Katipo (New Zealand Paintball Team)
Katipo was an Auckland-based New Zealand tournament paintball team active during the 1990s and early 2000s. Its documented successes include the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, the amateur division of the 1998 Australian Seven-Player Paintball Championships, the inaugural Rotorua Invitational in 2000 and the 2002 Auckland Five-Man Tournament.[7][8][14][19]
The organisation fielded multiple event and league entries under the names Katipo 1, Katipo 2, Katipo One, Katipo Two, Katipo A, Katipo B, Katipo TTT and Katipo Venom. These names identify Katipo squads or entries rather than unrelated teams. The exact spelling used by each contemporary source is retained below.
History
[edit]Triple T and early participation
[edit]In an undated profile preserved in February 2002, Paul “Stimpy” Broad recalled returning to paintball in 1994 and trying out for Triple T, which he expanded as Tactics Tiger Ball and described as subsequently becoming Katipo.[20] The account documents a connection between Triple T and Katipo, but does not establish an exact founding or renaming date.
Katipo competed at the Australian Paintball Championships in June 1996. A contemporary magazine profile records a fifth-place finish, narrowly missing the amateur finals, and describes the competition as the team's first overseas tournament appearance.[6]
1997 season
[edit]Katipo fielded two squads at the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, held at Actions Paintball in Te Atatū, Auckland, on 25–26 October. Katipo 1 won the tournament with 1,008 points. Katipo 2 finished seventh overall and third in Division Two with 608 points.[7]
The tournament report identifies Reg Lowe as Katipo One captain when he accepted the championship trophy.[7]
In the retrospectively compiled 1997 Valhalla National Rankings, Katipo 1 ranked first with 91 ranking points. Katipo 2 was equal seventh with 55.[1]
1998 season
[edit]Katipo won the amateur division of the 1998 Australian Seven-Player Paintball Championships at Yarramundi, New South Wales. The event included eight professional and eight amateur teams from Australia and New Zealand.[8]
Katipo led the amateur preliminary standings with 650 points. In the finals it defeated Tomcats and Wasp and lost to Onslaught, finishing first with 220 finals points, ten ahead of Onslaught.[8]
The contemporary report contains conflicting date information, describing both 6–7 July and the Queen's Birthday long weekend. The precise playing dates have therefore not been treated as established.[8]
The 1998 National Paintball League Division Two records list Katipo TTT and Katipo Venom as Katipo entries. The team list names Paul Braod as the manager of Katipo TTT and Russel Ryder as the manager of Katipo Venom.[9] The printed spelling Paul Braod is retained from the source; Paul Broad's separate profile supplies the independently documented spelling of his name.[20]
The surviving league results give Katipo Venom 22 league points and list it as equal second. Katipo TTT is recorded with zero points. The results page does not state that every scheduled match was completed, so these are the published league totals rather than independently verified final-season standings.[10]
At the 1998 New Zealand Nationals, held on 24–25 October, Katipo One finished sixth with 771 points and Katipo Two seventh with 625 points. Reg Lowe is again identified as Katipo One captain.[11]
1999–2000
[edit]At the 1999 New Zealand Nationals, held on 23–24 October, Katipo One finished fourth with 765 points and Katipo Two eighth with 525 points. The report identifies Stimpy as a Katipo Two player and records that Katipo One used two unnamed Australian guest players.[12]
At the 2000 New Zealand Nationals, held on 21–22 October, Katipo recorded 780 preliminary points and finished third in the First Division. The report does not provide final-round points.[13]
Katipo won the inaugural Rotorua Invitational at Blue Lake Reserve on 3 December 2000. The event used a temporary speedball field and a double round-robin format. Russell “Dangermouse” Clement's contemporary report records Katipo finishing with the highest points total.[14]
2001 season
[edit]At the Northland Open in Whangārei on 25 February 2001, Katipo finished sixth overall with 558 points.[16]
Katipo entered Katipo A and Katipo B in the Volcanic Rotorua tournament on 2–3 June. Katipo A led the Division One preliminary standings with 1,215 points. Katipo B scored 830 points and was the only preliminary opponent to defeat Katipo A.[15]
Katipo A advanced to the Division One finals and finished third with 145 final-round points, behind Jetts and Saints. The report identifies Reg of Katipo A as the NeoTech Player of the Day for Sunday.[15]
Katipo finished second in the First Division at the 2001 New Zealand Nationals with 165 final-round points, behind Saints on 225 and five points ahead of Jetts.[17] Jetts initially received the second-place trophy, but a countback established that Katipo was ahead by five points, equivalent to one elimination, and the trophies were exchanged.[17]
2002 season
[edit]At the 2002 Northland Open, Katipo finished seventh overall with 118 points. The report identifies Reg as captain and records his explanation that the event squad included newer players.[18]
Katipo won the Auckland Five-Man Tournament at Actions Paintball in Swanson on 26 October 2002. Seven teams played a double round-robin competition using five-player centre-flag games. Katipo finished first with 815 points, ahead of Kaos on 750 and Havoc on 540. Spike of Katipo received a notable mention at the prizegiving.[19]
Squad names
[edit]Contemporary records used several forms of the team name:
- Katipo 1, Katipo 2, Katipo One and Katipo Two for numbered tournament squads.
