Media Contact:
Greg Bishop, General Manager
Special Ops Paintball
Phone: 866.396.6006 ext. 3001
gregb@specialopspaintball.com
www.specialopspaintball.com

Special Ops Paintball and Tippmann Announce Strategic Alliance

Salt Lake City, UT (July 28, 2006) – Special Ops Paintball is pleased to announce a strategic alliance with Tippmann Sports. The agreement signifies a major step in the evolution of woods paintball, as the two companies combine their unique strengths to collaborate on several product initiatives and future marketing programs. Together, the innovative design capabilities of Special Ops and Tippmann’s proven technologies and vast market reach will translate in an unprecedented range of specialized products and services for woodsball^™ players worldwide. Both companies will preserve their creative independence and retain the ability to develop and distribute products independently.   

Special Ops co-founder, Jayson Orvis, commented, “The SpecOps team has dedicated the last three years to advancing the sport of woods paintball through cutting-edge products and a grassroots, first-of-a-kind woodsball community.  We’re thrilled to see the massive power of Tippmann line up behind this vision.  We love this sport and we look forward to cranking up the intensity of the woods paintball experience even more.”

In addition to distributing Special Ops products through its worldwide network of distributors, Tippmann also intends to enhance the growth of the woodsball community by expanding the Special Ops online Brigade program and Game Locator. Patrick Ehren, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Tippmann Sports emphasized, “The key objective of these initiatives is to bring paintball players together more often at fields or wherever they play and to give them a richer, more intriguing paintball experience. Special Ops has created a great online platform and we believe we can help elevate awareness by growing these programs and by connecting woodsball^™ players across the country.”

The SpecOps Brigade is a revolutionary online membership program that players can join at no cost. Brigade members are provided with a personal web page that allows them to upload photos and log their game play (in real time), and earn rewards for free gear and discounts. Current Brigade membership is approximately 80,000.

The SpecOps Game Locator allows Brigade members to host or search for paintball games anywhere in the United States or Canada. By posting a game online, the Game Locator automatically e-mails other Brigade members within a specified distance of the posted game. Tippmann Sports will make the SpecOps Brigade and Game Locator accessible though its Web site in the coming months.

Ehren added, “Over the past few years, Special Ops has built tremendous loyalty among woodsball players by offering innovative, well-built accessories and modifications.  The growth of paintball marker customization has been phenomenal and Tippmann aims to capitalize on this trend by expanding distribution of these products and developing new products that we can offer to paintball dealers worldwide.”

Greg Bishop, General Manager of Special Ops concluded, “This is a unique alliance in that it impacts the sport itself in such a positive way as paintball players everywhere will benefit from the synergy of Special Ops and Tippmann Sports. We’re excited to see the woodsball community grow and have access to the best gear out there.”  

Special Ops is the world’s leading Web-based resource for woodsball players.  The company offers a comprehensive selection of markers, accessories, modifications and field intelligence as well as a popular player forum.  For additional information, please visit the company online at www.specialopspaintball.com.

For additional details about Tippmann’s strategic alliance with Special Ops, please call Tippmann Sports at 1-800-533-4831.  More specific information about Tippmann Sports and its complete product offering can also be obtained online at tippmann.com.