Skyball

Skyball, also known as ZAP Skyball, was an international indoor paintball tournament held at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1998 by Focus International, the event brought professional and amateur five-player tournament paintball into one of North America's largest sporting stadiums.[1][2]

Skyball combined tournament competition with paintball industry exhibitions and attracted teams from Canada, the United States and other countries. Six consecutive editions are documented between 1998 and 2003, with participation exceeding 200 teams during its later years.[3][4]

The tournament was closely associated with ZAP Paintball, which served as its principal sponsor and subsequently assumed responsibility for event promotion and organisation.[3][5]

History

Establishment (1998)

Skyball was established by Focus International, which announced plans in 1997 to hold a paintball tournament inside Toronto's SkyDome.

The inaugural event took place on 20–21 March 1998.

The tournament attracted more than 120 five-player teams and incorporated separate professional and amateur competitions.

The playing areas occupied approximately half of the stadium floor, with a basketball court occupying the remaining space.

Three five-player fields were constructed using inflatable bunkers, plastic pipes, screening and stacked inner tubes. A smaller field was also provided for a three-player competition.

The tournament was conducted under modified National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) rules, with Bill Cookston serving as ultimate referee.[1]

Ground Zero Gold won the professional division, defeating J&J Ohio in the final. Image finished third and the All Americans fourth.

The Oh No's won the amateur division, ahead of SOB Red and OBR Blue.[1]

Expansion (1999)

The second Skyball tournament took place in 1999, attracting more than 170 five-player teams.

Focus International continued organising the event, with ZAP Paintball serving as the principal sponsor.

The playing fields used Cheap Shot bunkers constructed from stacked inner tubes enclosed in fabric coverings.

The tournament also incorporated a trade exhibition featuring equipment manufacturers and distributors, including Airgun Designs, Tippmann, Redz Comfort Gear, WDP, J&J Performance and National Paintball Supply.

The All Americans won the professional division, while the Jacksonville Warriors won the amateur division.[2]

During the event, Focus International announced that it had secured a five-year agreement to continue holding Skyball at the SkyDome.[2]

Skyball III (2000)

The third tournament was held from 18 to 20 February 2000.

For the first time, the entire SkyDome playing surface was made available for paintball.

Four full-sized Sup'Air Ball fields were constructed, with the remaining floor space used for team staging and equipment preparation.

The competition retained professional and amateur five-player divisions and introduced an additional pump-action competition.

The All Americans won the professional division for the second consecutive year.

The Bushwackers won the amateur division.[3]

Skyball 2000 also featured a trade exhibition where manufacturers displayed new equipment, including the AKA Excalibur, electronic grip frames and customised Autococker markers.[3]

Skyball IV (2001)

The fourth edition took place on 9–10 March 2001.

The World Paintball Federation (WPF) was contracted by ZAP Paintball to promote and produce the tournament.

The revised competition featured three amateur classifications based on tournament experience:

Rookie: Teams in their first season of competition.
Novice: Teams in their second season.
Amateur: Teams with more extensive tournament experience that had not competed professionally.

Competition took place on five carpeted Sup'Air Ball fields, with WPF-trained referees supervising the games.[5]

According to the organisers' post-event announcement, 193 five-player teams participated, competing for more than US$100,000 in cash and prizes.

The division winners were:

Amateur: Rapid Fire Red, New Jersey.
Novice: Jesters, New Hampshire.
Rookie: Chaos Blue, Michigan.

Approximately 2,000 spectators attended the event, according to the organisers.[6]

Skyball V (2002)

The fifth tournament was held on 1–2 March 2002.

ZAP Paintball assumed direct responsibility for organising the competition, rather than contracting an external tournament promoter.

Gordon and Steve Moore of ZAP oversaw the event, with Chip Herbert directing tournament operations and Bill Cookston responsible for officiating.

Approximately 250 teams participated across professional, amateur, novice and rookie classifications.[7]

Six inflatable-bunker fields were installed inside the SkyDome.

The event also featured an industry exhibition and live video coverage displayed on the stadium's large screens.

The professional division was won by Ground Zero, which defeated the Jax Warriors in the final.

Other division winners included:

Amateur: Sharpshooters.
Novice: TCP Extreme.
Rookie: Farside Kids.

[7]

Skyball VI (2003)

The sixth documented edition took place in March 2003, again at Toronto's SkyDome.

More than 200 teams participated on six carpeted Sup'Air Ball fields.[8]

The tournament featured amateur, novice and rookie divisions, with a revised format incorporating quarter-final round-robin games followed by single-elimination semi-finals and championship matches.

In the amateur division, the AGD Kids defeated Team Nasty in two consecutive games to win the championship.

BAM won the novice division, while True Colors won the rookie competition.[8]

The tournament continued to incorporate a substantial paintball trade exhibition.

Exhibitors included ZAP, WDP, Airgun Designs, Tippmann, Crossfire and J&J Performance.

Bea Youngs served as the event's announcer, providing game scheduling information throughout the competition.[8]

Contemporary reporting stated that tentative dates had been announced for a seventh edition. However, the available historical records do not establish that Skyball VII subsequently took place.[8]

Competition format

Skyball was primarily a five-player tournament.

Its early editions included separate professional and amateur competitions, with later events adopting additional classifications for less experienced teams.

The tournament used short, timed games and a scoring system based on player eliminations and flag objectives.

The 1999 event, for example, awarded points for pulling and hanging the opposing team's flag, retaining surviving players and eliminating opponents.[2]

Skyball's indoor setting required specially constructed playing surfaces and artificial bunkers.

Early fields included stacked inner tubes and pipe bunkers. Later editions increasingly used inflatable Sup'Air Ball fields on padded or carpeted surfaces.

The stadium environment allowed tournament games, trade exhibitions and spectator activities to operate within the same building.

Tournament results

Year	Division	Winner
1998	Professional	Ground Zero Gold
1998	Amateur	Oh No's
1999	Professional	All Americans
1999	Amateur	Jacksonville Warriors
2000	Professional	All Americans
2000	Amateur	Bushwackers
2001	Amateur	Rapid Fire Red
2001	Novice	Jesters
2001	Rookie	Chaos Blue
2002	Professional	Ground Zero
2002	Amateur	Sharpshooters
2002	Novice	TCP Extreme
2002	Rookie	Farside Kids
2003	Amateur	AGD Kids
2003	Novice	BAM
2003	Rookie	True Colors

The results are drawn from contemporary tournament reports, official scoreboards and organiser announcements.[1][2][3][6][7][8]

Industry exhibitions

Skyball also functioned as a trade exhibition for the paintball industry.

Manufacturers and distributors used the event to demonstrate markers, protective equipment, air systems, barrels and playing accessories.

Its location within the SkyDome allowed exhibitions to be held on the stadium concourse while competition took place on the playing surface.

The event provided opportunities for professional players, equipment manufacturers, retailers and amateur competitors to interact.

Contemporary reporting documented exhibitors including ZAP Paintball, WDP, Airgun Designs, Tippmann, Redz Comfort Gear, Crossfire and J&J Performance.[2][3][8]

Significance

Skyball was among the earliest large-scale paintball tournaments staged inside a major professional sports stadium.

Its use of the SkyDome demonstrated how indoor arena facilities could accommodate multiple tournament fields, spectators and equipment exhibitions.

The competition also reflected the transition from mixed artificial-bunker layouts towards standardised inflatable-bunker fields during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The event provided a high-profile setting for international amateur competition and the promotion of paintball equipment in Canada and the United States.

References

External links