ATWL Season Reaches Mid Point

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 0 comments



Event two of the Tippmann X7 Phenom Atlantic Tactical Woodsball League (ATWL) season was scheduled to be played on Saturday June 18, 2011 at Overkill Sportz, Mount Uniacke Nova Scotia, despite mother natures attempt to wash out the event.

Heavy rain and high wind the week prior to the event left the field in less than ideal condition. Thankfully players from the home field team Anthraxx took the initiative, cleared debris, repaired bunkers and addressed any unsafe areas of the field.

Event two was expected to be an interesting one because the league plays, rain or shine, and severe thunderstorms and heavy winds were forecast game day. If the forecast held players would have an opportunity to test their abilities in wet weather which requires a significantly different set of skills from fair weather play.

Players awoke on game day to hear the forecast had been revised and the rain was due to start late in the day. The improved forecast improved the mood of the players who excitedly prepared for the opening horn.



Event two marked the first time updates were fed live to the ATWL’s blog, Facebook and Twitter pages. Players in the staging area, and league fans from around the world, were be able to keep up to date on game scores, flag captures and big plays as they happened.

The first match of the day was team Anthraxx against the Moncton Spartans. The Spartans with their new uniforms were in the running for the best dressed team award. Players from other teams were glued to their smart phones watching for live updates to see how the updates could be used to gain an advantage during their games.



As the day progressed teams saw the live updates as useful to know the league standings and how they should approach an upcoming game, rather than a tactical tool during game play.

A hard day of paintball left all team exhausted from running through the wet field. All teams played well and the final standings were in doubt right down to the last game. When the final horn sounded new teams had taken over the top of the leader board with only 80 points separating the top two teams.



Defending champion team Anthraxx started the day strong but lost their edge as the day progressed. Anthraxx unexpectedly fell in the standings from first down to third place by the end of event 2.

The 2009 league champion Nova Scotia Mercenaries played their best paintball of the season and had taken over the league lead from Anthraxx. The Mercenaries although in first held a very tenuous lead over the Mersey Road Predator close behind.



Even though the rain held off for the day, the affect of the wet spring was evident in parts of the field. One player’s comment summed the center portion of the field perfectly, “The field today was mud...Rocks...Roots...Mud covered rocks....Mud covered roots….And even mud covered mud.”

The end of event two marks the half way point of the season. The teams now have the summer off to play, practice and perfect their woodsball skills prior to the start of the run for the championship at event three in September at Overkill Sportz once again.



The Nova Scotia Mercenaries are currently leading the Tippmann X7 Phenom Atlantic Tactical Woodsball League, but the new playoff format introduced this season means the championship is up for grabs by any team that has the desire to take it away from five of the best woodsball teams in Canada.

PlaceTeamGame PointsW/L Points
1Mercenaries211014
2Predators203014
3Anthraxx167612
4Halifax City United10406
5Moncton Spartans5552
6TACSAT Paintball500

Standings After 2 Events

Saturday, June 18, 2011 0 comments

Event 2 of the Atlantic Tactical Woodsball League (ATWL) is complete. Thank you everyone for a great day of paintball. The teams fought hard and the results were in doubt right down to the end. When the final horn sounded only 80 points separate the top two teams.

PlaceTeamGame PointsW/L Points
1Mercenaries211014
2Predators203014
3Anthraxx167612
4Halifax City United10406
5Moncton Spartans5552
6TACSAT Paintball500

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Predators - 250
Anthraxx - 50

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Anthraxx takes left flag. 2 minutes left

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Predators have 2 flags Anthraxx 1

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Predators take center flag

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Anthraxx takes center flag

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Anthraxx makes a dash for the center flag from the start. Player hit just before hanging.

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Next match Predators and Anthraxx

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Mercenaries - 220
Spartans - 110

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Mercs take center flag they now control the field

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Mercenaries have taken the left flag

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Spartans have pushed through and captured the center and left flags

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Spartans being pushed to the respawn

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Mercenaries take right and left flags

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Mercenaries take center at the same time Spartans took the right flag

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Spartans throw smoke and use the cover to take the center flag

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Next game is Spartans and the Mercenaries

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Predators - 265
Anthraxx - 20

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Predatos take center flag

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Anthraxx pulled center flag but could not set their own

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Predators have all flags. Anthraxx trying to counter attack

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Predators have right flag

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Predators have center flag

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Half time nearly over, next up are Anthraxx and Mersey Road Predators

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NS Mercenaries - 290
Halifax City United - 55

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HCU takes right flag. HCU's Chris Coolen successfully pushing the center solo.

