Editing Northland Open


'''Northland Open''' was a recurring New Zealand [[paintball]] tournament held in [[Whangārei]], Northland, during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was one of the major early-season competitions on the New Zealand tournament calendar and was included in the original [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)|National Paintball League]] (NPL) First Division programme beginning in 1997.

The tournament brought together competitive paintball teams from Auckland, Northland and other parts of New Zealand. It was held at different venues during its early history, including a rugby ground converted into a temporary speedball arena for the 2000 and 2001 editions.[1]

The '''2001 Northland Open''' was scheduled for '''25 February 2001''' at '''Jubilee Park, Whangārei'''. The advertised competition used a seven-player, end-flag format, with rules based on the Australian Paintball Players League (APPL). The published team entry fee was NZ$70.[2]

Northland Open results were among those incorporated into the independent [[Valhalla National Rankings]]. The surviving 2001 standings preserve individual ranking contributions for teams including Saints Gold, Katipo, Phantom 5, Phoenix, Tag n' Release and Insane.[3]

== History ==

=== Origins ===

The Northland Open developed during the expansion of organised tournament paintball in New Zealand in the 1990s.

Before the establishment of a coordinated national league, competitive paintball largely consisted of independently organised tournaments hosted by commercial fields and regional clubs.

Teams travelled between competitions in Auckland, Northland, Wellington, Rotorua and other regions.

The Northland Open became one of the principal tournaments on this calendar.

A historical account of the original National Paintball League describes the Northland Open as a new tournament included alongside the New Zealand Nationals and Queen's Birthday competition when the league was established in 1997.[4]

This provides evidence that the Northland Open was part of the original NPL programme, although its exact inaugural date has not been independently established.

=== Association with the National Paintball League ===

The original National Paintball League was developed during 1996 by [[Ian Southern]] and [[Dave Pellet]].

It began competition in 1997.

Three commercial paintball operators initially supported the league:

* Splatman, Auckland
* Strategy Tag, Whangārei
* Actions Paintball Sports Arena, Auckland

The NPL operated First and Second Divisions.

First Division incorporated established major tournaments, with competitions generally spaced several months apart.

These included:

* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* Queen's Birthday tournament
* Northland Open

Second Division was intended for developing players and operated as a regular competition using participating commercial fields.

The Northland Open therefore formed part of the national competition structure during the NPL's inaugural period.[4]

The NPL account identifies Strategy Tag as the participating Whangārei commercial field operator.

However, the surviving documents do not establish that Strategy Tag owned or exclusively organised every Northland Open edition.

=== Early-season tournament ===

The Northland Open became an established early-season event.

Mercenaries Star's historical tournament calendar described it as the regional competition that began the New Zealand playing season.[1]

The calendar placed the event in Whangārei.

Valhalla subsequently defined the New Zealand tournament season as running from February to November.

The Northland Open's early position in the calendar made it one of the first opportunities for established teams to compete each year.

It also provided developing teams with an opportunity to test themselves against opponents outside their immediate region.

=== Changing venues ===

The tournament did not have a single permanent venue throughout its early history.

Mercenaries Star's contemporary calendar noted that the Northland Open had been held at different locations in successive years.[1]

The 2000 edition was played on a rugby field temporarily converted for speedball.

The organisers intended to use the same rugby field for the 2001 edition.

The surviving 2001 announcement identifies this venue as Jubilee Park in Whangārei.[2]

The use of temporary sporting grounds reflected the development of tournament paintball during the period, when organisers sometimes constructed playing fields specifically for individual events.

== Tournament format ==

=== Early competition ===

The Northland Open operated during a period of change in New Zealand tournament paintball.

Five-man centre-flag competition was common during the late 1990s.

By the early 2000s, seven-man competition was increasingly prominent.

The original NPL documentation identified the Northland Open as a major First Division tournament, but the surviving general history does not establish the exact playing format used in every edition.[4]

=== Seven-man competition ===

The 2001 Northland Open was advertised as a '''seven-man''' event.

Each competing team was expected to field seven players under the announced format.[2]

Seven-man competition was prominent internationally during this period and was used at several major New Zealand tournaments.

The larger playing roster required teams to coordinate movement and field coverage across more positions than smaller three-man or five-man competitions.

=== End-flag format ===

The published 2001 tournament announcement specified an '''end-flags''' format.[2]

Under conventional end-flag paintball rules, teams begin at opposite ends of the playing field and compete to complete flag-based objectives.

The original announcement confirms the format name but does not reproduce a complete game-specific scoring sheet.

The precise scoring values assigned to eliminations, flags and other objectives therefore should not be assumed without the original tournament rules.

=== Australian Paintball Players League rules ===

The 2001 Northland Open advertised the use of '''Australian Paintball Players League''' (APPL) rules.

The APPL rules provided a tournament framework covering matters including player conduct, equipment, eliminations and refereeing.

New Zealand tournament organisers frequently adopted or adapted Australian competition rules during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Mercenaries Star preserved a historical copy of an APPL tournament rulebook.[5]

The rules provided a common reference point for travelling teams and event officials.

== Northland Open 2000 ==

=== Venue ===

The 2000 Northland Open was held in Whangārei on a rugby field converted into a speedball playing area.

This is documented by the contemporary Mercenaries Star tournament calendar.[1]

The venue arrangement illustrates the use of temporary sporting facilities for competitive paintball.

Rather than relying entirely on a commercial woodland paintball field, the event used a conventional sports ground adapted for tournament play.

=== Playing field ===

The surviving description establishes that the rugby ground was converted into a speedball field for the tournament.

It does not identify the individual bunker types, field dimensions or complete layout.

The source also does not establish whether the 2000 tournament used inflatable bunkers.

The temporary playing arrangement was nevertheless significant because it offered a more open tournament environment than conventional bush paintball.

=== Tournament results ===

A complete verified results table for the 2000 Northland Open has not been recovered from the available contemporary sources.

Although the event is documented as having taken place, its final standings should not be reconstructed from annual national rankings alone.

The Valhalla rankings record season-level performance across multiple tournaments and are not equivalent to an individual event's finishing order.

== Northland Open 2001 ==

=== Date and venue ===

The 2001 Northland Open was scheduled for:

'''Sunday, 25 February 2001'''

The advertised venue was:

'''Jubilee Park, Whangārei, New Zealand.'''

The original tournament information page was published through Mercenaries Star.[2]

The venue was a rugby ground converted for competitive paintball.

This continued the playing arrangement used for the previous year's event.

=== Entry information ===

The original tournament announcement preserved the following details:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Northland Open 2001 – published tournament information
! Item
! Details
|-
| Tournament
| Northland Open
|-
| Scheduled date
| 25 February 2001
|-
| Venue
| Jubilee Park, Whangārei
|-
| Team format
| Seven-man
|-
| Game format
| End flags
|-
| Division
| Open
|-
| Rules
| Australian Paintball Players League
|-
| Team entry fee
| NZ$70
|-
| Paintball policy
| