Ready, aim, splatter

Thousands upon thousands of people are expected to flock to the beaches south of the Huntington Beach pier this weekend for the popular, if sometimes controversial, first competition in the National Professional Paintball League’s Super 7 World Series of Paintball.

Admission to the event is free Friday through Sunday, and a news release from the paintball league estimates attendance at the finals on Sunday alone at more than 50,000.

“This is the biggest event in paintball,” said Owen Ronayne, head of sales for Huntington Beach-based WDP Paintball, Inc., an equipment manufacturer. “It’s the biggest of the year, the Cadillac of events.”

In addition to three days of competition among 220 or more teams, the event includes a trade expo with more than 60 vendors, autograph signings, and grandstand seating for the event itself. The winning team on Sunday goes home with more than $25,000.

Ronayne’s company was already setting up its booth south of Pier Plaza Wednesday in preparation for a crush of spectators when the event opens. For the occasion, they intend to hold training seminars and demonstrations, and host poster signings with professional teams.

While well-attended, the event has been criticized by neighbors as loud and by Councilwoman Debbie Cook as unsuitable for a public beach.

“It’s a good event as far as generating interest in the city,” said city spokeswoman Laurie Payne. “This and the U.S. Open of Surfing are clearly our biggest ones. There are lots of folks who go downtown, eat out, and stay in the hotels.”

At the same time, she said the city monitors the crowds very closely to make sure nothing gets out of hand. Police and fire are on the scene throughout, and city staff monitor the environmental impact after the action is over to make sure there’s been no contamination by paintballs.