Wagner presents paintball initiative at chamber luncheon

Lovell resident Ali Wagner and her family have fallen in love with the sport of competitive paintball.

At the March 17 Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Mustang Cafe, Wagner gave a background story of their involvement in the paintball community and future plans they have to bring it to the area.

“My husband and sons played initially, but about six months ago I decided to join them and have found it transformative,” Wagner said. “It was a game changer the moment I stepped on the field.”

Their local teams competed and found success at the National Paintball Tournament in Orlando last year, where their women’s team placed in their division and men’s team also performed well.

Wagner plans to establish a non-profit paintball program in Lovell to support mental health, recovery and community involvement with the sport.

“I have met so many people through this community already that have used paintball as a way to navigate through their highs and lows in life,” Wagner said.

One friend in particular struggled with drug addiction for years and attempted recovery several times and was unsuccessful but has been able to get treatment and acquire a significant amount of sobriety. That friend now sews headbands used for paintball in his garage to sell and saves the money to send other people in recovery to tournaments and find other individuals that would benefit.

“For me, it has really helped with my mental health,” Wagner stated. “I feel like I have so many things going through my head constantly, and when I am on the field, it is like silence in my brain except for what I hear around me.”

Wagner explained that living in such a rural place, access to this type of activity has only been available to those willing to travel great distances.

“So, I would hope that by starting up this non-profit paintball program, we would be able to get kids playing, adults playing and potentially even hosting fundraising events with local departments,” she said.

Her main goal is to help people, and she believes that this would be a positive addition to the area.

“I would love to have a local place to play,” Wagner said.

She is in the process of creating the non-profit currently, and once it is up and going, she will be looking for any sort of donations to be able to get a field created and see where that leads.

“If you have never played before, it is worth giving it a shot,” she added. “It is one of those sports that you don’t need to have any experience playing before to have a good time.”

Wagner hopes to work with the local town government to have a field developed within the next year and feels the local support the family has already received has been incredible.