Team Insane (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Team Insane, also recorded as Insane and later as East Auckland Insane, was an Auckland-based New Zealand tournament paintball team. Contemporary records document the team in three-player, five-player and seven-player competition between 2000 and 2007, followed by recruitment for continued competition in 2008.[1][2][3][4][5]

Insane finished second in the 2001 Valhalla three-player national rankings with 181.7 ranking points.[4]

History

2000 season

A contemporary report of the 2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals described Insane as a newly assembled team whose players had come together only days before the event. This establishes the assembly of that tournament squad, not a precise formal founding date.[1]

Insane entered Division Two and recorded 80 preliminary points. It did not qualify for the divisional final.[1]

On 1 December 2000, Insane competed at the 2000 Auckland Indoor 3-Man Open at Urban Combat in Pakuranga. The team finished fourth with 15 points, behind Kamo Karzi, Solidaire and Saints.[2]

2001 season

Insane competed at the 2001 Northland Open at Jubilee Park in Whangārei on 25 February 2001. It finished tenth in the combined standings with 60 points.[3]

The October 2001 Valhalla standings recorded Insane in both seven-player and three-player competition. The team placed 21st among 23 entries in the seven-player rankings with 28.2 points. Its contributing appearances included the Northland Open, RotoVegas and the New Zealand Paintball Nationals.[4]

At the 2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, Insane scored 223 preliminary points and did not qualify for the divisional finals.[5]

In the three-player rankings, Insane placed second with 181.7 ranking points, behind DamNatives Red. A second Insane squad, published as Insane B, placed 24th with 28.3 points.[4]

Insane B was a secondary squad of Team Insane rather than an unrelated team. Its separate ranking entry is retained because the two squads competed independently in the contributing three-player events.

2002 competition and Kaos entry

On 27 January 2002, Insane competed in a three-player tournament at Combat Zone in Ardmore, Papakura. The team scored 135 points in the published standings.[6]

At the 2002 Northland Open, members of Insane played as guests for Havoc to complete its event squad. The players were not named. This was an event-specific guest arrangement and does not indicate a merger between the teams.[7]

A report of the 2002 Auckland 5-Man Tournament, held at Actions Paintball on 26 October, identified the second-placed entry as Kaos (ex-Insane). Kaos scored 750 points.[8]

The published wording establishes a connection between Kaos and Insane at that event, but it does not identify the players involved or establish that Team Insane permanently changed its name to Kaos.[8]

Captaincy

In a contemporary team-contact discussion preserved from January 2002, Kevin Lunt explicitly identified himself as Insane's captain. The same discussion referred to Mike as the team member with internet access; it did not identify him as captain.[9]

2007 return

Team Insane returned to documented tournament competition in the 2007 Auckland Super 5s series. The published results recorded Insane eleventh in the June round with 265 points and tenth in the July round with 60 points.[10]

The interim standings published in August placed Insane seventh in Division Two with 325 cumulative points.[10]

A roster published during the series named Jarrod Findlay, Tabitha Crump, Francis Hambrock, Gareth Appleby, Justin Spencer and Sam Houlihan. The source did not identify a captain and does not establish that every listed player participated in every round.[10]

East Auckland Insane and 2008 recruitment

In January 2008, Jarrod Findlay used the name East Auckland Insane while recruiting for the team and a proposed development squad. East Auckland Insane was a later styling of the same Team Insane organisation rather than a separate team.[11]

Findlay stated that surplus players at the 2007 Nationals had provided the nucleus of the development squad. The new squad had not been formally named, although Asylum had been suggested. The post described planned twice-monthly training, five-player tournament participation and promotional and refereeing work for sponsor Actions Paintball.[11]

The source establishes recruitment and planned activity, but it does not confirm that the proposed development team subsequently competed or adopted the Asylum name. The proposal was unrelated to the later Asylum Paintball field and should not be used as evidence that the team became that venue.

Published 2007 roster

Player	Source status
Jarrod Findlay	Published Auckland Super 5s roster.[10]
Tabitha Crump	Published Auckland Super 5s roster.[10]
Francis Hambrock	Published Auckland Super 5s roster; spelling retained from the source.[10]
Gareth Appleby	Published Auckland Super 5s roster.[10]
Justin Spencer	Published Auckland Super 5s roster.[10]
Sam Houlihan	Published Auckland Super 5s roster.[10]

The table is a published series roster rather than proof that every named player attended every event.

Recorded results and rankings

Year	Competition	Entry	Recorded result
2000	2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	Insane	80 preliminary points; did not qualify for the Division Two final.[1]
2000	2000 Auckland Indoor 3-Man Open	Insane	4th; 15 points.[2]
2001	2001 Northland Open	Insane	10th; 60 points.[3]
2001	Valhalla seven-player rankings	Insane	21st of 23; 28.2 ranking points.[4]
2001	Valhalla three-player rankings	Insane	2nd; 181.7 ranking points.[4]
2001	Valhalla three-player rankings	Insane B	24th; 28.3 ranking points.[4]
2001	2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	Insane	223 preliminary points; did not qualify for the divisional finals.[5]
2002	Combat Zone three-player tournament	Insane	135 points.[6]
2007	Auckland Super 5s, June round	Insane	11th; 265 points.[10]
2007	Auckland Super 5s, July round	Insane	10th; 60 points.[10]
2007	Auckland Super 5s interim Division Two standings	Insane	7th; 325 cumulative points.[10]

The scores came from different tournament and ranking systems and should not be compared directly.

References