Bart's Stud Squad
Bart's Stud Squad, also known as Barts Stud Squad, was a British tournament paintball team founded by Bart Farmer during the 1980s. The team was among the leading competitors in early British tournament paintball, winning the 1989 Mayhem Masters and competing internationally in the United States.[1][2]
Bart's Stud Squad was associated with equipment manufacturer Belsales, which supplied the team with modified Worr Game Products paintball markers.[3]
History
[edit]Early competition
[edit]Bart's Stud Squad was competing in British paintball tournaments by 1988.
The team participated in the 1988 Survival Splatmaster Championship at Hatfield, near London, alongside Bad Company, Nam Wrecking Crew and the Terminators.
The tournament featured 16 teams and was among Britain's earliest major organised paintball competitions.[1]
During this period, British tournament paintball was predominantly played in woodland environments using large team formats.
International competition
[edit]Bart's Stud Squad was among the first British teams to participate in American tournament paintball.
A historical account published by the World Classic Paintball League documents the team's visit to the 1988 Lively Masters tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.
The team returned to the United States in 1989 to participate in the PMI North American Championship.[2]
These early international appearances preceded the establishment of regular European professional paintball circuits.
1989 Mayhem Masters championship
[edit]Bart's Stud Squad won the inaugural Mayhem Masters tournament in 1989.
A retrospective published in Paintball 2Xtremes in June 2005 identified the team as the winner of the competition, which took place in Coventry, England.
The tournament attracted leading British teams, including Bad Company and Nam Wrecking Crew.[1]
Paintball historian Daniel Bacci subsequently documented the championship through interviews and recollections from participants, including Pete Robinson and Marcus Davis.[4]
1990 competition
[edit]Bart's Stud Squad remained one of Britain's leading teams entering the 1990 season.
The World Classic Paintball League's historical account credits the team with winning the 1990 NSG UK Championship.[2]
At the 1990 Mayhem Masters in Finmere, England, Bart's Stud Squad faced increasing competition from UK Predators, led by Marcus Davis.
The Predators won the tournament, defeating the established British teams and beginning a period of success in domestic and international competition.[1][4]
The team's precise final competitive season has not been established.
Equipment and sponsorship
[edit]Bart's Stud Squad received equipment support from British paintball manufacturer Belsales.
The team's association with Belsales is documented through a surviving Worr Game Products Sniper II marker originally supplied to the organisation.
In a historical account published by Daniel Bacci in December 2015, Steve Belsey of Belsales confirmed that Bart's Stud Squad was among the company's earliest sponsored teams.
The marker was later modified with Belsales Evolution components, illustrating the development of tournament paintball equipment during the transition from pump-action to semi-automatic markers.[3]
Notable personnel
[edit]- Bart Farmer – Founder of Bart's Stud Squad. Farmer subsequently established another British tournament team, The Eagles.[5]
Selected tournament results
[edit]| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Mayhem Masters | 1st [1][4] |
| 1990 | NSG UK Championship | 1st [2] |
See also
[edit]- Mayhem Masters
- UK Predators
- Nam Wrecking Crew
- Bad Company (British paintball team)
- Belsales
- List of historically significant paintball teams
References
[edit]- Paintball 2Xtremes – 81 Moments That Shaped Paintball, June 2005, including Pete Robinson and John Amodea's history of British paintball. Reproduced on Automags.org.
- World Classic Paintball League – Old School Shout Out: 1987 Year of the Squad.
- Paintball History – Belsales Team Sniper 2 with Ric De La Cruz, Daniel Bacci, 6 December 2015.
- Paintball History – An Early Battlezone Predators Patch and Early Pred History, Daniel Bacci, 6 April 2017. Archived copy.
- Paintball Media Magazine – Shelley Farmer Profile, February 2019, p. 38.