If University of Memphis sophomore David Lindsey has his way, there will be guns, gear and a whole lot of paint.
Lindsey is organizing a paintball club at The U of M.
"It's really an adrenaline rush and a stress reliever," Lindsey said. "You get to meet interesting people and make great friends. I don't see why you wouldn't want to join."
Paintball is a sport where players shoot one another with paintball markers or guns. Players can play any type of game they desire, including tournament style, capture the flag, one-on-one or just shooting some cans.
Lindsey, an earth science major, said paintball is an intense, fast-paced game that also requires tactical and strategic thinking.
Dime-sized capsules filled with dye are used as ammunition, which is shot out of the marker by CO2 or compressed air.
Players are required to wear facemasks. There is special, padded clothing available to help ease the pain of getting shot.
"I've been shot in the throat and put three or four holes in my house," Lindsey said. "I've eaten paintballs for money before, but nothing too crazy happens."
Lindsey is trying to get the club together so they can join the National Collegiate Paintball Association and compete in matches against other colleges around the nation.
The NCPA has 204 clubs in 44 states around the nation, and more than 5,000 members, according to the NCPA website. Tennessee is home to the University of Tennessee Volunteers, Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers NCPA clubs.
Chris Raehl, president of the NCPA, said paintball is typically a younger demographic sport, commonly found on college campuses.
"Paintball is a bit of a different type of sport to play," Raehl said.
If a university has a strong paintball club that is active in the NCPA and winning competitions, Raehl said it could lead to attracting more students.
"You don't need a lot of experience the first time you go play. Anybody can have fun shooting at their friends," he said. "And you have people who have experience, and being there makes it easy for people to get involved."
Raehl has been playing paintball for 17 years and said he's competed against more than 1,500 others in the Chicago's Living Legends competition. Living Legends is an open event and any campus club is able to join.
Lindsey has been playing for about the past four years. Once the club starts, he hopes to play at either EZ Memphis Paintball Park or Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando.
Zeke Gurien, a manager of EZ Memphis Paintball Park, said the park has seven playing fields.
"The more you move around, the better," Gurien said. "We also have bunkers and barrels you can use for cover."
A player's interest in the sport affects how much they will spend, Gurien said.
"It can be expensive, kind of like a golf kind of thing," he said. "You can spend $1,500 on a gun. It depends on the type of playing you want to do."
The paintball club currently consists of three members. Once the club reaches its tenth member, The University will officially recognize them as a Registered Student Organization.
David Dye, faculty advisor for the paintball club, said Lindsey came to him with the idea and Dye was glad to help out.
"My sons enjoyed it when they were 13 and 14," Dye said. "I know how much fun it is for people, and it's a real good recreational activity."
Dye said paintball is a fun way to get aggression out in a harmless way.
Abby Gardner, sophomore communications major and club member, said she wanted to pick up an extracurricular activity that wasn't a major sport and, of course, wanted to shoot people.
"I'm very excited," she said. "It's like a real live Call of Duty almost. That sounds kind of crazy. I'm not really worried about safety. I've cheered, so I've had people dropped on top of me."
