Editing Syrian Suicide Squad (New Zealand Paintball Team)

'''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based New Zealand tournament [[paintball]] team active during the 1990s. The team competed at the 1997 [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]] and changed its name to '''Phoenix''' by early 1998.[1][2]

== History ==

=== 1997 competition ===

Syrian Suicide Squad competed at the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, held on 25–26 October at [[Actions Paintball]] in Te Atatū, Auckland. A contemporary tournament report by Rob Maddox records the team finishing ninth with 422 points.[2]

The team also ranked ninth in the retrospectively compiled 1997 [[Valhalla National Rankings]], with a ranking score of 38. This was separate from its Nationals tournament score.[3]

=== Change of name ===

The team's Phoenix website, last updated on 16 March 1998, announced a new name and a new website for the start of 1998. It identified Phoenix as an Auckland paintball team and linked directly to the former Syrian Suicide Squad website.[1]

The announcement stated that an explanation of the name change would be added later, but did not itself give the reason.[1]

== Recorded results ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Competition or ranking
! Position
! Score
! Source
|-
| 1997
| New Zealand Paintball Nationals
| 9th
| 422 tournament points
| [2]
|-
| 1997
| Valhalla National Rankings
| 9th
| 38 ranking points
| [3]
|}

== Team websites ==

Syrian Suicide Squad maintained a website at homepages.ihug.co.nz/~subby. The Phoenix website continued to link to those pages after announcing the team's new name in 1998.[1]

Phoenix's new website used the address phoenix.org.nz.[1]

== See also ==

* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]

== References ==

# [https://web.archive.org/web/19981206002013/http://www.phoenix.org.nz/ Team Phoenix — homepage]. Page last updated 16 March 1998; Internet Archive capture dated 6 December 1998. Identifies Phoenix as an Auckland paintball team, announces the name change and links to the former Syrian Suicide Squad website.
# Rob Maddox, “1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals”, Paintball.co.nz, October 1997. Contemporary tournament report recording Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with 422 points; direct archived article URL not recovered.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Mercenaries Star — Valhalla Hall of Heros: 1997]. Lists Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with a ranking score of 38. Archived GeoCities page preserved by OoCities.

== External links ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/19981206002013/http://www.phoenix.org.nz/ Archived Phoenix team website]

[[Category:Paintball teams]]
[[Category:New Zealand paintball teams]]
[[Category:New Zealand paintball history]]
[[Category:Paintball in Auckland]]