- Katipo A and Katipo B for separate entries at the 2001 Volcanic tournament.
- Katipo TTT and Katipo Venom for entries in the 1998 National Paintball League Division Two competition.
- Plain Katipo when the organisation entered a single squad or when a source did not use a squad suffix.
The suffixes distinguish squads competing at the same event. The Australian championship entries documented in 1996 and 1998 were also squads of the New Zealand team.[6][8]
Players and team personnel
[edit]The surviving records identify the following people in specific Katipo contexts. They do not constitute a complete roster for any season.
| Person | Documented involvement | Source context |
|---|---|---|
| Paul “Stimpy” Broad | Triple T and Katipo player; manager of Katipo TTT; documented with Katipo Two at the 1999 Nationals | Player profile and 1998–1999 competition records.[9][12][20] |
| Reg Low | Katipo One and Katipo A player; documented team captain; Sunday player-of-the-day recipient at the 2001 Volcanic tournament | 1997–1998 Nationals, 2001 Volcanic tournament and 2002 Northland Open reports.[7][11][15][18] |
| Spike | Katipo player receiving a notable mention | 2002 Auckland Five-Man Tournament.[19] |
| Mike Willman | Identified as a member of a Katipo seven-player squad that won an Australian amateur championship in Sydney | Undated contemporary newspaper clipping; the clipping does not establish the event year.[21] |
An undated Katipo team photograph uploaded by the House Steiner Facebook profile in 2011 contains identification tags for Brend Wesseling, Brendon Spain, James Keogan and Kristian Spurling. The photograph's original date has not been established, so the names should not be presented as a complete roster for a specific tournament or season.[22]
Recorded tournament results
[edit]| Date | Competition | Entry or classification | Recorded result |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 1996 | Australian Paintball Championships | Amateur competition | 5th; did not reach the amateur finals.[6] |
| 25–26 October 1997 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | Katipo 1 | 1st overall; 1,008 points.[7] |
| 25–26 October 1997 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | Katipo 2 | 7th overall; 3rd in Division Two; 608 points.[7] |
| 1998 | 1998 Australian Seven-Player Paintball Championships | Amateur division | 1st; 220 finals points.[8] |
| 1998 | National Paintball League Division Two | Katipo Venom | 22 published league points; listed equal second.[10] |
| 1998 | National Paintball League Division Two | Katipo TTT | Zero published league points.[10] |
| 24–25 October 1998 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | Katipo One | 6th; 771 points.[11] |
| 24–25 October 1998 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | Katipo Two | 7th; 625 points.[11] |
| 23–24 October 1999 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | Katipo One | 4th; 765 points.[12] |
| 23–24 October 1999 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | Katipo Two | 8th; 525 points.[12] |
| 21–22 October 2000 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | First Division | 3rd; 780 preliminary points.[13] |
| 3 December 2000 | Rotorua Invitational | Katipo | 1st.[14] |
| 25 February 2001 | Northland Open | Katipo | 6th; 558 points.[16] |
| 2–3 June 2001 | Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament | Katipo A, Division One | 3rd; 145 final-round points.[15] |
| 2001 | New Zealand Paintball Nationals | First Division | 2nd; 165 final-round points.[17] |
| 2002 | Northland Open | Katipo | 7th; 118 points.[18] |
| 26 October 2002 | Auckland Five-Man Tournament | Katipo | 1st; 815 points.[19] |
Preliminary scores, final-round scores and league points are identified separately and should not be treated as directly comparable totals.
