Stryke Force

Stryke Force was an American tournament paintball team based in Fresno, California. Formed in January 1994 and captained by Mike Poindexter, the team competed in five-player and ten-player events, particularly the Great Western Tournament Series. Stryke Force won the series' 1995 novice ten-player championship before competing in the amateur division.[1][2]

History

Stryke Force held its first practice on 9 January 1994. The team entered its first tournament the following weekend with nine players, and its second-string side won the event.[1]

During 1995, Stryke Force entered both the five-player and ten-player competitions at every Great Western Tournament Series event. Poindexter reported that the team reached the finals at every stop. Its ten-player side did not finish below second place and won the series' novice ten-player championship. In five-player competition, Stryke Force finished third or higher at every event and placed second in the season standings.[1]

A contemporary report from the Salt Lake City event recorded Stryke Force as the winner of the novice ten-player competition and second in novice five-player competition.[2]

By August 1996, Stryke Force had approximately 20 players and was seeking additional members. Although based in Fresno, its roster included players from other parts of California and Utah. The team intended to enter separate amateur and novice ten-player sides while also fielding several five-player squads.[1]

The organisation used its second team to introduce additional players to tournament competition. Poindexter described Stryke Force's playing style as aggressive and said that its players were expected to continue developing methods of breaking stalemates rather than waiting for opponents to move.[1]

Team organisation

Stryke Force's documented members included:[1]

Name	Role or association
Mike Poindexter	Captain
Chuck Miller	Player; developed the concept for the team's numbered uniforms
Derek Jones	Utah-based player
Jay Groll	Utah-based player
Craig Cook	Utah-based player

The team's numbered uniforms were intended to give individual players greater recognition. Poindexter argued that distinctive uniforms and player identification would make tournament paintball easier for spectators to follow.[1]

Sponsors identified in 1996 included Air America, Body Armor Products, Bullseye Paintballs, Kermode Concepts, Mr. G's Paintball, Pursuit Products, Unique Sporting and Vents Goggles. Most team members used Automag markers, while the remainder used Autococker markers. Seventeen of the team's 20 players were reported to be using Air America compressed-air systems.[1]

Tournament record

The following results were published in the August 1996 Stryke Force profile.[1]

Date	Tournament	Format	Division	Result
16 January 1994	King of the Jungle	Five-player	Not stated	1st
10 April 1994	Slaughterhouse Speedball	Five-player	Not stated	2nd
30 April 1994	Field of Fire Town War	Five-player	Not stated	3rd
22 May 1994	R & R Speedball	Five-player	Not stated	3rd
13 August 1994	Great Western Series, Modesto	Five-player	Novice	3rd
February 1995	Great Western Series, Los Angeles	Five-player	Novice	1st
February 1995	Great Western Series, Los Angeles	Ten-player	Novice	1st
May 1995	Great Western Series, Salt Lake City	Five-player	Novice	2nd
May 1995	Great Western Series, Salt Lake City	Ten-player	Novice	2nd in the later team profile; reported as 1st in contemporary event coverage[1][2]
July 1995	Great Western Series, San Diego	Five-player	Novice	3rd
July 1995	Great Western Series, San Diego	Ten-player	Novice	1st
September 1995	Great Western Series, Portland	Five-player	Novice	3rd
September 1995	Great Western Series, Portland	Ten-player	Novice	2nd
November 1995	Great Western Series, Las Vegas	Five-player	Novice	1st
November 1995	Great Western Series, Las Vegas	Ten-player	Novice	2nd

The two published sources disagree over Stryke Force's ten-player placing at the May 1995 Salt Lake City event. The August 1996 team profile lists the result as second place, while the October 1995 event report names Stryke Force as the winner. Neither account provides enough information to resolve the discrepancy.[1][2]

Amateur competition

Stryke Force subsequently competed in the amateur division of the Great Western Tournament Series. At the 1997 San Francisco event, the team scored 160 points in the amateur ten-player preliminary round.[3] It recorded 404 points in the amateur preliminaries at the 1997 Las Vegas event.[4] The team did not advance to the final rounds at either tournament.

Available sources do not establish how long Stryke Force continued operating after 1997.

See also

• National Professional Paintball League
• Automag
• Autococker

References

1. Johnny Disco, “Spotlight: Stryke Force”, Action Pursuit Games, August 1996, pp. 24 and 94–95.
2. “Super Stop: Salt Lake City Great Western Series '95”, Action Pursuit Games, October 1995, p. 14.
3. WARPIG – 1997 Great Western San Francisco results.
4. WARPIG – 1997 Great Western Las Vegas results.