The ABL HQ has been busy since the conclusion of the 2012 Brisbane season and our inaugural year of operations. We have some exciting news to release soon regarding the 2013 season, expansion of the ABL and new sponsors coming on board. Our website shall be undergoing some updates and changes to bring you better coverage of all the ABL news, notes, results and announcements. We are looking forward to a big 2013. If you have any questions feel free to send them through to info@ablpaintball.com.au.  

If you click on the Register link at the top of the page you can now access the online registration system for Round 3 of ABL Brisbane, scheduled to commence Sunday, 29 July 2012. The online registration system for Round 3 will close at midnight, Saturday, 22 July 2012. Round 3 will occur on Sunday and the Elimination Finals to occur before nightfall.

For the inaugural season of ABL we have waived the early bird registration deadline meaning all teams and free agent players will be able to register at the discounted rate of $250 per team, or $50 per single player right up to the close of registrations on 22 July 2012. At the end of the online registration process you will be taken to a secure payment site to pay for your registration for the event. Teams may enter up to 7 players on their roster for Round 3 and a non-playing coach. We encourage single players to make contact with ABL staff at info@ablpaintball.com.au to see if the ABL can assist them with forming a team before registering as a single or free agent player.

All free agent players who register will be allocated a position on a team which has registered with the ABL as looking for additional players, or where there are enough free agent players, the ABL may enter a free agent team into that round. All single or free agent registrations are subject to positions being made available and the ABL will do its best to find those players a team to play on, but cannot guarantee a position being made available. In those circumstances any single player who registers and cannot be allocated a team for that round will have their registration costs refunded.

When registering your team, please ensure you have the correct spelling of all the names of the players on your team and their dates of birth available, as this is required during registration. In the week prior to Round 3, each team will be emailed with their ‘express check in’ pack including all player forms and waivers required by the ABL and/or the venue, teams and players are asked to complete these to speed up the check in process on the Sunday morning of Round 3.

The Mercenaries took home the first place trophy after a gruelling day of running paintball at Mango Hill Skirmish. A bright sunny day greeted all of the teams, with a dry soft field and excellent conditions, six teams battled it out i9n the bush with some very competitive, fast moving, aggressive games played.

The Mercenaries paced the day, posting an unblemished record in the preliminary rounds before eliminating the TSS Rangers in the opening final of the day. With several regular members of the team unavailable, the Mercenaries were fortunate to have Adam Lundie making his season debut. The Mercenaries’ heavy gunner having a strong influence on the outcome of every game he played. Veteran Dennis Bidlake again took the flanks of the field with several daring base flag pulls throughout the course of the day.

The TSS Rangers battled hard to take fourth place, posting the ABL’s first ever draw with a 14 – 14 result with the Rapscallions. The Rangers and Rapscallions battled hard, the Rapscallions capturing their first ABL victory over State of Conflict. With drier conditions more conducive to their pump action lineup, the Rapscallions were more at home and provided plenty of competition.

The competition also welcomed State of Conflict, a team based on the Sunshine Coast. Making their debut in the series the team made huge strides every game, improving at every turn and will be a force in future rounds.  

The Kasuals, fresh from third place in Round 1 were on the hunt early, looking to improve on their season opening form. Posting some big victories with scores of 50, 47, 45 and 43 in convincing wins over the day, the Kasuals welcomed back their veteran captain Darren Kerr who had an immediate effect in marshalling his team to the big victories. The Kasuals again tangled with their nemesis, the Bush Basterds, posting a close win in the preliminary round before crushing the Basterds in their elimination final.

The final game of the day was played in fading light, both teams charging up the field to take an early territorial advantage. The Mercenaries, runners up in Round 1 looking to overcome the final hurdle against a Kasuals team which had posted some very high scores all day long. The unbeaten Mercenaries took out their maiden ABL Round victory with a solid 33 - 2 score line in the decider. The Bush Basterds, Round 1 victors took home third place.

Round 3 will be hosted at Mango Hill Skirmish, Brisbane on Sunday, 29 June 2012. Registrations close midnight (QLD time) 21 June 2012. Be part of the inaugural ABL Brisbane season.

If you click on the Register link at the top of the page you can now access the online registration system for Round 1 of ABL Brisbane, scheduled to commence Saturday, 26 May 2012. The online registration system for Round 2 will close at midnight, Saturday, 19 May 2012.

