Airsoft for Youth Groups, Scouts and School Fundraisers

Some of the most rewarding bookings we do are not festivals or corporate days. They are Scout troops, cadet units, youth clubs and school summer fairs — and they are also the ones where the person booking has the hardest conversation to win internally.

Why it works with young people

Target shooting is unusually democratic. It does not reward the biggest, fastest or most confident child in the group. It rewards someone who can stay still and concentrate for ten seconds, which is very often not the child who wins everything else.

We see it constantly: a quiet kid who has spent the whole day at the back of the group puts five out of five on the target, and the group's opinion of them shifts in real time. That is a genuinely useful thing to be able to hand a youth leader.

It is also structured. There is a briefing, there are rules, there is a marshal, there is a queue and a turn. For groups working on following instructions and managing risk sensibly, the range is a practical exercise in exactly that.

The safeguarding and risk conversation

If you run a youth group you will need to satisfy someone. Here is what we bring to that conversation:

• £2 million public liability insurance, certificate supplied on request
• A written risk assessment produced for your venue and your group, not a generic template
• Trained marshals, one alongside each participant for the whole of their turn
• Mandatory eye protection, supplied by us
• A fully enclosed range — nothing leaves the lane
• Paper targets only; nobody is shot at
• No live ammunition of any kind, and biodegradable BBs

We are used to being asked for this and we would rather send it up front than be chased for it.

As a fundraiser

For school fairs and community fun days the pay-per-go model usually raises more than a flat booking. Visitors pay at the range — £5 for 20 shots is our standard rate — and you take a pitch fee. It removes the risk of paying for an attraction and then getting rained on.

The honest caveat

Realistic replicas are not right for every group or every setting, and some organisations have policies that rule them out regardless of how the activity is run. That is a legitimate call and we would always rather you check first than book and cancel. If you are unsure, ring us and we will tell you honestly whether we think it is a fit.