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Mercs have all flags

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Mercs hang right side flag

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Mercs have center flag. HCU shot my blackberry

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Next up Mercs and HCU

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Anthraxx - 200
Spartans - 95

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Anthraxx pushing last flag

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Anthraxx takes center

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Flags still one per team. Great action in the center

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Anthraxx captures left flag

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Next up Anthraxx and Spartans

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Nova Scotia Mercenaries - 375
Halifax City United - 0

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HCU trying to push out of spawn

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Mercs have all flags

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Mercs have center and right flag

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HCU sent whole team left off the break

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Next up Halifax City United vs Mercenaries

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Anthraxx 320
Spartans 0

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Spartans pushing left tape

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Anthraxx captures center flag

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Anthraxx has 2 flags still fighting for center flag

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Heavy fight for center flag

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Event 2 is underway

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Due to TACsat not attending E2 all games will be move up on the schedule.

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Unfortunately due to injuries TACSat Paintball has to withdraw from event 2.

Friday, June 17, 2011 0 comments

The field is set up and ATWL event 2 is ready to go tomorrow morning.

A special thanks to team Anthraxx for cleaning the debris off the field. Without their hard work event 2 would not be possible. Great work guys.

HCU Interview 68Caliber.com

Friday, June 10, 2011 0 comments

Playing X-Ball in the Woods? YES!

originally posted on 68Caliber.com June 10,2011

Halifax City United Bruce ‘Charon’ Johnston interviews Canadian X-Ball Team Halifax City United and their commitment to step back into the woods at the ATWL. (And don’t forget to check out the image gallery after the interview!)

Interview by Bruce Johnston

Halifax City United (HCU), one of the best xball teams in Canada, is heading back to their roots by playing in the Atlantic Tactical Woodsball League (ATWL). Bruce ‘Charon’ Johnston from 68Caliber.com sat down with Gilbert Rossingol from HCU to find out why the CXBL is invading the ATWL.

Bruce ‘Charon’ Johnston (68Caliber): Why is a team playing in Canada’s professional xball league, the Canadian Xtreme Paintball League (CXBL), playing in a regional woodsball league?

Halifax City United (HCU): We’re a strong believer that to be really good at paintball, you need to be good at all aspects of the sport. Playing woodsball will help us improve some skills that you can’t get on the speedball field. We also like to mix things up a little bit, doing the same breakout time and time again can get repetitive and boring, what better way to mix it up, then be in the woods.

68Caliber: I see a few Halifax City United players at different woodsball, and scenario events. Will this be the first time your entire xball team has played woodsball together?

HCU: Together, yes. Five HCU players played together in the ATWL last year, and every event, we would bring out different speedball players to play with us. Each player had the same reaction, this is AWESOME. A few of us also like to attend the annual Risk event hosted by the Tippinators at Mersey Road. However we attend them with a different intent then most players. I try to get the guys to command a squad or group of players, reinforcing their teamwork and communication skills.

68Caliber: I know that you have a few US based pro players who play with you in the CXBL. Is there any chance we might see a big name US player on your ATWL team?

HCU: You can never really be too sure about what the future holds. We have some friends that play for just about every pro team out there. This year, we have players from VICIOUS playing with us, VICIOUS is also playing UWL. They actually won their first pro UWL event in Mesquite, NV.

Halifax City United

68Caliber: All players are asked to wear matching jerseys to play ATWL. Your CXBL jerseys are not exactly tactical. Can we expect to see you running in red and white this season or will you get something a little woodsier?

HCU: You can expect to see us in matching CXBL uniforms at the first event. We’ll see how that works out for us. If, for whatever reason, we can’t blend in to our surroundings we will make the necessary changes before event two.

68Caliber: Most people don’t want to bang a $1300 Ego 11 around in the woods. Will your guys be changing any of your equipment to play competitive woodsball?

HCU: Absolutely not. The whole idea of playing ATWL is for our players to get used to playing in different positions, different bunkers, player swill learn nothing if we are using different gear. There’s a reason we all shoot Planet Eclipse markers, we require reliability, accuracy and efficiency, so we shoot what we consider the best in all three.

68Caliber: In xball the playing area is rather confined, and you know approximately where the other team might be. How will you change your tactics to overcome the larger playing area?

HCU: Tactics are something I don’t want to get too much into, but the principles won’t be much different. In xball a back center controls your mid and front players, we will use the same idea in the woods, except that we may have two or three back centers.

68Caliber: The ATWL is a ten man league. Most xball teams have two, five man lines. Will your entire CXBL roster be playing woodsball?

HCU: Everyone on our CXBL roster, minus the players from VICIOUS, will be in attendance at the first ATWL event. As I mentioned above, it is important to expand on your skills list, and we require everyone to be playing.

68Caliber: Halifax City United players have considerable skill and experience playing xball / speedball. Do you think individual skills will translate into woodsball?

