Rat Pack (Australian Paintball Team)
Rat Pack, also recorded as Rat Pak and Ratpak, was an Australian tournament paintball team associated with Victoria and the Peninsula Paintball Club. Tournament reports document its participation during the 1990s, while contemporary forum posts record two Ratpak squads competing at Mount White in November 2003.[1][2][3][4][8]
History
[edit]Victorian competition
[edit]Rat Pak Bad won the third round of the 1996 Victorian Three-Man Series at Paintball Action Games in Ballan, defeating the Red Lizards in the final. In the overall series standings, Rat Pak Bad finished fourth with 560 points, Rat Pak Good fifth with 519 points and Rat Pak Ugly twenty-fifth with 25 points.[1]
Rat Pack Red placed third in the professional division of the 1998 Victorian Five-Man Masters. During the finals, it defeated The Firm but lost to Top Hat Jokers. In its concluding game against Magnum, Rat Pack Red needed a maximum score without losing a player to win the championship. An elimination ended that possibility, and the game finished without a flag hang.[2]
Rat Pack won the 1998 Victorian Three-Man Tournament, organised by the Victorian Paintball Players Association at the Peninsula Paintball Club's Frankston site. Six teams competed, with Rat Pack defeating The Creed Black and Xtreme in the three-team final.[3]
National competition
[edit]At 1999 APPL Round One, Rat Pak finished second in the professional preliminary standings with 740 points. It also placed second in the finals, scoring 180 points behind SWAT's 300. The contemporary report identified Rat Pak as training partners of The Creed.[5]
In an August 2003 tribute to teammate Andrew Hookem, Ratpak member Mick Egan credited the team with APPL professional championships in 1999 and 2000 and an APEC championship in 2001.[6]
A later account of former player Troy Charlesworth's career, published by Valhalla Paintball, also records Rat Pak's success in 1999–2001, but identifies all three titles as APPL professional championships. The accounts therefore differ over the competition associated with the 2001 title.[6][7]
Mount White, 2003
[edit]Ratpak entered two squads at a Mount White tournament in November 2003. In a contemporary Peninsula Paintball Club forum post, player Neil reported that Ratpak 1 had not reached the finals and Ratpak 2 had finished third. He identified himself as a member of Ratpak 1.[8]
Club association and players
[edit]Peninsula Paintball Club president Leigh Dixon listed Rat Pak among four tournament teams that played out of the club, alongside Loony Tunes, X-Rated and The Creed.[4]
Valhalla Paintball's account of Troy Charlesworth's playing career describes Rat Pak as based in Carrum Downs and records that he joined the team after playing for Apparition.[7]
Andrew Hookem was another Ratpak player. Following his death in August 2003, teammate Mick Egan posted a tribute in the club's forum. The Hookem Cup was subsequently named in his honour.[6][7]
Recorded tournament results
[edit]| Year | Competition | Entry | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Victorian Three-Man Series, round three | Rat Pak Bad | 1st | [1] |
| 1996 | Victorian Three-Man Series overall | Rat Pak Bad | 4th; 560 points | [1] |
| 1996 | Victorian Three-Man Series overall | Rat Pak Good | 5th; 519 points | [1] |
| 1996 | Victorian Three-Man Series overall | Rat Pak Ugly | 25th; 25 points | [1] |
| 1998 | Victorian Five-Man Masters | Rat Pack Red | 3rd, professional division | [2] |
| 1998 | Victorian Three-Man Tournament | Rat Pack | 1st | [3] |
| 1999 | APPL round one | Rat Pak | 2nd, professional division; 180 finals points | [5] |
| 2003 | Mount White tournament | Ratpak 1 | Did not reach the finals | [8] |
| 2003 | Mount White tournament | Ratpak 2 | 3rd | [8] |
References
[edit]- Three’s a Crowd. Mic Bradshaw, Paint, issue 5, March 1997.
- 5 Man Victorian Masters. Mike Wallis, Paint, issue 8, May 1998.
- 1998 Victorian 3 Man. Mike Wallis, Paint, issue 9, September 1998.
- Frankston Paintball Field. Leigh Dixon, Paint, club history.
- APPL Round One. Simon Morrison, Paint, issue 11, 1999.
- Andrew Hookem tribute discussion. Peninsula Paintball Club forum, Paint; contribution by Mick Egan, 21 August 2003.
- About Us. Valhalla Paintball, account of Troy Charlesworth's playing career, undated.
- Mount White tournament discussion. Peninsula Paintball Club forum, Paint; contribution by Neil, 5 November 2003.