Editing Black Widows (Australian Paintball Team)

'''Black Widows''' was an Australian tournament [[paintball]] team from New South Wales, also documented under the names '''MAXX''' and '''The Ducks'''. An entry listed as MAXX/Ducks led ''Australian Paintballer'''s national amateur rankings for 1995. Black Widows finished second in the amateur division of a Brayton charity tournament in January 1996 and reached the amateur finals of that year's [[Australian Masters]].[2][3][4]

== Team names ==

The contemporary report of the 1996 Australian Masters identified Black Widows as formerly The Ducks, previously MAXX, and originally Black Widows.[2]

== History ==

=== 1995 competition ===

Competing as MAXX, the team finished sixth in the preliminary standings at the New South Wales State Championships at Skirmish Adventures Gunning on 12 February 1995. It scored 132 points and did not reach the four-team finals.[5]

MAXX also entered the Southern Tablelands Seven-Man Championship at Brayton Paintball, recording 325 preliminary points.[6]

As The Ducks, the team competed in the amateur division of the [[1995 Rebel Tour]] at Skirmish Adventures in Helensburgh on 2–3 December.[1]

The Ducks qualified for the four-team amateur finals with 295 preliminary points. During the finals, it lost to [[Bad Company (Australian Paintball Team)|Bad Company]] and received a chronograph penalty. The report does not establish its final tournament placing.[1]

In ''Australian Paintballer'''s national amateur rankings for the 1995 season, MAXX/Ducks placed first with 97.60 ranking points.[3]

=== 1996 Brayton charity tournament ===

Black Widows finished second in the amateur division of the Starlight Foundation charity five-player tournament at Brayton Paintball on 14 January 1996.[4]

The amateur final standings placed [[Ambassadors (Australian Paintball Team)|The Ambassadors]] first, Black Widows second, Acme third and Them fourth.[4]

=== 1996 Australian Masters ===

Black Widows reached the amateur finals of the 1996 Australian Masters at Skirmish Adventures, Helensburgh.[2]

The report described the team as having upgraded its equipment and established a more stable playing group. Danny Cummings of [[Apparition (Australian Paintball Team)|Apparition]] assisted the team at the tournament.[2]

Black Widows was identified as an amateur finalist alongside Vengeance, [[Tomcats (Australian Paintball Team)|Tomcats]] and Acme. The report does not establish Black Widows' final placing.[2]

== Recorded results ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Competition
! Entry
! Recorded outcome
! Source
|-
| 1995
| New South Wales State Championships
| MAXX
| 6th in preliminaries; 132 points
| [5]
|-
| 1995
| Southern Tablelands Seven-Man Championship
| MAXX
| 325 preliminary points
| [6]
|-
| 1995
| [[1995 Rebel Tour]]
| The Ducks
| Amateur finalist; 295 preliminary points
| [1]
|-
| 1995
| Australian Paintballer national amateur rankings
| MAXX/Ducks
| 1st; 97.60 ranking points
| [3]
|-
| 1996
| Starlight Foundation charity tournament, Brayton Paintball
| Black Widows
| 2nd, amateur division
| [4]
|-
| 1996
| Australian Masters
| Black Widows
| Amateur finalist; final placing not established
| [2]
|}

== References ==

# [https://web.archive.org/web/19981202005647/http://www.xsystems.com.au/wpaint/wpaint2/rebel.htm Rebel Yell!]. Rod Lewis and Gavin Costello, ''War Paint'', issue 2, May 1996.
# [https://web.archive.org/web/19981206035630/http://www.xsystems.com.au/wpaint/wpaint4/masters.html Australian Masters]. Kez Svanberg, ''War Paint'', issue 4, November 1996.
# “1995 Australian Team Rankings”, ''Australian Paintballer'', April–June 1996, p. 29.
# Neil Carpenter, report on the Starlight Foundation charity tournament at Brayton Paintball, ''Australian Paintballer'', April–June 1996, p. 32.
# “SWAT Take Out NSW State Championships”, ''Australian Paintballer'', June–July 1995, p. 10.
# Neil Carpenter, “Southern Tablelands 7-Man Championship Round-Up”, ''Australian Paintballer'', June–July 1995, pp. 56–57.

[[Category:Australian paintball teams]]
[[Category:Paintball teams]]
[[Category:Paintball in New South Wales]]
[[Category:1990s in Australian paintball]]
[[Category:1990s in paintball]]