An Isle of Man airgun club has beat Northern Irish teams in two action-packed games using airsoft guns and grenades at an annual event in Northern Ireland.
Double Tap Airsoft Club, based near Mount Murray, Santon, sent 25 players comprising of a junior section aged 11 to 17 and a senior section aged 18 to 53 for the games which took place from August 9 and August 16.
‘Airsoft’ is a team-based game played outdoors where a team can range from four to 30 players.
Dan Dooley, 32, who lives in Strang, Braddan, and is a Double Tap committee member, said: ‘It is similar to paintball except you’re using airsoft guns which fire plastic ammunition.
‘It hurts less than paintball and is cheaper to play.
‘Games can be over within a matter of minutes or can last between four to six hours, it just depends on how the game goes on the day.’
Both Double Tap teams were successful against the Newry Assassins with the juniors winning the Fletcher Christian trophy for the second year running and the seniors winning the Illiam Dhone trophy and Nial Murphy memorial shield.
‘The event is growing every year and more clubs want to get involved. Next year we’re going to go back for a week to defend our titles
‘Last year when we went first over, we decided with the Newry teams what the trophies should be called. We decided on Manx names for the trophies and the shield to be named after a player from the Irish airsoft team who unfortunately died in a car crash last year.’
Next Easter the club is playing the Northern Irish teams in the island and in August members have invited teams from all over the UK to compete at its Mount Murray base.
Dan said: ‘I think people like airsoft because it’s similar to [computer game] Call of Duty and it’s loads of fun.
‘It’s good to get out of the house and give the kids something different to do away from the computer games.’
The club, which has around 75 members, has a club day every Sunday from 9.30am to 5.30pm where non-members can play for the day for £15 as well as hosting events for private groups. For more information about Double Tap Airsoft Club, visit www.dtac.im or call 260102 or 257897.