Interview: Tom Cole of the Ultimate Woodsball League

As the sun is setting on the 2011 paintball season, teams are already starting to prepare for the 2012 season. Teams are talking to each other about their favorite events of 2011 and telling others they need to play those events in 2012. One event that keeps getting talked about by lots of people is the Ultimate Woodsball League. ProPaintball sat down with Tom Cole, Founder and President of the Ultimate Woodsball League, to learn a little bit about what so many people are talking about.



Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: For those that do not know, tell us about the Ultimate Woodsball League (UWL)?

Tom Cole: The UWL is a 10-man woodsball league. We started the UWL 3 years ago and wanted to capture the fun that we all had back when we played competitive woodsball in the early years of paintball. I have been playing since 1986 and some of my most memorable times playing paintball was back in the woods. It is also when most of the industry leaders acquired their passion for the game. The owners of DYE, Eclipse, and Smart Parts all played and won back in the day when woodsball was tournament paintball.

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: Other than the obvious, what separates the UWL from other tournament paintball leagues?

Tom Cole: As you look around our website (www.playuwl.com) you’ll find out why our unique format takes the best parts of tournament play and brings them to a woods/scenario environment. Never before has there been a way to track and rank your skills and abilities against players from all over the world. The UWL changes all that – bringing competitive paintball back to the format and location it’s always belonged!

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: Now that the dust has settled, what are your thoughts on the 2011 UWL season?

Tom Cole: We had a great year. I left our championship event excited about 2012. The teams and players actually came up and thanked me for putting on the event. It is a great feeling to see the players having a good time at each event. Each year we gain momentum with our league and as with any sport, we will continue to grow and make our processes better then the year before. We are learning a lot from the players and what they really want in a paintball league and are doing our best to make sure that we can accommodate their requests to the best of our abilities.

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: Looking forward, what do you expect from the 2012 UWL season?

Tom Cole: We are adding scenario divisions that will be run at stand alone events. They will be more in a big game format. All teams and players will be divided into 2 armies and battle each other with the teams and players having missions that they will be ranked on.

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: Any other changes or ‘tweaks’ for the 2012 UWL season?

Tom Cole: For 2012, we are going to lower the rate of fire. In 2011, the rate of fire cap was 12 balls per second but in 2012 it will be lowered to 10 bps. Also, team scores will be posted on the website right away after each event. Our individual stats take a little longer to process so those will be posted within 1 week of the event.



Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: Omaha Vicious won the 2011 UWL Open Division Series and several other pro players played at the 2011 UWL events. How has the participation of pro players affected the league?

Tom Cole: When the UWL first started it was a little rough. The old school pros like Renick, Miller and Bob Long really had an advantage over the newer woodsball teams. But recently the tide has turned and teams like Desert Edge and Muddy Water Boys are beating big time pro teams in the woods.

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: With all the rumors floating around about a pro paintball league merger, would fewer NPPL/PSP events be beneficial to the UWL?

Tom Cole: I would think so, 8 national events are a bit much for an industry of our size and players are getting burned out. If the leagues merged it would allow more time for teams and sponsors to support the UWL.

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: With all the talk of putting paintball back on TV, what are your thoughts on the UWL being televised?

Tom Cole: I am not a Paintball TV guy. I think the industry got into our current situation chasing the TV dream. But that being said I think the average Joe would like to see paintball played in the woods. I still think that is what the general public thinks paintball is.

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: Where do you see the UWL in 3-5 years?

Tom Cole: I am really passionate about the league and I can see it only growing from here on out. We have built a great team of individuals over the last couple of years that are just as passionate about running the league as I am and we have nothing but high expectations as to what this league can and has become from the start. We are very lucky to have such strong supporters of the UWL and great teams that play in the league. We are also very grateful for our sponsors over the years.

Blake Weber @ ProPaintball: How could someone find more information about the UWL?

Tom Cole: Go to our official site at www.playuwl.com or check us out on Facebook by visiting https://www.facebook.com/OFFICIAL.UWL.FANPAGE.

We also have a blog on the playuwl.com website and we would love to have any paintball players write us and let us know what their thoughts are on the industry as a whole, what is great about paintball, what the best items are on the market, etc. Who knows… we may post their article as our featured blog for the week. Please send all blog inquiries to: tom@playuwl.com

Ed Note: Thanks to Tom Cole and the UWL for making this interview possible. We highly recommend any and all paintball teams look into playing in the Ultimate Woodsball League. The games and the format are a ton of fun!