Australian tournament paintball in 1995
Australian tournament paintball in 1995 comprised a series of independently organised competitions and regional tournament circuits. Events used three-, five-, seven- and ten-player formats, with an increasing distinction between professional, amateur and novice divisions.[1][2]
No single national governing body administered the entire season. A retrospective ranking published by Australian Paintballer counted tournaments held between the Brayton five-player event in January and the Rebel Tour in December. Sydney 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 Three-Man Speedball Championships and the Rebel Tour. Major tournaments were also held in Queensland, while teams from Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand travelled interstate to compete.[1][3]
Competition formats varied between events. The South Pacific Paintball Championships retained a ten-player format, while the 1995 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]
Professional and amateur divisions became more prominent during the season. The Bushmasters series employed separate professional and novice finals, while the Australian Three-Man Speedball Championships and Rebel Tour divided entrants into professional and amateur categories.[2][5][6]
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 Team 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]
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 event introduced a one-for-one penalty rule under which a cheating infringement could result in the elimination of both the offending player and a teammate.[4]
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]
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 Australian Three-Man Speedball Championships on 5 November. Twenty-three teams played 145 games across professional and amateur divisions.[6]
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]
Rebel Tour
The Rebel Tour was held at Skirmish Adventures, Helensburgh, on 2–3 December. The competition changed from ten- to seven-player teams and employed separate professional and amateur finals.[5]
Black Reign Funky Brothers won the professional division. Bad Company won the amateur division after a closely contested final in which chronograph penalties affected both Bad Company and the Bulljoes.[5]
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 | 2 |
| 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 |
Organisation and legacy
The fragmented organisation of the 1995 season produced scheduling conflicts and differing rules, formats and ranking systems. 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 national calendar for 1996, with separate five- and ten-player events and formal professional and amateur rankings.[9]
See also
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.