Editing 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals

The '''1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals''' was a paintball tournament held on 24–25 October 1998 at [[Actions Paintball|Actions Paintball Sports Arena]] in Te Atatū, Auckland. Fourteen teams competed. [[Saints (New Zealand paintball team)|Saints Gold]] won with 1,290 points from a possible 1,300, followed by Paint Contractors and Saints Grey. Black Dragon won Division Two.[1]

== Organisation ==
Kyn Jackson organised the tournament over Labour Weekend. It was the final event at Actions Paintball's Te Atatū field before its closure for relocation.[1]

Visiting teams included Paint Contractors from Whangārei, Warp Speed from Hawke's Bay, [[House Steiner]] and Kiwi Extreme from Wellington, and [[Flashpoint (New Zealand)|Flashpoint]] from Dunedin. The contemporary report identified this as Kiwi Extreme's first Auckland tournament.[1]

== Results ==
Saints Gold finished ten points short of the maximum score after receiving a penalty for a barrel-plug violation in the dead box on the second day. The team also received the Challenge Shield, which [[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo]] had won at the previous year's Nationals.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Position
! Team
! Points
|-
| 1
| [[Saints (New Zealand paintball team)|Saints Gold]]
| 1,290
|-
| 2
| Paint Contractors
| 1,008
|-
| 3
| [[Saints (New Zealand paintball team)|Saints Grey]]
| 970
|-
| 4
| [[House Steiner]]
| 940
|-
| 5
| Black Dragon
| 884
|-
| 6
| [[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo One]]
| 771
|-
| 7
| [[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo Two]]
| 625
|-
| 8
| Kiwi Extreme
| 545
|-
| 9
| Phantom 5
| 505
|-
| 10
| [[Flashpoint (New Zealand)|Flashpoint]]
| 455
|-
| 11
| [[Kamo Karzi]]
| 435
|-
| 12
| Warp Speed
| 225
|-
| 13
| DOA
| 141
|-
| 14
| Red Alert
| 121
|}

Black Dragon finished fifth overall and first in Division Two. DOA competed as Red Alert's second team.[1]

== Awards ==
Actions Paintball supplied prizes and trophies with sponsorship from Black Stallion energy drinks. Individual award recipients received Actions Paintball medallions.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Award or recognition
! Recipient
! Reason
|-
| Player of the Tournament
| Shane, Warp Speed
| Effort and sportsmanship
|-
| Best Flag Pull
| Rob Maddox, [[Kamo Karzi]]
| Flag pull against Katipo One
|-
| Special recognition
| Marty Friend
| Taking two and a half minutes to hang the flag after the opposing team had been eliminated in 35 seconds
|}

At the prizegiving, Jackson called for a national body to help organise tournaments and maintain playing standards in New Zealand.[1]

== See also ==
* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* [[1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]

== References ==
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20010114123900/http://www.paintball.co.nz/nats98.htm Rob Maddox, ''The 1998 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament'']. Paintball.co.nz; archived 14 January 2001.

[[Category:Paintball tournaments in New Zealand]]