Kamo Karzi
Kamo Karzi (also written Kamokarzi) was a New Zealand competitive paintball team based in Auckland, active from at least 1997 to 2001. The team competed in national and regional tournaments during the development of organised paintball in New Zealand, including the New Zealand Paintball Nationals and RotoVegas tournament in Rotorua.
Kamo Karzi finished third in the published 1997 Valhalla national team rankings and remained in the rankings for five consecutive seasons, from 1997 to 2001.[1][2][3][4][5]
The team was associated with Rob Maddox, a tournament paintball player, writer and administrator of the early New Zealand paintball website Paintball.co.nz and the NZ Paintball Message Boards.
Kamo Karzi maintained an early team website, which was listed in the directory of New Zealand paintball resources published by Mercenaries Star. The team also included a player known as Spider, who maintained a separate website featuring modifications to paintball equipment.[6]
History
[edit]Formation and early competition
[edit]Kamo Karzi emerged in Auckland's competitive paintball community during the 1990s.
Its exact founding date has not been established, although the team was competing nationally by 1997.
During this period, tournament paintball in New Zealand was organised primarily through commercial playing fields, independent tournament organisers and emerging regional competition structures.
Auckland was home to several established tournament teams, including Katipo, Saints, Paint Contractors, Grey and Red Alert.
Kamo Karzi was among the teams participating in competitions associated with the original National Paintball League (NPL).
The NPL was established in 1997 through the efforts of Ian Southern and Dave Pellet. Its participating commercial field operators included Splatman, Strategy Tag and Actions Paintball Sports Arena.[7]
The league incorporated established major competitions into its First Division programme and introduced regular competition for developing teams.
Kamo Karzi's appearances in contemporary national tournament results place it within this early organised competition environment.
1997 season
[edit]The earliest surviving Valhalla national ranking table lists Kamo Karzi in third place for 1997, with a score of 74.[1]
The leading teams in the published standings were:
| Position | Team | Ranking score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katipo 1 | 91 |
| 2 | Saints Black | 79 |
| 3 | Kamo Karzi | 74 |
| 4 | Paint Contractors | 72 |
| 5 | Grey | 71 |
The standings document Kamo Karzi among the leading teams in the records available to the ranking compiler for the season.
The Valhalla rankings were retrospectively compiled from available tournament results. The compiler acknowledged that some early results were missing, so the published standings should not be treated as an exhaustive record of every tournament played in New Zealand.[8]
1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals
[edit]Kamo Karzi competed at the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, held on 25–26 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū, Auckland.
The tournament used a five-player centre-flag format, with games lasting a maximum of ten minutes.
Eleven teams participated.
A contemporary tournament report attributed to Rob Maddox records Kamo Karzi finishing third overall with 818 points.[9]
| Position | Team | Tournament points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katipo | 1,008 |
| 2 | Saints Black | 866 |
| 3 | Kamo Karzi | 818 |
The event also included Paint Contractors, Grey, Team Raven, Flashpoint, Syrian Suicide Squad, Red Alert and DaBayBoyz.
The tournament's five-player format was typical of competitive paintball during the period.
The reported third-place tournament finish should be distinguished from Kamo Karzi's separate third-place position in the Valhalla national rankings.
1998 season
[edit]Kamo Karzi continued competing during 1998.
The Valhalla database ranked the team ninth nationally, with a score of 43.[2]
Saints Gold headed the published season rankings, followed by Grey and Katipo 1.
Other participating teams included Paint Contractors, House Steiner, Black Dragon, Kiwi Extreme, Barbarians and Flashpoint.
1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals
[edit]The 1998 Nationals took place on 24–25 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū.
Fourteen teams entered the event.
Rob Maddox's contemporary tournament account records Kamo Karzi finishing 11th, with 435 tournament points.[10]
Saints Gold won the competition, followed by Paint Contractors and Saints Grey.
The reported results were:
| Position | Team | Tournament points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saints Gold | 1,290 |
| 2 | Paint Contractors | 1,008 |
| 3 | Saints Grey | 970 |
| 11 | Kamo Karzi | 435 |
The event was one of the final major tournaments held at Actions Paintball's Te Atatū venue before the business relocated its west Auckland activities.
