Editing Marksmen (New Zealand Paintball Team)

'''Marksmen''' was a New Zealand tournament [[paintball]] team documented in national competition during 2001 and 2002. The team competed at the 2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals and appeared in three-player and seven-player tournament records in the Auckland region during 2002.[1][2][3][4]

The New Zealand team is distinct from Australian teams called Marksmen and Marksmen Recon that competed in the Australian Super 7s during 2008. No recovered roster for those Australian entries includes the players historically associated with the New Zealand team.

== History ==

=== 2001 season ===

Marksmen competed in the seven-player competition at the [[2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals]], held at Actions Paintball in Auckland during Labour Weekend. The team scored 20 preliminary points and did not qualify for the divisional finals.[1]

The contemporary Valhalla national rankings placed Marksmen 23rd in the 2001 seven-player standings with 1.4 ranking points. The ranking table records the team's Nationals appearance but no result from the other listed seven-player events.[2]

These records establish participation by 2001 but do not establish the team's founding date.

=== 2002 season ===

On 27 January 2002, Marksmen competed in a three-player tournament at Combat Zone in Ardmore, Papakura. The event used five-minute, centre-flag hopper-ball games. Marksmen scored 285 points, behind Saints, GPS, Phantom and Combat Zone in the published standings.[3]

Marksmen later competed in the [[2002 Northland Open]], a seven-player tournament held at Paintball West in Auckland. The team finished eighth in the combined standings with 57 points and was classified in Division Two.[4]

The surviving results do not identify the team's roster at either 2002 event.

== Relationship to Menace ==

Historical participant recollections associate Matt Storey, Neil Morris and Gavin Harrison with the New Zealand Marksmen and identify the team as the earlier playing group from which [[Menace (New Zealand Paintball Team)|Menace]] was subsequently formed.

No recovered contemporary Marksmen result sheet provides a complete roster or documents the precise transition to Menace. Marksmen and Menace are therefore retained as separate team identities rather than being treated as alternative names.

== Distinction from Australian teams ==

Australian Super 7s records from 2008 contain entries named '''Marksmen''', '''Marksmen-Recon''' and '''Marksmen Recon'''. The recovered records do not identify Matt Storey, Neil Morris, Gavin Harris or Gavin Harrison as members of those entries and do not identify either entry as a New Zealand team.

Those Australian entries are not included in this article. Their shared name is not evidence of a relationship with the New Zealand Marksmen.

== Recorded tournament results ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Competition
! Format
! Recorded result
|-
| 2001
| [[2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
| Seven-player
| 20 preliminary points; did not qualify for the divisional finals.[1]
|-
| 2001
| Valhalla national rankings
| Seven-player
| 23rd; 1.4 ranking points.[2]
|-
| 2002
| Combat Zone three-player tournament
| Three-player
| 285 points.[3]
|-
| 2002
| [[2002 Northland Open]]
| Seven-player
| 8th overall; 57 points; Division Two.[4]
|}

The published scores came from events and ranking systems using different formats and should not be compared directly.

== See also ==

* [[Menace (New Zealand Paintball Team)]]
* [[2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* [[2002 Northland Open]]
* [[Paintball in New Zealand]]

== References ==

# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020806192513/http://www.paintball.co.nz/nats01.htm Rob Maddox, ''The 2001 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament'', Paintball.co.nz, archived 6 August 2002.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Mercenaries Star, ''2001 Valhalla National Rankings'', seven-player standings.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020606114058/http://www.paintball.co.nz/cbtz.htm Dazz Marshall, ''Combat Zone 3-Man'', Paintball.co.nz, 27 January 2002.]
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020806192035/http://www.paintball.co.nz/north2002.htm Rob Maddox, ''The 2002 Northland Paintball Open'', NZ Paintball Online, archived 6 August 2002.]

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