Whilst we have set the dates of the Round 1 to take place on both Saturday, 26 May 2012 and Sunday, 27 May 2012, we will endeavour to have the round robin phase of Round 2 completed on Saturday and the Elimination Finals to occur before nightfall. However, if registrations for the Round prove popular and more than 12 teams register for Round 2, Sunday morning may be required to host overflow games to host the Elimination Finals if they cannot occur prior to nightfall.

For the inaugural season of ABL we have waived the early bird registration deadline meaning all teams and free agent players will be able to register at the discounted rate of $250 per team, or $50 per single player right up to the close of registrations on 19 May 2012. At the end of the online registration process you will be taken to a secure payment site to pay for your registration for the event. Teams may enter up to 7 players on their roster for Round 2 and a non-playing coach. We encourage single players to make contact with ABL staff at info@ablpaintball.com.au to see if the ABL can assist them with forming a team before registering as a single or free agent player.

All free agent players who register will be allocated a position on a team which has registered with the ABL as looking for additional players, or where there are enough free agent players, the ABL may enter a free agent team into that round. All single or free agent registrations are subject to positions being made available and the ABL will do its best to find those players a team to play on, but cannot guarantee a position being made available. In those circumstances any single player who registers and cannot be allocated a team for that round will have their registration costs refunded.

When registering your team, please ensure you have the correct spelling of all the names of the players on your team and their dates of birth available, as this is required during registration. In the week prior to Round 2, each team will be emailed with their ‘express check in’ pack including all player forms and waivers required by the ABL and/or the venue, teams and players are asked to complete these to speed up the check in process on the Saturday morning of Round 2.

Local Brisbane team, the Bush Basterds took home the win in the inaugural ABL Round 1 in Brisbane after a close 20 - 15 final against the rival Mercenaries. Teams found themselves battling a waterlogged muddy field at Mango Hill Skirmish with much of the field under several inches of water, players took up the challenge on a field which rewarded aggressive play despite the slow conditions.

Six teams lined up for the inaugural round of the ABL, with the Squatting Dogs travelling several hours from Tamworth, NSW to take up the challenge. Despite the conditions the paintball was spirited and several games went down to the wire as players found their feet. The Mercenaries and Bush Basterds paced the competition, each team remaining undefeated through the preliminary rounds of the day, the Mercenaries just outscoring the Bush Basterds in total game points from their matches to put them ahead on the ladder. The Kasuals and TSS Rangers both came out of the preliminary rounds with two wins a piece, losing only to the Bush Basterds and Mercenaries during the day.

The highly fancied Mercenaries met the Bush Basterds for the first time in the Grand Final, pitting two aggressive experienced teams against one another. The result went right down to the wire with the siren sounding whilst the Mercenaries had the game tying base flag in transit heading back to their starting gate. With the flag not scoring any points, the Bush Basterds prevailed 20 – 15 in a match that saw plenty of skill demonstrated. Ultimately it was the Bush Basterds who managed to hold off the Mercenaries at the critical flagpoints to accure enough points to win the game.

The Kasuals took home third place from the TSS Rangers in a 42 – 6 runners up final. The Kasuals were a story in themselves on the day, with their Captain, Darren Kerr, sidelined due to injury the team lost three other players the night before the event with injury or unavailability. Arriving on the day the team picked up a couple of free agent players and managed to give the winning Bush Basterds two of the closest games of the day, going down 16 – 14 and then 17 – 15 to the Basterds on their way to splitting their preliminary round record 2-2-0.   

On the opposite side of the ledger, the Rapscallions pump team had a tough time playing their natural style of hit and run pump play in the deep mud and water, the Bush Basterds almost posting a perfect score against the Rapscallions in a lopsided 51 - -10 preliminary matchup. The Squatting Dogs getting their first taste of ABL action also had a tough day but made several improvements with experience as the day took shape and look to be a force in the remaining rounds of the 2012 Brisbane season.

Round 2 will be hosted at Mango Hill Skirmish, Brisbane on 26 May 2012. Registrations close midnight (QLD time) 19 May 2012. Be part of the inaugural ABL Brisbane season.

Registrations for Round 1 of the ABL Brisbane competition will close at midnight (QLD Standard Time) Saturday 17 March 2012. If you are in a team that has not registered, then follow the registration link on this page to enter your team. If you are a player still looking for a team, contact craig@ablpaintball.com.au and we will try to match you with a team that is currently looking for a player. There are currently two teams that are finalising rosters that have been in contact with the ABL about finding an additional player or two, so before you register as a single player through the website link, send us an email and we might be able to assist you in getting on to a team's roster and registration. Registrations have been healthy for Round 1, we are hoping for eight teams in the Open Division, with plenty of paintball to be played over 24 March 2012. Be part of the inaugural round of the ABL in 2012 and register today.

