Ultimate Tazer Ball players have electrifying experience

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This article was published 11/02/2012 (5168 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — A Toronto team is ushering in the world’s newest ultimate sports league, but don’t expect to see a home game any time soon: One of the pieces of equipment used, a 300,000-volt electroshock gun, is considered a weapon in Canada.

“It’s not technically a police-grade Taser,” said Eric Prum, 25, one of the founders of Ultimate Tazer Ball. “That being said, the first thing the (players) will tell you is that they hate getting Tased. Those things really do hurt.”

The Toronto Terror is one of four teams in the newly minted Ultimate Tazer Ball league. The game puts two teams of four players on a field about the size of a hockey rink. Players have to get a large ball into a net while avoiding their opponents, all of whom are armed with the device.

“The reason it’s really cool in game play is because it causes your muscles to spasm, therefore you’re going to drop the ball, you’re going to trip, you’re going to fall over. And it’s fun,” said Prum.

The stun guns are not lethal. While high rates of voltage are certainly painful, it is electrical current that kills.

The game guns are all configured to deliver five to eight milliamps of current — well below the lethal dose of one amp. There’s no risk of a heart attack or someone’s brain exploding,” said Prum. So far, the only evidence of the sport’s existence is a flashy website at utblive.com and a series of web videos depicting gameplay — one of which garnered half a million views. The sport’s outlandishness has already led to cries of Internet fakery.

Prum insists the sport is not an elaborate prank. The promo videos were shot at an inaugural series of stun-gun games held in southern California over the course of a week in January. The venues were stadiums, but the events were mainly used for shooting promotional material, said Prum.

A friend of the organizers, player Derrick Weltz, 24, immediately accepted the call to join the new league. “I play professional paintball in Canada, so, I mean, it’s almost a natural progression for me,” he said.

He likens the shock from a electroshock gun to a bee sting. The sensation is more annoying than painful, he said. “(The players) all have a mutual respect for each other and we’re not out there to hurt or inflict injuries to one another,” he said. “We’re here to entertain people.”

The next match is scheduled for early March in Bangkok, Thailand, where Toronto will face off against the Philadelphia Killawatts, the San Diego Spartans and the Los Angeles Nightlight. Organizers are expecting several thousand spectators.

The league also is trying to work out an event in Mexico City for May. By that time, Prum said, Ultimate Tazer Ball hopes to have its own custom-made devices. Of course, the Canadian team is at a slight disadvantage since it is illegal for them to hold practices with live stun guns.

— Postmedia News