Editing 2000 Northland Open

The '''Northland Open 2000''' was a New Zealand tournament paintball event held on 27 February 2000 at Jubilee Park in [[Whangārei]], Northland. Eight teams competed in a seven-player, two-flag format on a temporary speedball field constructed on a rugby ground.[1]

[[Saints]] won the tournament with 700 points, followed by [[Katipo]] on 615. [[Crisis]] placed third overall and won Second Division.[1]

== Organisation ==

The tournament was organised by Brent of [[Strategy Tag]] and [[Paint Contractors]]. His surname was not provided in the contemporary report.[1]

Paint Contractors, which had won the [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals 1999]], officiated rather than competed at the event. The contemporary report described both the organisation and marshalling positively.

The tournament was promoted through local radio and a newspaper. The report also mentioned an unconfirmed claim that the event had been referenced on Sky Sport. Because that appearance was not verified at the time, it should not be treated as confirmed media coverage.[1]

== Venue ==

The tournament was held at Jubilee Park in Whangārei.[1]

A temporary field was constructed on a rugby ground using plywood and loading pallets. The field was designed to be nearly symmetrical, with flag stations positioned at opposite corners.

The layout was intended to prevent either starting end from providing a significant advantage. Its location on an open rugby ground also provided spectators with clear views of the competition.

The 2000 venue differed from the wooded [[Omana Paintball Field]] used for the [[Northland Open 1999]].

== Format ==

The event used a seven-player format with one flag station at each end of the field.[1]

This differed from the five-player, centre-flag format commonly used at earlier New Zealand tournaments.

The available report does not provide the complete draw, individual game scores or tournament rules.

== Teams ==

Eight teams entered the tournament:[1]

* [[Saints]]
* [[Crisis]]
* [[Black Dragon]]
* [[Katipo]]
* [[Havoc]]
* [[Warp Speed]]
* [[Solidaire]]
* [[Phantom 5|Phantom]]

The contemporary report listed the final team simply as Phantom. It is linked to Phantom 5 because that was the established New Zealand tournament organisation appearing in records from the same period, but the event source does not identify a particular Phantom 5 squad.

The source described Saints, Black Dragon, Katipo, Havoc, Solidaire and Phantom as Auckland teams. Crisis was based in Whangārei, while Warp Speed represented Hawke's Bay.[1]

== Tournament ==

Crisis began its tournament by recording a maximum-score victory over Black Dragon, with two Crisis players eliminated.[1]

Havoc eliminated a Saints player shortly after the start of their game, although Saints recovered and won after losing three players.

Warp Speed defeated Black Dragon. Kyn Jackson and Vanessa Jackson were identified as the final two Black Dragon players remaining during the game.[1]

Solidaire created a flanking opportunity against Saints but was unable to maintain sufficient supporting fire. Saints recovered and won the game.

The start of the Havoc–Katipo game was disrupted after Havoc began playing early, reportedly following incorrect start-time calls from outside the field. The marshals stopped the game and returned the players for the official start.[1]

== Results ==

The final standings were:[1]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Position
! Team
! Points
! Divisional distinction
|-
| 1
| [[Saints]]
| 700
| First Division winner
|-
| 2
| [[Katipo]]
| 615
| —
|-
| 3
| [[Crisis]]
| 445
| Second Division winner
|-
| 4
| [[Phantom 5|Phantom]]
| 370
| —
|-
| 5
| [[Black Dragon]]
| 365
| —
|-
| 6
| [[Warp Speed]]
| 345
| —
|-
| 7
| [[Havoc]]
| 190
| —
|-
| 8
| [[Solidaire]]
| 110
| —
|}

Saints won First Division and the overall tournament. Crisis won Second Division while placing third overall.[1]

The surviving report does not provide complete divisional membership or separate divisional standings beyond the two recorded winners.

== Players and team associations ==

Kyn Jackson and Vanessa Jackson competed for [[Black Dragon]]. Kyn Jackson was also associated with [[Actions Paintball]].[1]

A [[Kamo Karzi]] member known as Quad played on loan for Black Dragon. The report credited Quad with eliminating four opposing players during one game, supported by Vanessa Jackson.[1]

The source described Saints' appearance as apparently its final New Zealand tournament. This was a contemporary expectation and should not be treated as proof that the team ceased competing.

== Historical documentation ==

The tournament was documented in a contemporary report by [[Rob Maddox]], originally published through [[Paintball.co.nz]].[1]

The report preserves the event date, Jubilee Park venue, field construction, seven-player format, participating teams, final results and several incidents from tournament play.

== See also ==

* [[Northland Open]]
* [[Northland Open 1999]]
* [[Strategy Tag]]
* [[Paint Contractors]]
* [[Saints]]
* [[Crisis]]
* [[Paintball.co.nz]]

== References ==

# [https://web.archive.org/web/20010114131600/http://www.paintball.co.nz/north2000.htm Rob Maddox, The 2000 Northland Paintball Open, Paintball.co.nz]

== External links ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020206013313/http://www.paintball.co.nz/north2000.htm Later archived copy of the tournament report]

[[Category:2000 in paintball]]
[[Category:New Zealand paintball tournaments]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in Northland]]
[[Category:Seven-player paintball]]