Vipers (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Vipers was a New Zealand tournament paintball team based in New Plymouth. Contemporary records used both Viper and Vipers, and the organisation entered separately recorded Vipers 1 and Vipers 2 squads during the 2000 season.[1][2]

The team competed at the 1999 Hawke's Bay Triples and several major North Island events in 2000. It reached the Second Division final at the Mayhem Queen's Birthday tournament and the open final of the 2000 Wellington Cup.[1][3][4]

History

1999 Hawke's Bay Triples

Vipers' earliest currently documented appearance was at the 1999 Hawke's Bay Triples. The contemporary report identifies Vipers as a New Plymouth team.[1]

Eight teams entered the three-player competition. House Steiner Red won ahead of House Steiner Blue and The Boys From The Black Stuff. Vipers was among the five other participating teams, but the report does not provide its exact placing or score.[1]

The 1999 Valhalla National Rankings placed Vipers twelfth with a calculated ranking score of 56.[5]

2000 season

An entry printed as Viper competed at the South Pacific Championships at Thunderball Adventure Games in Wellington on 22–23 April 2000. A contemporary Phoenix report confirms the team's participation but does not provide an overall placing.[4]

Vipers also competed at the Mayhem Queen's Birthday tournament at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Swanson, Auckland, on 4 June. It reached the Second Division final alongside Assault Korps, Havoc, DOA, Tag n' Release and Damn Natives. The report does not provide a complete divisional finishing order.[3]

Later in 2000, Vipers reached the final of the five-player Wellington Cup. Phoenix won the event and Tag n' Release placed second. Vipers and Full Boar were the other finalists, but the surviving sources do not establish their order.[4][6]

The 2000 Valhalla standings recorded two separate Vipers squads. Vipers 1 ranked equal ninth with 69.5, while Vipers 2 ranked twenty-sixth with 45.[2]

Squads and naming

Viper, Vipers, Vipers 1 and Vipers 2 are treated as records of the same New Plymouth organisation. Results remain assigned to the published squad where the source distinguishes numbered entries.

The singular Viper recorded at Ashburton in 2011 is not included. Available evidence does not establish whether that later team was connected to the New Plymouth organisation.

Recorded tournament results

Year	Published entry	Competition	Classification	Recorded result	Points	Source
1999	Vipers	Hawke's Bay Triples	Open three-player	Participated; exact placing not stated	Not supplied	[1]
2000	Viper	South Pacific Championships	Open five-player	Participated; exact placing not established	Not supplied	[4]
2000	Vipers	Mayhem Queen's Birthday tournament	Second Division final	Finalist; exact placing not stated	Not supplied	[3]
2000	Vipers	Wellington Cup	Open five-player final	Finalist; exact placing not established	Not supplied	[4][6]

No exact placing is assigned where the original report provides only participation or finalist status.

National rankings

Season	Published entry	Position	Ranking score
1999	Vipers	12th	56
2000	Vipers 1	Equal 9th	69.5
2000	Vipers 2	26th	45

Valhalla rankings were calculated comparative values and are distinct from raw tournament scores or individual event placings.[2][5][7]

References