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(Farnborough, Hampshire) The Second EUROPEAN LASER QUEST CHAMPIONSHIPS will take place on the weekend of 26th - 27th April 2003, at Europe's newest Laser Quest venue - Swindon, Wiltshire. The first event was held in January 2001 at the centres in Woking and Guildford, Surrey. On that occasion 14 teams of 9 players each, representing centres in the UK and Holland, battled it out over 14½ hours of game time to determine the best team in Europe. The organisers are confident that they can attract even more teams to this year's event.

Laser Quest is a form of laser tag, where players aim to score points off their opponents by shooting harmless laser beams at sensors on a special "vest" worm by each player. While many people will be familiar with games of laser tag from birthday parties or corporate events, it may surprise you to learn that there is a thriving competitive aspect too. Teams from various Laser Quest centers have competed against each other for many years, although the lack of a formal tournament system in the UK led to the foundation of what became the European Laser Quest Championships, and to their first event in 2001.

The captain of the winning team on that occasion, Phil Ellis of Guildford's "The Tribe Called Quest", said he was looking forward to this year's event very much. "It's going to be a great tournament. There will be lots of teams who want to win the title from us, but we want to hold on to it and will be giving it our best shot," he added.

Martin Greenaway, representing organisers European Laser Quest Championships, commented that this years' event would be a big step forward in many areas. "We have representation from France in this year's event, as well as many teams from the UK and Holland, and we are hoping for even more teams in this year's event than we got in 2001."

Players waiting for their games will be able to see what's going on in the arena for the first time in a major tournament, he announced. "We will be filming every game from four fixed cameras in the arena, showing the pictures live on TV monitors in the reception area," he said, adding that this was a 'first step' on the road towards marketing laser tag events as sports that people would want to watch.

The organisers are actively seeking sponsorship for the event, the biggest of its type in Europe, to help reduce the financial burden on the participants and to help secure the future of the event.

For more information on the European Laser Quest Championships 2003, please visit the website at http://www.elc2003.co.uk/ or contact the organisers on 07958 656706.

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Further information:

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Laser Quest Swindon opened on 8th February 2003 in the heart of Swindon, Wilts, and is already widely regarded by many players as one of the best Laser Quest sites in the country. A purpose built 6,000 sq ft arena, complete with fog, raised areas, maze sections, internal monitor stations and custom arena effects, provides the perfect backdrop for the most intense laser tag experience.

For more details please see their official website at http://www.lqswindon.co.uk/ or telephone 01793 567950.

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Laser Quest is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Versent Corporation, based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The UK franchise holder for Laser Quest is Laser Quest GB Limited.

Laser Quest is the world's best known and most exciting brand of Laser Tag game. Each player is equipped with 'state of the art' laser tag equipment and plays the game in a uniquely styled labyrinth which features custom built scenery, ramps and catwalks, and includes lighting effects, swirling fog and futuristic music.

Points are scored when you successfully zap your opponent on one of the many sensors located on the pack and gun. But beware, if you are zapped you lose points and get knocked out of the game for a few seconds. Using the Laser Quest software platform limitless game variations can be created from simple solo and team games to more complex advanced team games, sentinel games and base station games.

For more information on Laser Quest GB please see http://www.laserquest.co.uk/.

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