Tag n' Release (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Tag n' Release was a New Zealand competitive paintball team based in Rotorua. Formed in March 2000, the team won the Second Division at the 2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, the Division Two award at the 2001 Northland Open and the 2001 South Pacific Championships. It also headed the five-player category of the October 2001 Valhalla National Rankings.[1][3][4][5]

The name also appeared as Tag and Release, TnR and TNR. Contemporary records preserve several affiliated entries, including Tag and Training, Tag n' Release GPS, Tag n' Release RAG and Tag n' Release Training.[5][6]

History

Formation and 2000 season

A team profile contributed by Russell Clement in April 2001 records that Tag n' Release formed in March 2000 and identified Paintball Rotorua as its home field. It describes the players progressing from rental games in bush settings into tournament competition.[1]

The team's first documented tournament was Mayhems in Auckland in 2000. It scored 74 points from a possible 500 in the open preliminary round and was recorded as fifth in the six-team Second Division.[1]

At the 2000 Wellington Cup, Tag n' Release scored 570 points from a possible 800 in the preliminary round. It then placed second in the following round with 130 points from a possible 400.[1]

At the New Zealand Paintball Nationals on 21–22 October 2000, Tag n' Release recorded 655 preliminary points and qualified for the divisional finals. It won the Second Division with 235 points from a possible 400, ahead of Phoenix Wellington, Solidaire and Fusion.[1][3]

Tag n' Release and the Rotorua Paintball Club also established the Rotorua Invitational. The inaugural event was held at Blue Lake Reserve on 3 December 2000. Tag n' Release, Katipo, Havoc and Damn Natives each played the other teams twice; Katipo recorded the highest total and won the event.[7] A contemporary 2001 event calendar described the resulting series as being run by Tag n' Release from Paintball Rotorua.[2]

In the 2000 Valhalla standings, Tag n' Release was ranked eleventh among 37 published team and squad entries, with a score of 68.5.[8]

2001 season

The April 2001 profile records Tag n' Release placing fourth in the open round of the Hawke's Bay Triples with 900 points from a possible 1,400.[1] A contemporary Phoenix report describes the three-player GPS entry at that event as effectively Tag n' Release playing with Kane from Wellington.[4]

At the Northland Open on 25 February 2001, Tag n' Release finished fifth overall with 585 points and received the Division Two winner's award. The overall placing and divisional award were separate results.[1][9]

Phoenix's contemporary report identifies Tag n' Release as the winner of the 2001 South Pacific Championships.[4]

A Wellington Cup report posted on 13 August 2001 placed House Steiner, Saints and Tag n' Release within fewer than 30 points of one another at the head of the competition. It identified House Steiner as the winner but did not establish whether Tag n' Release finished second or third.[10]

At the 2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, Tag n' Release recorded 915 preliminary points but did not reach the divisional finals. The tournament report identified the team as the group behind that year's Rotorua tournament.[6]

The October 2001 Valhalla standings ranked Tag n' Release eighth in seven-player competition and first in five-player competition. The separate Tag n' Release GPS entry ranked third in the three-player standings.[5]

2002 season

At the 2002 Northland Open, Tag n' Release entered the First Division and finished fourth overall with 410 points. Its affiliated amateur team, Tag and Training, competed separately, finished second overall with 503 points and won the Second Division.[11]

Affiliated squads

Tag and Training

Tag and Training, also recorded as Tag & Training, TNT and Tag n' Release Training, was Tag n' Release's amateur or development squad. The teams were organisationally related but entered tournaments separately, so their results are not interchangeable.[5][6][11]

At the 2001 Nationals, Tag and Training won the Second Division with 180 final-round points. In the October 2001 Valhalla tables, TNT ranked twelfth in seven-player competition while Tag n' Release Training ranked seventh in the five-player category. Tag and Training again competed separately at the 2002 Northland Open, where it won the Second Division.[5][6][11]

GPS and RAG

The 2001 Valhalla three-player standings recorded two further entries: Tag n' Release GPS and Tag n' Release RAG. GPS ranked third with 159.3 points, while RAG ranked thirteenth with 53.3 points.[5]

GPS's ranking incorporated results from the Hawke's Bay Triples and Combat Zone Three-Mans. The Phoenix report of the Hawke's Bay event links that entry directly to Tag n' Release and Kane from Wellington.[4][5] RAG's published total came from the opening round of the Combat Zone Three-Mans.[5] The standings do not provide a roster for RAG.

Personnel

The April 2001 team profile recorded the following officials and members:[1]

Person	Documented role
Gary Dykes	Captain
Peter Mumby	Manager
Brendon Charles	Treasurer
Russell Clement	Information and historian
Gavin Mumby	Team member
Shane Lukis	Team member
Jeremy Jeffs	Team member

This is the organisation recorded in April 2001, not a complete roster for every event or affiliated squad.

Tournament record

The table lists results documented for the main Tag n' Release entry. Affiliated squads are described separately above.

Year	Tournament	Round or classification	Recorded result	Points	Source
2000	Mayhems	Open preliminary round / Second Division	5th in Second Division	74 of 500	[1]
2000	Wellington Cup	Open preliminary round	Placing not stated	570 of 800	[1]
2000	Wellington Cup	Open second round	2nd	130 of 400	[1]
2000	New Zealand Paintball Nationals	Second Division final	1st	235 of 400	[1][3]
2000	Rotorua Invitational	Open	Participated; exact placing not stated	Not supplied	[7]
2001	Hawke's Bay Triples	Open round	4th	900 of 1,400	[1]
2001	Northland Open	Overall / Division Two	5th overall; Division Two winner	585 of 900	[1][9]
2001	South Pacific Championships	Open	Winner	Not supplied	[4]
2001	Wellington Cup	Open	Top three; exact placing not established	Not supplied	[10]
2001	New Zealand Paintball Nationals	Preliminary round	Did not reach divisional finals	915	[6]
2002	Northland Open	First Division entry	4th overall	410	[11]

National rankings

The October 2001 Valhalla standings recorded:[5]

Format	Published entry	Ranking position	Ranking total
Seven-player	Tag n' Release	8th	192.9
Seven-player	TNT	12th	103.2
Five-player	Tag n' Release	1st	214.5
Five-player	Tag n' Release Training	7th	52.3
Three-player	Tag n' Release GPS	3rd	159.3
Three-player	Tag n' Release RAG	13th	53.3

Valhalla was an independent ranking system. Its calculated totals are distinct from raw tournament scores and individual championship placings.[5][12]

Equipment and home field

The April 2001 profile listed five Automags, one Autococker and one Spyder-type marker, with most markers using carbon dioxide. It identified Paintball Rotorua as the team's home field. These details document the team's reported arrangements at that date rather than its equipment throughout its history.[1]

References

External links

Contemporary Tag n' Release team profile