The contemporary report also records disagreements concerning tournament refereeing and game administration, illustrating some of the challenges involved in establishing consistent competition standards.
Best Flag Pull
[edit]Rob Maddox, playing for Kamo Karzi, received the Best Flag Pull award at the 1998 Nationals.
His contemporary tournament account identifies the award as recognising a flag pull against Katipo One.[10]
In centre-flag paintball, players attempted to secure a centrally positioned flag, with successful flag pulls and hangs contributing to tournament scoring.
The award is a documented example of individual recognition received by a Kamo Karzi player during national competition.
1999 season
[edit]Kamo Karzi remained active in national tournament paintball during 1999.
The Valhalla standings placed the team ninth, with a ranking score of 63.[3]
The leading teams in the published rankings were Saints Gold, Paint Contractors, Psychosis, Grey and Black Dragon.
Kamo Karzi was ranked between Solidaire, which scored 65, and Phantom 5 Purple, which scored 59.
The original two-division National Paintball League structure ended during 1999 after the participating commercial operators withdrew their support.[7]
Although the NPL's developmental division ceased, established national and regional paintball tournaments continued.
Kamo Karzi's recorded ranking confirms its continued involvement in the competitive scene during this transitional period.
The original results available for 1999 do not establish the team's complete schedule or its finishing position at every tournament.
2000 season
[edit]Kamo Karzi competed during the 2000 season, appearing again in the Valhalla national rankings.
The team finished 18th, with a score of 59.[4]
The leading published teams included Saints Gold, Team Crisis, Grey, Paint Contractors and Katipo 1.
The 2000 ranking list included a wider selection of teams, reflecting the expansion of the Valhalla database to incorporate regional competitions.
The ranking compiler noted that results had been collected from nearly every tournament played that year, with the Southern Three-Man competition among the missing records.[4]
The published methodology sought to compare performances across tournaments of different sizes and playing formats.
Kamo Karzi's lower ranking position should therefore be considered in the context of changes in the number of participating teams, competition results available and ranking methodology.
2001 season
[edit]Kamo Karzi continued competing into 2001.
The Valhalla database recorded the team in the national seven-player rankings, finishing 10th among 23 teams with 111.4 ranking points.[5]
The team's recorded results came from RotoVegas and the New Zealand Paintball Nationals.
| Competition | Ranking points |
|---|---|
| RotoVegas – preliminary round | 63.9 |
| New Zealand Paintball Nationals – preliminary round | 47.5 |
| Season total | 111.4 |
These values were calculated by Valhalla for national ranking purposes and were not necessarily the raw game scores awarded by the tournament organisers.
RotoVegas
[edit]Kamo Karzi entered the RotoVegas seven-man tournament in Rotorua.
The Valhalla database recorded 63.9 points for the team's preliminary-round performance.
The tournament was part of the Rotorua competitive paintball calendar, which included events associated with the Volcanic Rotorua series.
Other teams recorded at RotoVegas included Saints Gold, Jetts, Katipo, Black Dragon, Damage and Tag n' Release.
The surviving ranking table does not provide Kamo Karzi with a final-round ranking contribution for this event.
New Zealand Paintball Nationals
[edit]Kamo Karzi also competed at the 2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals in Auckland.
The event used a seven-player format, with a preliminary competition followed by separate divisional finals.
Valhalla credited Kamo Karzi with 47.5 ranking points from the preliminary round.[5]
The tournament attracted teams from different regions, including Saints Gold, Jetts, Katipo, Damage, Flashpoint, Tag n' Release and Insane.
No final-round contribution is recorded for Kamo Karzi in the surviving Valhalla table.
The team finished tenth in the seven-man national season rankings, ahead of Warp Speed and TNT.
The 2001 records are the latest currently identified results for Kamo Karzi. They do not establish whether the team ceased operating after that season.
National rankings
[edit]Kamo Karzi appeared in the Valhalla national paintball rankings for five consecutive seasons.
| Year | National ranking | Ranking score | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3rd of 11 | 74 | National rankings |
| 1998 | 9th of 18 | 43 | National rankings |
| 1999 | 9th of 22 | 63 | National rankings |
| 2000 | 18th of 37 | 59 | National rankings |
| 2001 | 10th of 23 | 111.4 | Seven-man |
Sources: Mercenaries Star Valhalla tables for 1997–2001.[1][2][3][4][5]
The rankings were compiled using different data structures and methods over time.
