2005 International Amateur Open

The 2005 International Amateur Open was an amateur paintball tournament and industry festival held from 27 to 31 July 2005 at the Big Butler Fairgrounds near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Officially promoted as the DraXxus/Empire International Amateur Open and Paintball Festival, it marked the fifteenth anniversary of the International Amateur Open (IAO).[1]

The event combined seven-player, three-player, Young Guns and equipment-manufacturer competitions with a scenario game, trade show, industry conference, technical classes and player training.[1]

NPPL sanctioning

The 2005 tournament marked a change in the IAO's competitive status. Previously operated as an independent event, it became sanctioned by the National Professional Paintball League for the 2005 season.[1][2]

Teams competing in the seven-player Division II and Division III categories received 80 per cent of their IAO ranking points as carry-over points towards the 2005 NPPL Super 7 World Series. The NPPL player identification programme was also used during the tournament.[1]

The arrangement formed part of the NPPL's proposed development of sanctioned feeder competitions, intended to provide additional opportunities for divisional teams unable to enter the league's sold-out principal events.[2]

Competition

The tournament included seven-player novice and rookie divisions, a three-player open division and a Young Guns competition. The three-player and Young Guns play-offs took place on Thursday, while the seven-player competition began on Friday and continued through Saturday.[1]

TPA, an abbreviation of Total Paintball Addiction, won the Division III rookie championship. Tsunami won the Division II novice competition.[1]

Division	1st	2nd	3rd
Seven-player Division II novice	Tsunami	Dirt	ICD Factory
Seven-player Division III rookie	TPA	Hyper Active	N'Tense
Three-player open	Crazy Paint Ambush	Hyper Active	Ground Fire
Young Guns	Rogue Kidz	Little Pittsburgh Blaze	ATS Kids

Great Balls of Fire received the AKALMP seven-player sportsmanship award. ATS Kids received the corresponding Young Guns sportsmanship award.[1]

Owners' Group Division

A new five-player Owners' Group Division was held on Thursday. Every player on each team used markers produced by the same manufacturer, with represented brands including AKALMP, Tippmann, Airgun Designs, Brass Eagle, Smart Parts and Palmer's Pursuit Shop.[1]

The championship was won by the team using Brass Eagle Rainmaker markers. The winning group also received the divisional sportsmanship award, while Stephani Steele received the individual sportsmanship award.[1]

Industry conference

The IAO industry conference brought together paintball field operators, retailers, manufacturers and event organisers. Its programme included workshops on scenario-game production, field and store management, marketing, customer service, equipment maintenance and accident prevention.[1]

Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Rocky Bleier delivered the conference keynote address, discussing teamwork and leadership through his experiences in professional American football.[1]

One of the principal conference discussions concerned electronic marker ramping, rate-of-fire limits and the continued use of conventional semi-automatic firing modes. Panellists included NPPL president Chuck Hendsch, equipment inspector Dave Zinkham, NXL representative Mike Ratko and ASTM committee chairman J. J. Brookshire.[1]

Debra Dion Krischke presented the paintball industry's 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award to scenario producer Wayne Dollack, recognising his role in developing and promoting the 24-hour scenario-game format.[1]

Training and trade exhibition

The event hosted technical classes for players, retailers and field operators. Bob Long conducted a class covering the Intimidator marker, while Tippmann Sports provided instruction in repairing and troubleshooting Tippmann equipment.[1]

The NPPL's Professional Referee Organization conducted referee-certification training led by Dan Perez and Chuck Hendsch. The programme covered safety, positioning, equipment regulations, tournament rules and officiating procedures.[1]

Paintball Pro Schools also offered instruction by professional players including Matty Marshall, Nicky Cuba, Tom Cole, Bob Long and Pete Utschig. Separate sessions were held for beginners and for more experienced novice and amateur players.[1]

The accompanying trade exhibition included new products and equipment demonstrations from numerous paintball manufacturers. Products presented during the event included the Tippmann Cyclone Feed System for the Model 98 Custom, the BT Apex barrel and new equipment from AKALMP, T.A.G. and Special Ops Paintball.[1]

Scenario game

Black Cat Productions organised a scenario game titled Trouble Comes to Hazzard, inspired by the television programme The Dukes of Hazzard. The game began at midday on Saturday and attracted more than 400 participants.[1]

The scenario was part of the IAO's wider programme of activities intended to bring tournament, recreational and scenario players together at the same event.[1]

Historical significance

The 2005 IAO represented the final edition held at the Big Butler Fairgrounds. In 2006, the event returned to Three Rivers Paintball and was reorganised as the Three Rivers Paintball Festival.[3]

The 2005 tournament also demonstrated the broad format that distinguished the International Amateur Open from conventional tournaments. Alongside competitive results, it served as a meeting place for amateur teams, scenario players, manufacturers, field operators and other members of the paintball industry.[1]

References

Bambi Bullard, “IAO 2005”, Action Pursuit Games, March 2006, pp. 70–72 and 154–156.
WARPIG – NPPL Tampa 2005 coverage and announcement of IAO sanctioning.
WARPIG – “IAO Goes Retro”, Dawn Mills, June 2006.