Australian tournament paintball in 1995
Australian tournament paintball in 1995 comprised independently organised competitions and regional tournament circuits using three-, five-, seven- and ten-player formats. Professional, amateur and novice divisions were used at several events.[1][2]
A retrospective ranking published by Australian Paintballer covered tournaments from the Brayton five-player event in January to the Rebel Tour in December. SWAT led the professional rankings, while MAXX/Ducks led the amateur rankings.[1]
Season overview
New South Wales hosted much of the documented tournament calendar, including the Australian Five-Man Open, New South Wales State Championships, Southern Tablelands Seven-Man Championship, Australian Masters, Australian Three-Man Speedball Championships and Rebel Tour. Teams from Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand travelled to compete.[1][3][10]
Competition formats varied. The Australian South Pacific Paintball Championships used ten-player teams, while the Rebel Tour changed from ten to seven players. Five-player competitions included the Australian Five-Man Open and the multi-venue Skirmish Bushmasters series.[2][4][5]
The Australian Masters attracted visiting United States team Rage, while the Saints travelled from New Zealand to contest the Australian South Pacific Paintball Championships.[10][11]
Selected tournaments
New South Wales State Championships
The New South Wales State Championships were held at Skirmish Adventures, Gunning, on 12 February. Magnum led the preliminary standings, followed by Black Reign, SWAT and Top Hat Jokers. SWAT won the finals, with Magnum second, Top Hat Jokers third and Black Reign fourth. It was SWAT’s second consecutive victory in the event.[3]
Australian Five-Man Open
The Australian Five-Man Open was held at Mount White on 25–26 February. Top Hat Jokers placed third after the preliminary rounds but won two of its three finals games to take the championship. Black Reign finished second, Rhythm Method third and FIGJAM fourth.[3]
Southern Tablelands Seven-Man Championship
Nine teams contested the Southern Tablelands Seven-Man Championship. HEAT Blue led the preliminary round with 600 points, five points ahead of Magnum. The Delegates won the finals with 225 points, followed by The Firm, HEAT Blue and Magnum.[7]
Skirmish Bushmasters
The five-player Skirmish Bushmasters series was staged across several New South Wales venues. At the Brayton round on 22 January, The Delegates won ahead of HEAT, Inner Sight and SWAT.[3]
A subsequent round at the Skirmish Centre of Australia on 17 September attracted eleven teams. SWAT defeated Top Hat Jokers Red in the professional final, while Bad Company won the novice division. Top Hat Jokers Black placed third in the professional standings.[2]
Australian Masters
The 1995 Australian Masters was held over two days at Skirmish Adventures in Helensburgh. Rage won the tournament, with Magnum finishing second. Hardline and Black Reign were the other finalists.[10]
Rage’s visit was supported by R. P. Scherer, Paintball Australia and Skirmish Adventures. SWAT supplied the tournament referees.[10]
The contemporary online report contains conflicting accounts of the remaining finalists’ placings. Its introductory narrative places Black Reign third and Hardline fourth, while its final results table reverses that order.[10]
South Pacific Paintball Championships
The ten-player South Pacific Paintball Championships were held at Adventure Quest Games near Windsor. Seven teams competed: Top Hat Jokers, SWAT, Black Reign, Black Reign/No Fear, Hardline, United Newcastle and the Saints from New Zealand.[4]
Top Hat Jokers won the tournament, followed by Black Reign, SWAT and Black Reign/No Fear. The Saints did not qualify for the finals.[4][11]
The R. P. Scherer-sponsored event used bush, speedball, drum, and bunker-and-trench fields. Peter Russell served as head referee. The tournament introduced a one-for-one penalty under which an infringement could result in the elimination of both the offending player and a teammate.[11]
The tournament clashed with an event referred to variously as the Australian Open and Australian Nationals in Queensland. Contemporary reports stated that the scheduling conflict reduced attendance at both events.[4][8][11]
Queensland Australian Open
An Australian Open was held at Top Gun Paintball Fields at Cedar Creek Lodge on 30 September. Low attendance resulted in the tournament being reduced to a one-day competition involving five teams.[8]
Magnum entered two squads, Magnum Bad and Magnum Good, which finished first and second respectively. The Firm placed third, Hydra fourth and The Budds fifth. The event was called the Australian Open in its tournament report but was identified as the Australian Nationals elsewhere in the same issue of Australian Paintballer.[8]