The 1997–2000 tables present comparative national performance scores, while the 2001 seven-man standings incorporate ranking contributions from individual tournament rounds.
Consequently, ranking scores should not be compared directly between seasons as if they represented identical measurements.
The database also acknowledged gaps in its historical results, particularly for earlier years.[8]
Players
[edit]Rob Maddox
[edit]Rob Maddox was a member of Kamo Karzi during the late 1990s.
He competed at the New Zealand Paintball Nationals and published contemporary reports of the 1997 and 1998 events.
Maddox received the Best Flag Pull award at the 1998 Nationals.[10]
He was also involved in the operation of Paintball.co.nz, an early New Zealand paintball website.
The website published tournament reports, playing-field information and material concerning the development and regulation of paintball in New Zealand.
Maddox subsequently served as secretary of the New Zealand Paintball Players Association (NZPPA), before identifying himself as a former secretary in an article published in February 2004.
His work in tournament reporting preserved details of events in which Kamo Karzi participated.
Spider
[edit]A Kamo Karzi member known as Spider operated an independent paintball website during the early 2000s.
The Mercenaries Star directory listed the site under the name Spiders Paintball.[6]
The directory described Spider as an Auckland member of Kamokarzi who regularly modified paintball markers.
It specifically mentioned photographs of a modified Sheridan PGP paintball pistol.
The listing documents the technical interests of at least one member of the team and connects Kamo Karzi with the early online paintball equipment community.
Spider's full name has not been established from the surviving directory entry.
The historical listing does not establish whether Spider and Rob Maddox were the same individual; they should therefore be treated as separate identities unless further evidence becomes available.
Other players
[edit]The full Kamo Karzi roster has not been recovered.
Team membership may have varied across the five-player and seven-player tournaments documented between 1997 and 2001.
Contemporary tournament reports and photographs may contain further information about individual players and their positions.
Competition formats
[edit]Five-player centre flag
[edit]Kamo Karzi competed in the five-player format used at the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals.
Games involved teams attempting to capture a central flag while eliminating opposing players.
The format commonly awarded points for eliminations, flag pulls and successful flag hangs.
Natural terrain and constructed barricades were used at tournaments during this period.
The team continued participating in national competitions as tournament formats developed.
Seven-player paintball
[edit]By 2001, Kamo Karzi was competing in seven-player tournament paintball.
Seven-man competition was an established international format during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The larger team size placed greater emphasis on communication and coordinated movement between different playing positions.
Kamo Karzi's 2001 results document its participation in the seven-man format at RotoVegas and the Nationals.
Online presence
[edit]Team website
[edit]Kamo Karzi maintained an internet presence during the early development of New Zealand paintball websites.
Mercenaries Star listed Kamokarzi, Auckland in its directory of team websites.[6]
An independent international directory, Paintball Emporium, also listed Kamo Karzi as a New Zealand paintball team with an associated website.[11]
These references establish that Kamo Karzi was represented online and linked from both domestic and international paintball resources.
The team's original website address has not been conclusively recovered from the surviving directory text.
The original site may have contained player profiles, tournament reports and photographs, but its precise contents cannot be established without the underlying archive.
New Zealand Paintball Online
[edit]Kamo Karzi's association with Rob Maddox connected the team with Paintball.co.nz and the NZ Paintball Message Boards.
The website provided information about paintball fields, tournament events and equipment.
Mercenaries Star independently described New Zealand Paintball Online as offering a field directory, moderated discussion board and chat facility.[6]
These websites were part of the early internet community through which New Zealand players communicated before social media became widespread.
Equipment modifications
[edit]The separate Spiders Paintball website reflected the technical interests of players during a period when mechanical paintball markers were commonly customised.
Its historical listing specifically identified modified Sheridan PGP equipment.
The PGP was a stock-class paintball pistol originally manufactured by Sheridan and widely used during the sport's early development.
Modification, maintenance and equipment experimentation were common activities among experienced tournament players.
