The atmosphere was electric as a shocking new sport came to Bangkok.
Players took aim with electric stun guns at PAC Sports Centre as the Philadelphia Killawatts, Toronto Terror, San Diego Spartans and LA Nightlight battled it out in exhibition matches last night and on Friday.
UTB's rules are similar to ice hockey _ except that players are armed with stun guns that put out three to five milliamperes of electricity, with participants getting shocked dozens of times per match.
Police-grade tasers are not that much stronger and have been known to cause cardiac arrest and inadvertent death in their targets.
Eric Prumm, a cofounder of the four-team UTB league, said the stun guns hurt but are essentially harmless. The players, who have been recruited from the cream of the North American professional paintball circuit, have signed liability waivers resembling those in other contact sports.
The sport came to Bangkok as part of a marketing drive in Asia. Other exhibition matches are planned in Malaysia and elsewhere.
Less than two months since its inception, the league is still a work in progress, as evidenced by what it calls itself. Up until Friday, the name of the game was Ultimate Tazer Ball, but yesterday on the Utblive.com website it seemed to have transformed into Ultimate Tak Ball.
Whatever its name, it is still in the process of codifying its rules, based on feedback from players and spectators and the evolution of players' cunning.
Head referee Daryl Hudnall said that while most of the players knew each other from the paintball circuit, a little competitive play-acting and taking advantage of rules was already beginning to creep into UTB.
''They'll say, 'You tased me!' and roll on the ground when they weren't touched,'' he said. ''Or they'll use the stun guns when we're not looking.''
Only players in possession of the ball are allowed to be shocked, so indiscriminate use of guns results in penalties.
Each team has four players and three substitutes, with matches comprising three seven-minute periods. Penalised players are sin-binned for up to two minutes.
''We try to keep the flow of the game going, like in soccer, and not call too many penalties unless they're blatant,'' said Mr Hudnall.
The ball looks like a fluffy oversized medicine ball, but its size creates interesting strategic possibilities, as it can be used to block another player or buffer a stun gun charge. The ball can be bounced, thrown, carried or rolled but not kicked _ this usually results in a penalty.
When he first heard the concept for the sport in January, Mr Hudnall said it ''sounded stupid, silly _ and like something that would work!''
Thomas Taylor, a 31-year-old player for the Killawatts, said the sport, besides its electric punch, requires more endurance than anything he has played.
''I probably get shocked the most in a game,'' he said, as he's an offensive player who is often in possession of the ball. A professional paintballer, he said the pain inflicted by paint guns, though, is far worse than the stun guns.
''After a game, I'll have some marks on the skin, but they're gone by morning. In paintball, they can last a week or more.''
Mr Taylor said the shocks don't seem to leave any residual effect and that players aren't gaining any immunity through regular exposure, since the physical responses are tied to the nervous system and are involuntary. One aspect that is evolving, though, is players' strategies to compensate.
''Once you're in motion, it can be a mind-over-matter determination to keep going. But you don't want to be caught with the ball when you're not moving.''
As the Killawatts beat Nightlight 8-7 on Friday, players moved the ball quickly, batting it to a teammate or trying to sprint ahead of defenders.
Mr Prumm denied that the stun guns are a simple publicity tool. ''They're a way to level the playing field, for a small player to compete with a big one.''
One UTB video already has attracted 1.5 million views on YouTube.
Interest is coming from potential sponsors, promoters and even TV broadcasters. Facebook messages and emails are promoting the sport to potential players.
During Friday's game, a Thai spectator wandered over from a football match on a nearby field. ''What is this sport?'' he asked in bemusement. We explained. ''Crazy foreigners,'' he muttered.
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