Editing Hawke’s Bay Triples

'''Hawke's Bay Triples''' was a three-player paintball tournament held in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay region. Contemporary reports document editions from 1999 to 2002, while forum records and photographs preserve later events in 2009 and 2010.[1][7][8][9]

== History ==
The Mercenaries Star tournament calendar described the Triples as the successor to Fantasyland, a recreational paintball event whose attendance had declined.[2]

=== 1999 ===
''See [[1999 Hawke’s Bay Triples]].''

Rick Levick organised the eight-team tournament. Games lasted up to six minutes, with an allowance of 100 paintballs per player. Amon Johnson led a training session before Sunday's competition.[1]

[[House Steiner|House Steiner Blue]] led the preliminary heats. House Steiner Red defeated The Boys From The Black Stuff in a deciding semi-final, then beat Blue by one elimination across a two-game final. Black Stuff finished third.[1]

=== 2000 ===
''See [[2000 Hawke’s Bay Triples]].''

Paintball Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club presented the February tournament at Pines Paintball Field, State Highway 50, Roys Hill. Les Hall was the event contact. The announcement specified three-player competition with a 100-round paint allowance.[3]

Eleven teams attended. House Steiner Black won, followed by House Steiner Red and Vipers 1. The dedicated results page records [[Wellington Phoenix (paintball team)|Cannon Fodder B]] eighth and Cannon Fodder A ninth.[4]

=== 2001 ===
''See [[2001 Hawke’s Bay Triples]].''

The tournament took place on 3–4 February at Pines Paintball Field. The announcement specified centre-flag competition under Australian Paintball Players League rules, with 100 rounds per player per end.[5]

Fifteen teams competed across two fields, each playing fourteen preliminary games. House Steiner defeated [[Wellington Phoenix (paintball team)|Phoenix Red]] in the final. Phoenix Grey finished third and Phoenix Orange eighth.[6]

=== 2002 ===
''See [[2002 Hawke’s Bay Triples]].''

Les Hall organised the 2–3 February tournament at Stoney Creek Ranch, Hastings. Seventeen teams played three-player centre-flag games with 100 paintballs per player per game.[7]

Three fields were laid out on a rugby ground: two inflatable fields and a plywood field supplied by [[Tag n' Release]]. GPS and RUSH qualified for the final, which GPS won 100–10. Comic Relief received the Most Stand-Out Team award.[7]

=== 2009 ===
''See [[2009 Hawke’s Bay Triples]].''

The event took place on 7–8 February at 75/77 Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, Hastings. The announcement specified three-player round-robin competition, peer refereeing, five-minute games and one pod per player per game.[8]

Entry was NZ$50 per player, with catering provided and camping available. Post-event messages confirmed that the tournament had taken place, but the preserved discussion does not supply results.[8]

=== 2010 ===
''See [[2010 Hawke’s Bay Triples]].''

L. M. Bennett's prizegiving photographs document the February 2010 tournament. The scoreboard, photographed on 7 February, lists sixteen teams and explicitly records six placings:[9]

{| class="wikitable"
! Position !! Team !! Points
|-
| 1 || Arachnids || 1,300
|-
| 2 || Aces || 1,250
|-
| 3 || Happymeal A || 1,190
|-
| 4 || GPS || 1,170
|-
| 5 || Pirates || 1,110
|-
| 6 || Happymeal B || 1,010
|}

== See also ==
* [[Paintball in New Zealand]]
* [[House Steiner]]
* [[Wellington Phoenix (paintball team)]]
* [[Tag n' Release]]

== References ==
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020606140335/http://www.paintball.co.nz/hbtrip99.htm Rick Levick, ''1999 Hawkes Bay Triples'', Paintball.co.nz. Archived 6 June 2002.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Mercenaries Star, ''Annual Tournament Events'', 2001. Preserved by OoCities.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/HB3/NextHB3M.html ''Hawkes Bay Triples Competition'', Mercenaries Star, February 2000 tournament announcement. Preserved by OoCities.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/HB3/2000HB3M.html ''Hawkes Bay Triples 2000 Results'', Mercenaries Star. Preserved by OoCities.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/HB3M.htm ''Hawkes Bay Triples Competition'', Mercenaries Star, announcement for 3–4 February 2001. Preserved by OoCities.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20011020080141fw_/http://www.blacksun.co.nz/phoenix/news.htm Wellington Phoenix, ''News'', “Hawkes Bay Triples”, 5 February 2001. Archived 20 October 2001.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20021025162718/http://www.paintball.co.nz/hb3man2002.htm Dazz Marshall, ''Hawkes Bay 3-Man 2002'', Paintball.co.nz, February 2002. Archived 25 October 2002.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20090818150024/http://nzpaintball.yuku.com/topic/4330/t/HB-Triples-2009.html ''HB Triples 2009'', NZ Paintball Message Boards, January–March 2009. Archived 18 August 2009.]
# [https://www.flickr.com/photos/tempusfugitphotos/4359484389/in/album-72157623441196994 L. M. Bennett, ''HBT2010 – Scoreboard'', Flickr. Photographed 7 February 2010; uploaded 15 February 2010.]

[[Category:Paintball tournaments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:New Zealand paintball history]]
[[Category:Paintball in Hawke's Bay]]