The existence of a dedicated equipment website operated by a Kamo Karzi member demonstrates the team's connections beyond competition results.
Historical documentation
[edit]Valhalla database
[edit]The most complete surviving record of Kamo Karzi's competitive activity is the Valhalla database maintained by Mercenaries Star.
The database contains annual national rankings for 1997 through 2000, followed by separate competition-format rankings in 2001.
These records establish the team's continued activity and include tournament-level ranking contributions for its final documented season.
Valhalla was not a complete official registry of all New Zealand paintball tournaments.
The compiler acknowledged missing results and made revisions to the methodology used to compare performances.[8]
Paintball.co.nz tournament reports
[edit]Rob Maddox's reports on the 1997 and 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals contain additional information about Kamo Karzi's participation.
The reports were originally associated with Paintball.co.nz, an early national paintball information website.
Historical summaries attribute the 1997 third-place result, the 1998 11th-place result and Maddox's Best Flag Pull award to those contemporary accounts.[9][10]
The original individual article URLs have not been recovered, limiting independent verification of the full report texts.
Early website directories
[edit]The Mercenaries Star directory and Paintball Emporium links page document Kamo Karzi's presence in the early online paintball community.
The directories also demonstrate that the team maintained a public identity beyond its tournament entries.
The surviving references are especially useful because many paintball team websites from the 1990s and early 2000s are no longer accessible.
Historical significance
[edit]Kamo Karzi was one of Auckland's established tournament paintball teams during the development of national competition in the late 1990s.
The team participated in the original National Paintball League era and remained active through the transition toward seven-player tournament formats in the early 2000s.
Its third-place position in the 1997 Valhalla standings and subsequent appearances through 2001 provide evidence of sustained competitive participation.
Through Rob Maddox, the team was also connected with contemporary paintball journalism, tournament reporting and the development of national online discussion communities.
The historical record of Kamo Karzi illustrates the relationship between competitive teams, commercial field operators and independent paintball websites during the sport's early development in New Zealand.
See also
[edit]- History of paintball in New Zealand
- Paintball in New Zealand
- Rob Maddox
- New Zealand Paintball Nationals
- National Paintball League (New Zealand)
- Actions Paintball
- Mercenaries Star
- Northland Open
- Volcanic Rotorua
- Team Insane
- New Zealand Paintball Players Association
References
[edit]- Valhalla National Rankings, 1997. Mercenaries Star. Lists Kamo Karzi third with a ranking score of 74.
- Valhalla National Rankings, 1998. Mercenaries Star. Lists Kamo Karzi ninth with a ranking score of 43.
- Valhalla National Rankings, 1999. Mercenaries Star. Lists Kamo Karzi ninth with a ranking score of 63.
- Valhalla National Rankings, 2000. Mercenaries Star. Lists Kamo Karzi eighteenth with a ranking score of 59.
- Valhalla National Rankings, 2001. Mercenaries Star. Records Kamo Karzi tenth in the seven-man standings, including RotoVegas and New Zealand Nationals preliminary-round results.
- New Zealand Paintball Online Directory. Mercenaries Star. Historical team website listing for Kamokarzi and a separate Spiders Paintball website operated by a team member.
- The Rise and Fall of the New Zealand National Paintball League. Mercenaries Star. Historical account of the NPL established in 1997.
- Valhalla National Ranking Methodology. Mercenaries Star. Explanation of the rankings, calculation methods and acknowledged gaps in historical results.
- Rob Maddox, 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals. Contemporary tournament account originally associated with Paintball.co.nz, October 1997. Results reproduced in the New Zealand Paintball History project research; original article URL not established. Historical site archive.
- Rob Maddox, 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals. Contemporary tournament account originally associated with Paintball.co.nz, October 1998. Tournament placing and individual recognition reproduced in historical research; original article URL not established. Historical site archive.
- Paintball Emporium – Links. Historical international paintball directory listing Kamo Karzi as a New Zealand team.
External links
[edit]- Mercenaries Star – historical New Zealand team directory
- Paintball Emporium – historical international team directory
- 1997 national rankings
- 1998 national rankings
- 1999 national rankings
- 2000 national rankings
- 2001 seven-man rankings
- Paintball.co.nz – historical website archive
- Valhalla ranking methodology