Pinned down with your back to an obstacle and every movable muscle tightly clenched, you hear the splatter of paintballs breaking nearby.

“Paintball is very exciting and is one of the fastest growing extreme sports that is team oriented,” said Scott Pottinger, vice president of the Paintball Club.

With newly elected officials and members, the club is ready for the new semester.

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“We want to get it known at a national level,” Pottinger said. “We are part of the National Collegiate Paintball Association, which is a big organization that takes [paintball] seriously.”

The Paintball Club allows its members to be involved as little or as much as they want. Tournament play is for the member who will play every weekend. If you have never played paintball before, or if you’re an expert who doesn’t have time for tournament play, recreation ball is available.

“I enjoy tournaments a lot more,” Pottinger said.

The Paintball Club will be in at least two tournaments this year. Tournament play involves teams playing against each other with points, rules and judges to decide who wins the game. Being very structured, tournaments tend to bring the best players with very competitive play.

Patrick Casey, owner of Rockford Paintball Games, said the best part about paintball is anyone can play and have fun.

“You can frame what type of player you want to be,” Casey said. “You can play reserved if you’re new, or go all out if you’re experienced.”

The Paintball Club is sponsored by Rockford Paintball Games. This allows the club to receive deals on required gear.

Jeremy Frew, president of the Paintball Club, said recreational paintball also is available to organizations that would like to plan events.

“It would be a great thing for fraternities to play, or have your whole [residence hall] floor come and play,” Frew said. “Anything to raise the interest of paintball on campus is good for the club.”

Frew knows students who play or have played before but never have considered becoming a member of the club.

“A lot of people play, but we want them together,” Frew said.