National rankings
[edit]| Season | Published entry | Position | Ranking score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Katipo 1 | 1st | 91 |
| 1997 | Katipo 2 | Equal 7th | 55 |
| 1998 | Katipo 1 | 3rd | 72 |
| 1998 | Katipo 2 | 8th | 48 |
| 1999 | Katipo 1 | 7th | 69 |
| 1999 | Katipo 2 | 13th | 53 |
| 2000 | Katipo 1 | 5th | 81 |
| 2001 | Katipo | 3rd in the seven-player rankings | 308.2 |
| 2001 | Katipo B | 18th in the seven-player rankings | 59.3 |
Sources: Valhalla National Rankings.[1][2][3][4][5]
The 2001 cumulative scores are not directly comparable with the averaged ranking scores used in earlier seasons. These rankings were also separate from placings at individual tournaments.
Team website
[edit]Katipo maintained a website at dreamwater.com/katipo. A surviving capture dated 8 July 2001 identifies it as the Katipo Paintball Team website and links to a photograph collection and member login.[23]
See also
[edit]- Paintball in New Zealand
- New Zealand Paintball Nationals
- 1998 Australian Seven-Player Paintball Championships
- Rotorua Invitational
- Northland Open
- National Paintball League (New Zealand)
- Valhalla National Rankings
References
[edit]- Mercenaries Star, Valhalla Hall of Heros: 1997.
- Mercenaries Star, Valhalla Hall of Heros: 1998.
- Mercenaries Star, Valhalla Hall of Heros: 1999.
- Mercenaries Star, Valhalla Hall of Heros: 2000.
- Mercenaries Star, Valhalla Hall of Heros: 2001. Standings dated October 2001.
- “Katipo — Amateur Team Profile”. Contemporary Australian paintball magazine extract from Mike Willman's historical collection. Records Katipo's fifth-place finish at the June 1996 Australian Championships; magazine issue details not established.
- Rob Maddox, The 1997 Two Day NZ National “SplatMan” Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 13 June 2002.
- Simon Morrison, 1998 Australian 7 Man, Paint, issue 9, September 1998.
- Rob Maddox, The 1998 “SplatMan” Division 2 League. Team information dated 8 March 1998.
- The 1998 NPL Division 2 League Results, Paintball.co.nz.
- Rob Maddox, The 1998 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz.
- Rob Maddox, The 1999 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz.
- Rob Maddox, The 2000 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz.
- Russell “Dangermouse” Clement, Rotorua Invitational Paintball Days, report of the inaugural event on 3 December 2000.
- Rob Maddox, The 2001 Rotorua Volcanic Paintball Tournament, Paintball.co.nz.
- Rob Maddox, The 2001 Northland Paintball Open, Paintball.co.nz.
- Rob Maddox, The 2001 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz.
- Rob Maddox, The 2002 Northland Paintball Open, Paintball.co.nz.
- Rob Maddox, Labour Weekend Auckland 5-man 2002, Paintball.co.nz, October 2002.
- Paul “Stimpy” Broad, Who's Who of New Zealand Paintball, undated profile. Archived 22 February 2002.
- “Westport man's paintball win”. Undated contemporary New Zealand newspaper clipping from Mike Willman's historical collection. Newspaper title and publication date not established.
- House Steiner, “Katipo, Auckland” team photograph. Uploaded 18 August 2011; original photograph undated.
- Katipo Paintball Team website. Archived 8 July 2001.