1995 NPPL San Diego Open
The 1995 NPPL San Diego Open, also described in contemporary reporting as the San Diego Cup, was a paintball tournament held at Borderland Paintball Fields in San Diego, California. It was the second event on the National Professional Paintball League's 1995 schedule, advertised for 3–7 May 1995.[1][2]
The All Americans won both the professional five-man and professional ten-man competitions.[3]
Organisation and programme
[edit]The San Diego Open followed the 1995 NPPL Dallas Open and preceded the 1995 NPPL Pittsburgh Open on the published league schedule. Contemporary advertising announced more than US$50,000 in cash and prizes and named GBD as the scheduled refereeing team.[1]
Five-man competition was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, followed by ten-man competition on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Advertised entry fees were US$500 for five-man teams, US$1,500 for amateur ten-man teams and US$2,000 for professional ten-man teams. Competitors were permitted to bring their own paintballs.[1]
The league specified at least four referees on each five-man field and six on each ten-man field.[1]
Fields and playing conditions
[edit]Ross Davis's contemporary report in Paintballer described large fields and low barricades that required players to spend considerable time crawling. The report gave game limits of 25 minutes for ten-man competition and 15 minutes for five-man competition.[2]
Players from the visiting Australian team Team SWAT described the fields as substantially larger than those they normally encountered in Australia. Their account emphasised the volume and accuracy of paint fired by experienced American opponents.[2]
Competition
[edit]Professional winners
[edit]| Competition | Winning team |
|---|---|
| Professional five-man | All Americans |
| Professional ten-man | All Americans |
Both victories were listed in “The All-Americans' Incredible Record”, published in the October 1995 issue of Action Pursuit Games.[3]
Australian participation
[edit]Team SWAT entered two five-man squads, captained by Michael Whybrew and Brad McCormack, and a ten-man team. Davis reported that the five-man squads finished eighth and tenth among 20 entries in the combined professional/amateur competition, while the ten-man team finished fourteenth among 28 entries.[2]
The Australians faced opponents including the All Americans, Washington Reign, Nemesis, Bad Company and Rage. Davis recorded a rapid opening defeat for McCormack's five-man squad against the All Americans, but also reported SWAT victories over Washington Reign during the preliminary rounds and over Bad Company in ten-man competition.[2]
The report described a crowd gathering around the field during SWAT's closely contested ten-man victory over Bad Company. Its accompanying photographs documented the Australians playing among trees and brush at Borderland.[2]
See also
[edit]- National Professional Paintball League
- 1995 NPPL Dallas Open
- 1995 NPPL Pittsburgh Open
- Sydney SWAT
- Paintball in the United States
References
[edit]- NPPL “Time to Play” season advertisement and “Calendar of Events”, Paintball Sports, April 1995. Contemporary notices advertising the San Diego Open for 3–7 May at Borderland, including the programme, scheduled referees, entry fees and prize fund.
- Ross Davis, “SWAT pass test at US paintball school”, Paintballer, June–July 1995, pp. 66–67. Contemporary report and photographs covering Team SWAT's participation, placings, opponents and playing conditions.
- “The All-Americans' Incredible Record”, sidebar accompanying “Voice of the Pros”, Action Pursuit Games, October 1995, p. 83. Lists the team's 1995 NPPL San Diego Open five-man and ten-man victories.