Australian Three-Man Speedball Championships
Heartbreak Ridge Paintball in Sydney hosted the 1995 Australian Three-Man Speedball Championships on 5 November. Twenty-three teams played 145 games across professional and amateur divisions.[6][12]
The Delegates won the professional division, followed by Magnum Good, Top Hat Clubs and Top Hat Spades. The Dark Side won the amateur division ahead of Tomcats Blue, Ambassadors Cal and Tomcats Red.[6]
Manny Kargas organised the tournament. The Firm supplied referees, with Chris Kargas serving as head referee. The Buds received the referees’ choice award.[12]
Rebel Tour
The 1995 Rebel Tour was held at Skirmish Adventures, Helensburgh, on 2–3 December. Team size was reduced from ten to seven players, with ten teams competing across professional and amateur divisions. Four teams from each division qualified for separate finals.[5][13]
Black Reign Funky Brothers won the professional division. Bad Company won the amateur division after a closely contested final encounter with Bulljoes in which chronograph penalties affected both teams.[5][13]
SWAT supplied the referees, with John Caruana serving as head referee. Games were played on Speedball, Blisterball and Village fields, with the finals held on Speedball and Blisterball.[13]
National team rankings
Australian Paintballer editor Ross Davis and Kez Svanberg of the Skirmish Centre of Australia compiled retrospective professional and amateur rankings covering tournaments from January to December 1995. Thirty-four teams were ranked, although only the leading ten teams in each division were published.[1]
Professional
| Rank | Team | State | Points | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SWAT | New South Wales | 446.25 | 10 |
| 2 | HEAT | New South Wales | 352.00 | 9 |
| 3 | Black Reign | Queensland | 346.50 | 6 |
| 4 | Top Hat Jokers | New South Wales | 330.30 | 8 |
| 5 | Magnum | New South Wales | 220.10 | 5 |
| 6 | The Delegates | Australian Capital Territory | 203.40 | 6 |
| 7 | Regulators | Queensland | 133.40 | 3 |
| 8 | The Firm | New South Wales | 102.30 | 4 |
| 9 | Hardline | South Australia | 100.50 | 2 |
| 10 | FIGJAM | South Australia | 59.00 | 2 |
The New Zealand Saints received 56.25 points from their single Australian tournament appearance but were listed separately from the Australian top ten.[1]
Amateur
| Rank | Team | State | Points | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MAXX/Ducks | New South Wales | 97.60 | 6 |
| 2 | Bad Company | New South Wales | 69.50 | 4 |
| 3 | Tomcats | New South Wales | 62.00 | 2 |
| 4 | Bull Joes | New South Wales | 58.50 | 3 |
| 5 | Phantom Squad | New South Wales | 37.00 | 3 |
| 6 | The Dark Side | New South Wales | 31.10 | 2 |
| 7 | Ambassadors | New South Wales | 29.50 | 2 |
| 8 | United Newcastle | New South Wales | 28.75 | 1 |
| 9 | SCA Raiders | New South Wales | 25.70 | 2 |
| 10 | Inner Sight | New South Wales | 25.00 | 1 |
Development of the APPL
On 7 October, representatives of several teams met to discuss a national tournament circuit, standardised rules and a common ranking system.[9]
These discussions contributed to the establishment of the Australasian Paintball Players League. The league introduced a sanctioned calendar for 1996, with separate five- and ten-player events and professional and amateur rankings.[9]
See also
- Australian Masters
- South Pacific Paintball Championships (Australia)
- 1995 Australian Three-Man Speedball Championships
- 1995 Rebel Tour
- Australasian Paintball Players League
- Paintball in Australia
References
- Australian Paintballer, April–June 1996, “1995 Australian Team Rankings”.
- Australian Paintballer, December 1995–February 1996, “The Bushmasters Series”.
- Australian Paintballer, June–July 1995, New South Wales State Championships, Bushmasters and “Australian 5-Man Open” reports.
- Australian Paintballer, December 1995–February 1996, “South Pacific Extravaganza”.
- Australian Paintballer, April–June 1996, “Rebel Keeps on Yellin’: The 1995 Rebel Tour”.
- Australian Paintballer, December 1995–February 1996, “The Australian 3-Man Speedball Championships”.
- Australian Paintballer, June–July 1995, “Southern Tablelands 7-Man Championship Round-Up”.
- Australian Paintballer, December 1995–February 1996, “The Australian Open”.
- Australian Paintballer, December 1995–February 1996 and April–June 1996, reports on the formation of the Australasian Paintball Players League.
- Australian Masters. Steve Hobden, War Paint, issue 1, January 1996.
- South Pacific’s. Gavin Costello, War Paint, issue 1, January 1996.
- 3 Man Speedball Championships. War Paint, issue 1, January 1996.
- Rebel Yell!. Rod Lewis and Gavin Costello, War Paint, issue 2, May 1996.