A schedule of Round 1, complete with schedule of games to be played will be posted on the website and emailed to each team captain in the week prior to Round 1. Each team captain will also receive a registration package including their team roster sheet as entered and waiver forms to be completed before the start of Round 1, to minimise delays on the morning of the competition. All players will receive a player identification card to be worn throughout the event once checked in. Please keep an eye on the website and our Facebook page to receive up to date information on Round 1 and any changes in the schedule which might be required.

ABL teams are made up of five players on the field at any one time. Teams can dress an extra two substitute players who remain off the playing field and cannot participate in the game. There are three positions on an ABL team, the Heavy Gunner, the Scout and Infantry. The Heavy Gunner is the only player on each team allowed to play with a semi automatic marker with uncapped rate of fire. The Heavy Gunner represents a team’s suppressive or heavy support element and can be a key player in a team’s fortunes. The role is generally suited to a player who has excellent gun skills and who doesn’t mind carrying a larger than normal paint supply during the game.

The Scout is an equally important role. The Scout has the ability to start an ABL game fifteen seconds prior to the rest of his teammates. This gives the Scout’s team eyes in the field ahead of his teammates and the ability to report back the movement of opponents, or to capture a flagpoint early in the game to start accumulating points. The Scout role is generally suited to a player who is quick on their feet and players who are strong communicators, able to accurately report back to their teammates on how the field is developing, saving teammates from running head first into a firefight.

The remaining three members of a team are Infantry. Infantry may not get any special rules like the Heavy Gunner or Scout, but they are the backbone of every team. The Infantry and Scout are limited to semi automatic markers capped at a rate of fire no more than 10 balls per second. They can carry a variety of different loads and equipment, depending on the field layout or the way the team styles their game.

Amongst the five players on the team is a Captain. The Captain has overall responsibility for ensuring his players are at their starting gate on time, have the correct gear, commanding their team, and liaising with the Referees and Game Officials on matters such as rule interpretations. The Captain is the only player allowed to query a Referee’s decision.

Last but not least is the Coach. While not a playing member of the team, the Coach is the only non-playing member of a team allowed near the playing field once game time commences. A Coach may stand on the sidelines, outside the field of play and communicate with his team, by voice, hand signals or even on radio communications. The Coach can be invaluable for spotting the movement of opponents from the sideline and radioing in that information to his team. While teams do not need to have a Coach on their roster, their ability to participate from the sidelines can be advantageous.

During the course of an ABL Season a team accrues points towards the Season ladder according to their performance in ABL Events within that season. At an ABL Event the ladder for that event will be calculated according to results of the games played. Teams will receive two points for every win they record in the round robin stage of the event, one point for every tie in the round robin stage, and no points for a loss. Additionally, as a tie breaker the teams actual game points scored within the game are added together as a cumulative total to separate tied teams on the ladder.

After the round robin stage of the event is complete, and the two elimination finals occur, a final ladder for the event will be published, setting out where each team finished, and applying any tiebreakers required to separate teams tied. Points are then awarded towards the ABL Season ladder in the following manner:

The top 10 placing teams will receive points towards the ABL Season ladder in the above manner. The winning team for that ABL Event will take away 20 points towards from the event, with the points awarded gradually decreasing to a single point for the tenth placed team at the event.

So what are seed points and how do they work? Seed points are an additional point total that is awarded to every team which participates in an ABL Event. They are essentially participation points and also a method of rewarded teams which win larger ABL Events and thus have to play more games in a tougher field of competition. Seed points work in reverse to the round points in that the last place team in a ABL Event will receive one point and then points will increase as the seed points progress up the ABL Event ladder. In the above example the ABL Event only had ten teams playing, so in addition to winning the event, the first place team will score 10 seed points, and leave that ABL Event with 30 points towards the ABL Season ladder (being 20 points for winning the round plus 10 seed points).

ABL Free Agent teams entered into an event, whilst they will appear on an ABL Round ladder and be capable of winning an ABL Event, will not accrue points towards an ABL Season ladder and will not appear on the season ladder. 

