Gelball Stories

When I got accepted into the group and talked to a few of the members I feel like I was being accepted by people. I felt really positive and more confident. I felt like a made friends that are active and outside all the time. My friends stay at home and play games and never go outside. I was all alone with no friends to ride my bike with and hang out outside. Perth GBG is full of supportive wonderful people who are willing to help and give to the new comers like me and a lot of people. They offered me free gel balls extra magazines so I can have a better experience in the game. These people know how to have fun and enjoy their lives and make other’s feel better. People may see us as bad people with “real looking guns” but if they see how we treat each other within our community I believe they will instantly change their mind. If we as a group lived in the same community I believe we would be the best community in Perth.

As stated above I love this sport and the People in it. We are such all good people and I would hate to see such a great sport be banned.

I went to watch a game with a few friends to see what it was all about none of us expected to see how big the community and games were, We instantly wanted to give it a go for the following few weekends it got us out into nature having an absolute ball making new friends true harmless fun and bonding that I don’t think may people get to experience any more. Back to the days as Kids running around playing games not causing problems to anyone what so ever just enjoying life and getting to be happy. The amount of people there who this is their only outing only way to make new friends escape their realities for a few hours and smile for some truly harmless fun it’s so sad to see that taken away. There is far more harmful things out there than a toy no matter the looks.

It has gotten me out of the home and socialising with like minded enthusiasts. It’s a great way to work up a sweat, whilst having loads of fun!

Well first of all this sport is not just for adults but for kids aswell, everyone has been very friendly and helpful whenever there is an event and
It is a great way to connect with the community, we ask to keep this great sport going because this helped alot of people from vets to active duties and people with disabilities to find a new fun way to exercise and get out there and connect with other people who enjoy the same thing ( gel blasters ).

Been here in Western Australia for 8 years I have never been in trouble with the police and I have never had any traffic offences
I have been working for 8 years started two weeks after arriving, the past 3 years I started to drink more with possible undiagnosed anxiety spells which meant less time with my partner and kids, I started losing myself until the day I started playing Gelball, After games I was able to sleep better at night I felt happier my kids saw it and my partner then who is my fiancée now also saw the change, playing this sport gave me a sense of pride and the strength to continue fulfilling my parental duties as a father of five, this sport was something I needed for myself I saved for many months to get my gel blasters and accessories which I now have too and will be handing in, this feeling of being robbed of my hard earned personal toys is so terribly upsetting…

I went to GBG tonight only with the intention to spectate after watching a Livestream from the GBG guys.
I wasn’t organised to play, but being there felt better than not being there tonight.

I saw a few people i had played games with and got chatting, explaining I just came to watch and hadn’t organised for a game night . Very quickly, I was offered by one of the guys his backup Blaster to get in on the game, He even let me use his better built one!

This exact comradery, this exact community spirit and Altruism is ALL i have ever been met with in my time since starting Gelsoft.
I have never in my time of Gelsoft met anyone who has suggested doing anything illegal or dangerous with them.
Safe gameplay, Safe transport and mutual respect is all I have ever seen from our Community of Gelballers in WA. I have made some amazing Friends. Working alongside these friends pushes me to Do more, be more outgoing and Altruistic to others, myself.

Great enjoyment watching my son organise himself for a game, participate, make new friends and work up a sweat. To find a sport that you can be evenly match dispute the age is unique.

Gel ball means a lot to my life through meeting new friends, staying active and having the tech/hobby side of the sport to relax to after the stresses of life.

It would be such a shame to see the sport and business like Perth GBG go to waste when all we were about is having laughs and good times with our mates.

As someone that spent long hours both in and outside of work sitting, finding a sport that combined teamwork, enjoyment of the outdoors in a unique way and quick thinking with a community that crossed age and gender barriers I was able to quickly become an active part of the community.

Prior I would spend disgustingly long hours on weekends, weekdays or time-off from working sitting at home playing computer games, given the lack of sports that combined my interests I was finding I was at risk of beginning to develop both physical and mental health issues, including an impact in my social skills do to disassociation with virtual and real world experiences.

Being introduced to gelball by a work colleague I quickly took an interest in the sport, and over the span of 2 months, receiving my first gel blaster and joining groups online dedicated to the sport I was able to break out of my prior long built habit and attended my first outdoor game.
The experience which features lots of running, crawling and communication with a group of then strangers was over in what felt like a 3-4 hour period, although over 7 hours had passed.
Given my prior lack of exercise and movement I was in pain the following week from the full day event, but I was determined to continue with the sport.
The following game event we had several parents bring their younger family members, equipped like all the other members with suitable eye protection and a healthy approach to the sport, they were the talk of many of the game changing events as they had boundless energy when playing the role of medic reviving their downed team-mates, joining their team to capture an objective or holding a position.
Later game days would see many more partners of regular players and families joining the events, assisted by the low cost of the gelball sport.

14 months, over a dozen game days attended and several additional gel blasters later I am finding that while I cannot make every outdoor game I have spent countless hundred’s of hours (especially during the COVID lock-down periods) rebuilding and replacing parts in my gel blasters keeping my mind and hands busy away from computer and other screens.

This sport has helped me both physically and mentally since being introduced to the toys and I am thankful to the community and the staff that run the events with each event creating a fond memory, including the pre-game safety meetings, banter, break time hydration checks from a staff member with a great sense of humour and the end of game day matches when less than 10 players including staff were left with enough energy to see out just 1 more game.