Editing East Coast Paintball League

'''East Coast Paintball League''' ('''ECPL''') is a New Zealand [[paintball]] competition established in 2020 to develop regional participation in the upper North Island. Its documented programme includes tournaments at [[Bay of Plenty Paintball Club]]'s field at [[TECT All Terrain Park]].[1][2]

== History ==

=== Establishment ===

On 8 February 2020, the league announced that it intended to fill a gap in the social paintball calendar following the cessation of NZLS. Its stated aims included growing regional participation and encouraging existing players to introduce newcomers.[1]

The announcement also stated that ECPL would follow the [[New Zealand Race Series]] in adopting X-Ball.[1]

=== 2020 season ===

The [[2020 ECPL Round 1|opening round]] took place on 23 February 2020. [[Surge (paintball team)|Surge]] won the event, receiving 100 championship points.[2]

The league's published Champions Division table recorded six entries after the opening round.[2]

{| class="wikitable"
! Team !! Round-one championship points
|-
| [[Surge (paintball team)|Surge]] || 100
|-
| The Ponies || 94
|-
| [[Ballistics Unit|Ballistics Unit 1]] || 88
|-
| [[Ballistics Unit|Ballistics Unit 2]] || 84
|-
| BOP Black || 80
|-
| IDK || 76
|}

The [[2020 ECPL Round 3|third round]] was held at TECT Park on 26 July. Bay of Plenty club entries finished first and fourth. The club described it as the first tournament since the COVID-19 lockdown for many participating players and teams.[3]

A further tournament was advertised for 22 November 2020.[3]

=== 2021 season ===

The advertised 2021 calendar comprised three rounds at TECT Park:[4]

* Round one — 2 May
* Round two — 5 September
* Round three — 28 November

[[Expendables Feilding|Expendables]] won [[2021 ECPL Round 1|the opening round]], with [[Surge (paintball team)|Surge]] finishing second. The league's contemporary report also acknowledged participation by [[Crisis Paintball Northland]] and [[Kaos Theory (New Zealand paintball team)|Kaos Theory]].[5]

The September and November dates formed part of the published programme; they do not independently establish that those events were held.[4]

=== 2022 programme ===

The league announced four rounds for [[2022 East Coast Paintball League|2022]], scheduled for 20 February, 1 May, 18 September and 27 November at Bay of Plenty Paintball Club.[6]

== Competition format ==

=== 2021 rules ===

The advertised 2021 format was three-player X-Ball with a firing-rate limit of 10.5 balls per second and a two-point mercy rule.[4]

Entries were limited to twelve teams, with each team guaranteed at least five matches before the semi-finals and finals. Entry cost NZ$140 per team.[4]

=== 2022 rules ===

The 2022 programme specified three-player X-Ball, seven-minute matches, a two-point mercy rule and a firing-rate limit of 10.5 balls per second.[6]

The paint allowance was described as “M500”, consisting of a hopper and two pods per player. The ten-team entry limit used split groups followed by knockout finals for the top four teams. Entry cost NZ$150 per team.[6]

== See also ==

* [[Bay of Plenty Paintball Club]]
* [[TECT All Terrain Park]]
* [[New Zealand Race Series]]
* [[Paintball in New Zealand]]

== References ==

# [https://www.facebook.com/ECPLPB/posts/hi-teamswith-the-nzls-no-longer-running-we-have-decided-to-fill-the-void-left-in/100524221533348/ East Coast Paintball League — League establishment announcement, Facebook, 8 February 2020].
# [https://www.facebook.com/ECPLPB/posts/congratulations-su%D1%8Fge-paintball-team-hawkes-bay-on-taking-first-placealso-a-big-/115412863377817/ East Coast Paintball League — Opening-round results and Champions Division standings, Facebook, 24 February 2020].
# [https://www.bayofplentypaintball.co.nz/post/ecpl-paintball-series-bop-team-hold-their-own Bay of Plenty Paintball Club — ECPL Series: BOP teams hold their own, 20 September 2020].
# [https://www.facebook.com/ECPLPB/posts/pfbid0E6ek9zZrnE8duK58Pjiix8pw117xMzp6ziZg5s84sxrJZg367afCVGGXZs4mNTuBl East Coast Paintball League — 2021 season dates and competition format, Facebook, 13 January 2021].
# [https://www.facebook.com/ECPLPB/posts/pfbid0215xTHnkmrAaZaXGn3ZN4QgjzgVG8HD2uBsLRCj6ZxgKaP5iDT1M6BWTRShDjVeml East Coast Paintball League — Opening-round results, Facebook, 3 May 2021].
# [https://www.facebook.com/ECPLPB/posts/pfbid0RfCg1cHAovuwRPF59U9cPGh7AoSdXijco4gz66Phbk7dsMHU1w9Em3rP63do2tXzl East Coast Paintball League — 2022 season calendar and competition format, Facebook, 18 January 2022].

== External links ==

* [https://www.facebook.com/ECPLPB/ Official Facebook page]

[[Category:Paintball leagues]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Paintball in the Bay of Plenty]]
[[Category:2020s in New Zealand paintball]]