The Green Machine

The Green Machine has been one of the world's predominant touring paintball teams since the game was invented. Officially formed in 1984, "The Machine" attended it's first "National" level tournament when it won admittance to the 1985 National Survival Game National Championships in Houston, Texas. At the time conquering a "Regional" event was a prerequisite to National Championship attendance, and "The Machine" had won both the Maryland State, and Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. Since that time, "The Machine" has been a regular at National events, but has also endeavored to promote the sport, and it's own enjoyment of it, by staging "Traveling Paintball Shows" and events worldwide. The point of these events has been to:

	Promote the good image and international acceptance of our sport
	Assist nascent paintball organizations overseas in getting started
	Promote the good name and products of the events' sponsors
	Play competitive but fair and honest paintball

With a heavy concentration of "industry old timers" and several members with a severe case of wanderlust on the team, it was simply unthinkable to turn down acquaintances overseas when we began receiving requests from them years ago. Since then we have been putting together travel event packages for these overseas operators that include:

	Shipping an experienced paintball team (or two) to their country
	Assisting their event with referee training, tournament field mapping and setup
	Providing sponsored prizes for the local participants
	Providing substantial media coverage

Most of the countries we have visited had fledgling paintball industries at the time, and our events have helped launch them into the mainstream. Our trips have included:

	Montreal - 1985 (First ever International event in Canada)
	Johannesburg, Capetown, Durban - 1988 (First ever International event in South Africa)
	Newcastle, Sydney - 1991 (First ever International event in Australia)
	Paris, Europe - 1993 (First ever International event in France, all proceeds donated to the local Children's Hospital)
	Moscow - 1994 (Only ever International event in Russia)
	Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro - 1997 (We provided all of the event's prizes on this trip to Brazil)
	Caracas, the jungle - 1999 (We arranged for the sponsored prizes and press coverage, and the event was followed by a 5-day jungle trip to Angel Falls)

Among the members, past and present, are the "International Coordinator" for the IPPA, the Director of NAPRA, the Director of the IPPA's Tournament Division, the legal counsel for NPPL, the owner of one of the DC area's prominent playing fields, and owners of several other paintball related companies. Most members are either IPPA members, NAPRA certified, Lively Referee certified, CPR/First Aid/EMT certified, or some combination, and all have extensive tournament play, event management, and referee experience.

Here on this web site is a historical archive of the travels of the Green Machine. See the team Resume on this web. Soon to come - full coverage of all the magazine articles published over the years including pics. We're always looking for another adventure, and sponsors and suggestions are welcome!

Fair play and straight shooting,

Todd Inman
Captain

Address inquiries to todd_inman@hughes.net