The United Airsoft League would like to thank you for reading this informative guide to airsoft. This is intended to give you the option for an informed decision about letting your underage child participate in airsoft events, or weekend skirmishes with UAL.
The first thing to be covered is the culture of UAL. UAL has a very diverse group of members. UAL has members that go to church, and members that do not. The age range of UAL is approximatly 15-37. There are members that are single and married. There are service members: active, reserve, and retired, and there are also civilans. There are members from diversive job fields. We have conversations about real world issues. Such as religion, politics, money etc. There are different views held by many different members.
Similar to paintball, there are many safety concerns. In a sport were bb's fly at you at high velocities there are many possible things that can happen. Some bad, and some not so bad. Airsoft uses 6mm plastic bb's and not your standard .177 cal metal bbs. Airsoft bb's are also shot at lower velocities then these metal bbs. When the Airsoft bbs strike your skin, they tend not to penetrate. This is not to say that they don't make bruses or leave marks, but to say that you don't have to go to the Emergency Room to have a bb removed from inside your body. But, not unlike any game, accidents happen. Airsoft guns at relativly close range will leave marks. These marks look a lot like chicken pox, and are commonly called pok marks. They are usually just small bruses. Sometimes These marks may bleed a little. Here are some examples of these marks:

These marks were sustained during MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) training with United States Marine Corps Reserve units. These were recieved at increadibly close range with high powered guns. The nature of this training was to put a life and death type spin on what is usually a game for us. This was not a game for the Marines. Most engagements aren't like this in normal airsoft skirmishes. However, accidents do happen, and these kinds of marks are not uncommon.
Due to the nature of this game, the most important thing is safety. The primary piece of safety equipment is your eye protection. There are many different types of eye protection out there that people use. There are four types of eye protection that are common to airsoft. Shooting Glasses, Full Sealing Goggles, Mesh goggles, and Full masks. The gold standard for glasses, or goggles with plastic lenses is that thay meet ANSI 87.3 standards. Here are some examples of these types of eye protection:

Shooting glasses. These glasses will wrap around the face, but they do not use foam, or rubber to form a perfect seal. These are the glasses that most of our team uses.

The picture on the left is a pair of cheap shooting glasses purchased at a gun store. They do meet ANSI 87.3 standards. The picture on the right is a pair of Oakley SI M Frames, the glasses in the background is a pair of Oakley SI Half-Jackets. Oalkey SI Eyeware exceeds the ANSI 87.3 standards and meets highter requirements for the Department of Defense.

The next type of eye protection is full sealing goggles. These goggles have either foam, or rubber that seals off your eyes from the outside.

The picture on the left is a Scott brand Motocross goggle. It was purchased at a motor cycle store and it meets ANSI 87.3 standards. The picture on the right is of a military issue Wiley X SG-1 goggle. It features foam rubber that wraps all the way around the eye sockets, and seals off the eyes. Wiley X SG-1 goggles exceed the ANSI 87.3 and meet higher requirements for the Department of Defense.
There are many different arguments out there about what type of protection you should use. Here are a few visual arguments for and against the different types of eye protection.

Above Left:This is a Marine who sustained an injury to his fore head while conducting MOUT training with airsoft guns. This was a shot recieved from a high powered gun, at close range. One note: Had the Marine had on a face mask, he would have not recieved this injury. Above Right:This injury was recieved from a high powered gun at a range of approx eight feet. The bb scraped against the lenses of the players Oakley SI M-frames, and made contact with the skin. The eye was not in danger, but note that this injury would not have been sustained if the player were wearing full seal goggles. Also note that one day later the player had a black eye. He told everyone that he was at his girlfriends house, and her husband came home early.

This is an injury that an airsofter sustained while running up a hill toward an obsticle. There was an opposing player behind that obsticle who challenged this player, and shot him. The pictured player was unaware of the bb stuck in the end of his nose for hours until it was brought to his attention. It did not bleed from what is understood. This would have been avoiaded if the player would have been wearing a paintball type face mask.

This injury was sustained when the player was flanked, and canted his head while being shot. The bb barely entered his nose, and struke his nasal septum. He suffered capilary bleeding for a minute or two. This could have been avoided if the player were wearing a paintball type face mask.