HCU: Of course, but like everyone else we’re still learning, progressing, and woodsball is another aspect we need to work on.

68Caliber: What most woodsball players don’t know is penalties in xball can determine the outcome of a game. The CXBL has very strict rules and even fines for playing infractions. How do you plan to dispel the belief that all speedballers are wipers and whiners?

Halifax City United

HCU: When you play with the HCU shield on your chest, you must play with honesty and integrity. We take our showing on and off the field very seriously. You don’t only represent yourself, but you represent your teammates, your city, and most importantly your sponsors. I can’t comment on other teams, but you shouldn’t see any HCU penalties.

68Caliber: More than once I have heard players talking in the staging area talking about how they can’t wait to “light up” the speedballers. How does it feel to know players are gunning specifically for you, and your team?

HCU: Well, I would hope they are. We are the ten players on the other side of the field. I think it adds a bit of fuel to the fire and makes us want to play better.

68Caliber: Come on now, tell the truth. You guys are really out to prove speedballers are better than woodsballers aren’t you?

HCU: Absolutely, our entire goal is to remove woodsballers from the paintball equation. Our hope is to beat them down so badly they won’t ever want to come back. [breaks into laughter] I’m just kidding. We are playing ATWL to have fun and work on some team skills.

68Caliber: Is there anything that you would like people to know that I might have missed?

HCU: First of all, thanks Bruce for the opportunity, we look forward to seeing you on the field. I’d like to say thanks to all of our sponsors, DSSP8NTBALL.com, KEE, EMPIRE, Planet Eclipse, ProPaintball.com, and GR Paintball. Thanks for your continued support. If you want to read about how we are doing in the CXBL, make sure you check our xball.com or propaintball.com.

You can follow Halifax City United and the rest of the Tippmann X7 Phenom Atlantic Tactical Woodsball League, on Twitter or friend us on Facebook to get up to date information plus game day updates and scores. You can read more posts by Bruce here on his page

2011 ATWL Season Underway

Sunday, June 5, 2011 0 comments

The Tippmann X7 Atlantic Tactical Woodsball League has been the premiere woodsball league in Eastern Canada since 2007. After four successful seasons the league was taken over by the Tippinators at the end of 2010, who immediately prepared for 2011.

"Our goal with the ATWL is to give players the most professional woodsball league in Canada." said Bruce 'Charon' Johnston, Tippinators Captain and ATWL Commissioner. "The Tippinators have taken over the league with the sole goal of moving the ATWL forward and improving the player's experience."

An expanded field of six teams were ready to bring their woodsball skills to the field in an attempt to capture the 2011 ATWL championship title. "We are excited to have expanded to a six team league." commented Johnston. "This will be an intense season of woodsball."

The 2010 Champions Team Anthraxx will come out of the gate strong to defend their title and attempt to be the first team since the Tippinators in 2007 and 2008 to win back to back titles.

Nova Scotia Mercenaries, the 2010 runners up, will settle for nothing less than regaining the championship they held in 2009.

Mersey Road Predators, are strong contenders for the 2011 title. After a respectable third place finish in 2010, during their rookie year, the Predators have strengthened their roster and built a team ready for a run at the championship.

Coming from the Canadian Xtreme Paintball League, Halifax City United, has ventured for the first time from Canada’s professional xball league to the woods of the ATWL. We all eagerly wait to see if xball skills will transfer into the woods.

An unknown commodity, the Moncton Spartans from New Brunswick joining the league has made the ATWL a truly regional league. The Spartan players have speedball and woodsball experience, no one in the league knows how they will stack up against the rest of the league.

From a group of friends running around the woods on Sunday, to playing in the CX4 xball league and now the ATWL, TACSat Paintball has expanded their roster and sharpened their skills but will it be enough to overcome the best in the Maritimes.

The long winter wait was over and the first event of the Tippmann X7 Phenom Atlantic Tactical Woodsball League was held on May 28, 2011 at Mersey Road Paintball, East River Nova Scotia.

For the first time ever the ATWL’s site, Facebook and Twitter were updated live from the field. Significant field developments were updated while the games were in progress plus official games scores were added before the next two teams took the field.

"ATWL event one was some of the best woodsball I have seen played in a long time." stated Chris Landry, ATWL Head Referee and Tippinators player, "If players are this good now I can’t wait for the rest of the season."

After a long day of battles and intense paintball action, the teams with previous competitive woodsball experience fared better than teams new to the league.

"You could see the experienced teams moving more confidently around the field." Johnston commented on the play during event 1. "There is a steep learning curve in competitive woodsball. I am sure by the playoffs and championship all teams will be running at full speed."

Be sure to follow the league on Twitter or friend us on Facebook to get up to date game day information and scores.

 
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