1998 National Paintball League season
1998 National Paintball League season was the second season of the New Zealand National Paintball League (NPL), an organised paintball competition established in 1997.
The league's Second Division, also identified in contemporary records as the SplatMan Division 2 League, featured twelve registered teams competing in a scheduled round-robin series.[1]
Black Dragon finished first in the published Second Division standings with 24 league points. Katipo Venom and Magpies shared second place with 22 points each.[2]
Competition structure
[edit]The NPL operated a two-division structure during the late 1990s.
First Division incorporated established tournament events, including the Northland Open, Queen's Birthday tournament and New Zealand Paintball Nationals.
Second Division provided regular competition for developing teams, with games hosted by participating commercial paintball fields.[3]
The 1998 Second Division programme involved twelve teams. Its participating venues included Actions Paintball, SplatMan facilities at Beachlands, Silverdale and Favona Road, and Strategy Tag in Whangārei.[1]
Dave Pellet was responsible for calculating accumulated league points from score sheets submitted by the participating venues.[1]
Second Division
[edit]Format and rules
[edit]The original 1998 rules specified five-player centre-flag games played over two ends.
Each end lasted a maximum of ten minutes, with a five-minute interval between them. The combined scores from both ends determined the match result.[1]
League points were awarded as follows:
| Result | League points |
|---|---|
| Win | 3 |
| Draw | 2 |
| Loss | 1 |
| No-show | 0 |
| Bye | 3 |
The competition initially used the 1996 Australian Paintball Players League (APPL) rules.
The organisers permitted individual field operators to decide whether to apply the one-for-one penalty rule, which was intended to discourage rule violations and disputes.[1]
Scheduled competition dates
[edit]The original fixture document listed seven dates during the 1998 season.[1]
| Date |
|---|
| 8 March 1998 |
| 5 April 1998 |
| 26 April 1998 |
| 7 June 1998 |
| 28 June 1998 |
| 5 July 1998 |
| 6 September 1998 |
The published fixture schedule identifies team matchups at the participating venues. It does not independently establish that every scheduled game was completed.
Published standings
[edit]The surviving NPL results page records the following Second Division standings.[2]
| Team | League points | Published position |
|---|---|---|
| Black Dragon | 24 | 1 |
| Katipo Venom | 22 | Equal 2 |
| Magpies | 22 | Equal 2 |
| Phantom Five | 18 | 3 |
| Phoenix | 16 | Not specified |
| Kamo Karzi #2 | 16 | Not specified |
| IceMen | 16 | Not specified |
| Pleasure & Pain | 15 | Not specified |
| Alpha Patrol | 15 | Not specified |
| Team Raven | 14 | Not specified |
| Shadow Hawks | 10 | Not specified |
| Katipo TTT | 0 | Not specified |
The published results explicitly identify Black Dragon as first, Katipo Venom and Magpies as equal second, and Phantom Five as third. The remaining positions were not numbered in the original table.[2]
The results page spells Team Raven as Team Ravan. The team's registration entry uses Team Raven, which is retained here.[1][2]
The league points were calculated independently of the raw scores achieved during individual tournament games.[1]
Black Dragon
[edit]Black Dragon was registered for the 1998 Second Division with Aaron Page identified as its team manager.[1]
The team finished first in the published standings with 24 league points.[2]
A surviving Actions Paintball competition shield from 1998 also bears an engraving identifying Black Dragon as the NPL league winner. The shield was photographed by Vitaly Miheev and supplied to WikiPaintball on 30 October 2026.[4]
The trophy provides physical corroboration of the league result preserved in the original NPL standings.
First Division and associated tournaments
[edit]The NPL's First Division incorporated major tournaments from the existing New Zealand competition calendar.[3]
Several 1998 events are documented through contemporary tournament reports.
| Date | Tournament | Documented result |
|---|---|---|
| 22 February 1998 | 1998 Northland Open | Saints won overall; Raven received the Division Two trophy.[5] |
| 12 April 1998 | 1998 Auckland Easter Tournament | Saints Gold won overall.[6] |
| 31 May 1998 | 1998 Actions Queen's Birthday Tournament | Saints Gold won Division One; Phantom 5 won Division Two.[7] |
| 24–25 October 1998 | 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals | Saints Gold won overall; Black Dragon won Division Two.[8] |
The surviving Actions Paintball shield records winners from several 1998 competitions, including February, Easter, Mayhem, August and the Nationals.[4]
A contemporary report on the 31 May Actions tournament confirms that a shield was intended to record the winners of individual competitions in both divisions.[7]
These tournament results are distinct from the accumulated Second Division league standings. The surviving records do not establish a complete official First Division season classification.
Historical records
[edit]Two original documents preserve the 1998 Second Division programme:
- The 1998 SplatMan Division 2 League, containing the registered teams, managers, playing rules, points system and scheduled fixtures.[1]
- The 1998 NPL Division 2 League Results, containing the published league points and leading placings.[2]
The surviving Actions Paintball shield supplies additional evidence of the league title and several individual tournament awards.[4]
The original NPL operated with its two-division structure until 1999. A historical account preserved by Mercenaries Star states that the Second Division was subsequently discontinued following changes in the league's administration.[3]
See also
[edit]- National Paintball League (New Zealand)
- Black Dragon (New Zealand Paintball Team)
- Actions Paintball
- 1998 Northland Open
- 1998 Auckland Easter Tournament
- 1998 Actions Queen's Birthday Tournament
- 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals
References
[edit]- The 1998 SplatMan Division 2 League. NZ Paintball Online. Original 1998 competition rules, twelve-team registration list, team managers and fixture schedule. Archived 6 June 2002.
- The 1998 NPL Division 2 League Results. NZ Paintball Online. Original league standings. Archived 13 June 2002.
- The Rise and Fall of the New Zealand National Paintball League. Mercenaries Star. Historical account of the NPL's organisation, competition structure and subsequent reorganisation.
- Vitaly Miheev. Photograph of the 1998 Actions Paintball Division One and Two competition shield, taken at Actions Paintball and supplied to WikiPaintball, 30 October 2026. Includes the Black Dragon NPL league winners engraving.
- Rob Maddox, The 1998 Northland Paintball Open. NZ Paintball Online.
- The 1998 Auckland Easter Tournament. NZ Paintball Online.
- Actions Paintball Tournament, 31 May 1998. NZ Paintball Online. Contemporary results and description of the winners' shield.
- Rob Maddox, The 1998 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament. NZ Paintball Online.