and confidence in marksmanship fundamentals. Furthermore, I realize that the mental, physical and social elements that are involved in the wider sport of gelsoft are sources of health and wellbeing for a great many. That is why I find it completely reprehensible that any person or entity would seek to undermine this.

My son after renting a gel Blaster saved and purchased his own equipment.
Taking him on a Sunday for at least 5 hours of fun and teamwork on the bush has been great for my boy.
He has taken his cousins and friends and had so muxh fun.
The organised and controlled environment is the only way my son has been allowed to participate. The safety precautions are set and monitored and is taken seriously by the groups.
all grouos are welcoming , they enjoy lunch outside and have a good healthy day.
I recommend this sport to friends and family.
Very dissapointed with the ban on gel blasters. a small minority ruining the safe fun of good people.
I personally don’t see the difference between that and paintballing. I’ve seen more bruises from paint balls for sure ! they are allowed on controlled environments.
please reconsider.