The Breakout Rule is a potential method of scoring points by way of penalising a team that is submitted in a five (5) minute respawn period and forced to otherwise wait at their respawn area for a respawn siren. A team which has been eliminated and faces a situation where all five (5) players are back at their respawn area awaiting a respawn siren may elect to either continue to wait for a respawn siren and thus not suffer a five (5) point penalty, or alternatively on the last player being eliminated and all five (5) players tagging the starting gate at the same time, may instantly respawn as a team, but suffer a penalty in the points they accrue for that game. A team can utilise the Breakout Rule as many times as they wish during the course of a game, however, the team will suffer the minus five (5) point penalty each time they make use of the rule.

So how does the Breakout Rule work? Well simply when a team is submitted, that is all five (5) players have been eliminated either by being hit or being penalised, they are forced to wait at their respawn area until the next respawn siren to legally reenter the game. Without the Breakout Rule, a team may be forced to wait precious minutes at their respawn area while an opposing team is busy capturing flag points, stealing base flags and otherwise taking positions in preparation for the respawn siren to sound, or as many like to call it ‘spawn camping’. Teams can of course still choose to keep track of time on a watch they have brought on field and make a decision that the wait until the respawn timer will not affect them too poorly on the scoreboard, in which case the players simply remain in the respawn area and wait until the siren rounds to reenter the playing field.

However, if the team decides to instantly respawn, they must signal to a referee within view of the respawn area to ensure they are aware that the team intends to use the Breakout Rule, all players must then tag up on the starting gate, as if the game were restarting, with a part of their body or equipment touching the gate, upon the fifth player tagging the gate the team may respawn and legally leave the respawn area and continue the game. In some circumstances this is advantageous because it will stop an opposing team from capturing flagpoints and accruing points unopposed, or where an opponent is about to capture a base flag from the team, or in situations where the other team is positioning itself to spawn camp the team on the sounding of the respawn timer, allowing the respawning team a chance to disrupt any such plan by their opponent.

It should be noted though that while some teams may wish to respawn as soon as their fifth player returns to the respawn area, it is still a team and player’s responsibility to ensure that all players respawning under the Breakout Rule have cleaned any paint marks from their body or equipment and do not rush the respawn in circumstances where the fifth player may reenter the game only to be ruled hit by a referee because of an earlier paint mark on the player that was not legally cleaned from the player in the respawn area.

The ABL encourages players to form teams before entering an ABL Event where possible. The ABL will of course assist single players looking to participate in an ABL Event with finding a team or participating in an ABL Free Agent team for that event. Teams may register up to seven (7) players in total for an ABL Event and a non-playing coach. Non-playing personnel (except the coach) such as pit crew are not required to be registered with the ABL, however, they will not have access to any area where markers are present or there is a danger of a marker being discharged, at most venues non-playing personnel will only be allowed to wait in the public viewing area.

Substitute players allow a team to spell injured or tired team members from game to game over the course of an ABL Event. The ABL’s goal is to hold as many games in an ABL Event as time and venue constraints allow, maximising the game time each team will receive over the course of an event. Therefore substitute players can be an invaluable resource for the team, and also double as a pit crew whilst not on the field to ensure a team has fresh pod supplies and equipment ready  during an event.

Over the course of an ABL Season a team may enter up to fourteen (14) players on their roster. There is no prohibition on a team entering more than fourteen (14) players over an ABL Season, however, from the moment they register their fifteenth (15) or further player, the team will lose its standing in the ABL Season ladder and its points accrued to that date. This is to keep the integrity of the team which started the season together and also to discourage drastic roster changes towards the end of a season that would completely change the identity of a team.

It should be noted that every Free Agent player a team requests the ABL provide it with will count as one (1) rostered player per event and go towards the maximum season total of fourteen (14) players. Example: If a team plays four (4) ABL events and at each event they request a Free Agent player be provided to fill a roster position, that will count as four (4) players towards the season total, regardless if the same Free Agent player plays for the team at more than one event in that season. Where a Free Agent player plays for a team and then subsequently joins a team’s roster for the remainder of the season (thus does not register as a single player for an event in that season) then that player will count as a player towards the season total four each event they registered as a Free Agent and also as player of that team when they change their registration to be part of the team. Example: If a team plays four (4) ABL events and at the first event they request a Free Agent player be provided to fill a roster position, that player will count as one (1) player towards the season total. The team then invites that Free Agent to remain with the team for the remaining three (3) events in that season, that player will become a new roster player for the next round and count as an additional one (1) player towards the season total.