Gelball Stories

I have been wanting to try gel ball for ages now, in fact, it’s been on my bucket list for longer than we have had it in WA and now it’s being banned before I ever got a chance to play! It’s simply not fair! There are so many things on my list that no longer exist because they closed forever in all the lockdowns and now you are taking away one of the few things that I had left… Why is it easier to get a real gun in this state, than it is to get a plastic toy used to play a team sport? :'(

Gel blaster seems like a very interesting sport I live 400km away from perth and I would travel with friends for weekend events

Everything… I have been in physical therapy to get strength back since suffering an injury and one of my top mental health goals to work my way up to doing is gel ball. It is what motivates me and today, since the ban hit the news, I couldn’t bring myself to do my exercises, all my motivation was crushed in that instance and I hit the deep end of depression for the first time in a long time.

my son is active due to gel balling, which was not the case before

I have a teenage son with type1 diabetes…its been hard for me to get him to be active with sport, but gel balling was the one thing he gravitated to, as it was the teamwork and the sense of belonging, he required, while he was feeling alone and at times helpless with his diagnosis..it had become far too easy for him to sit on a pc and just play…perhaps more violent games, gel balling got him active, found him new friends and provided me, an anxious parent, with a sense of, he is at least doing something to burn some energy, besides the other benefits of meeting new friends and being active…it was win win for us all as a family…our gel gun has never left our house except for competitions and is stored and packed already as a firearm…put in a bag, concealed till its ready to be used in a place for such a time…ie an event…if i can own a real gun because i wish to shoot ducks or other wildlife, I or my son should be able to own a gel blaster for reasons other than hunting…recreation…

I was so exited to get Into the sport
I just bought a new gun and have bought a bag and A couple of my friends had bought some guns And we were all going to get into this sport together but now this ban has crushed my dream

Gel Ball has seen me get out of the house, exercise, be active and be social and WANT to be with people. Customising and fixing my blaster has given me a new crafting hobby and taught me new skills. Gel ball itself is a great stress relief, video games but in real life, and furthers teaching skills like teamwork and cooperation and even my partner has seen an increase in my general happiness and mood at home since attending games, so it’s helped with my depression too.
It was a good option for me to spend time with friends with night games, as most other activities are closed by the time I finish work, and it was cheap to play.
It might have eventually lead to a small paid hobby of customising blasters for others too to help pay for things at home, as I did this with NERF blasters.

Some of my best recent memories have been at gel ball games, despite only just getting into the hobby it’s already my favourite thing. Everyone is so friendly, so ready to help others new or old.

I got into gellball because its cheap and easy for the kids to play. If I go to paintball it costs $200 with 3 kids. Gell ball costs $10 for an afternoon of fun once you have the toys, my total start up was less that $500 and has been used heaps of times.
I would happily paint my blasters pink. The people causing issues aren’t going to hand them in anyway.

There are better ways to make the sport safer and eliminate any confusion without banning them because of idiots.

Gel ball has led me to new friends, saved one of them from suicide ideation.
It has helped me keep fit, develop new technical skills and pushed me to try a military simulation, which I never thought I could do, let alone enjoy.
As a real life medical professional that is changing to an emergency field, this sport has helped me practise keeping calm under pressure.

For me gelball has meant being able to socialise. As someone who does struggle with social anxiety many normal forms of social life have been hard for me to handle. However with the combination of the blasters themselves, the fun of the games and the diverse group that all have this sport in common have allowed me to break free of the grip of anxiety and actually go out, meet new people, exercise and above all else Have Fun.

In this day and age when the importance of mental health is being increasingly recognised I found the dismissive attitude of the minister during the press conference to people such as myself not only disheartening but callous and perhaps even cruel. I would challenge the minister and the commissioner to come down to one of the centres and see our sport in action. Maybe then they can see how they are judging a large group of players by the foolish and misguided actions of a few.

In the relatively brief period I have been involved in organised gel ball skirmishing I have met a large number of people whom never without gel ball would I have met and made friends with otherwise. Not only that it has without a doubt been improving my fitness, as now I have a good reason for being fitter than I have been.