Armed with blasters and foam darts, a group of Nerf enthusiasts in Guelph are looking to provide a fun club for all ages.
"It's competitive like paintball, but kids can do it, adults can do it," said Alfie Schop, the founder of Royal City Nerf, "so there's something for everyone who wants to be in that war style because a lot of the popular video games are in that war style."
"It's a family fun game, when people think of Nerf they don't think it's dangerous."
Nerf blasters are a colourful toy which shoot out foam darts or balls. While Nerf blasters are normally marketed to children, some adults also enjoying collecting and participating in Nerf games with other enthusiasts. Schop said clubs like Royal City Nerf are huge across the United States and are starting to grow here in Canada.
"With the pandemic, a lot of people want to go out and do something and this is something where you can do and be fairly distanced and still have fun," said Schop.
On Saturday afternoon, a group of about 16 members gathered at Bullfrog Park for a few rounds of Nerf games. The event was supposed to take place in September, but was postponed due to inclement weather. During events, members are required to bring masks and eye protection.
"Everyone usually owns their own (Nerf blasters) but we usually bring a supply to loan out for anybody who doesn't have any," said Schop, "and the idea behind that is that if we can get them into it, they can start to get their own, and right now, we're putting on the small events to put out interest."
Since forming the club three months ago, Royal City Nerf has had two events with 30 members joining to be notified about upcoming meetings. Currently, there is no fee to join the club, and Schop mentions they are hoping generated to turn the club from a hobby into a sport.
Schop became interested after hearing and seeing kids in his neighbourhood having fun playing with Nerf blasters. After buying his own Nerf blaster, he said the interest snowballed from there.
"I got two other partners to help me run it and it just got started from there."
On Oct. 30, the club will be doing a themed Nerf games of zombies versus humans, called HvZ, at Margaret Green Park. Anyone interested in participating in that event can register by emailing [email protected]. To learn more about the club, check out their Facebook page.
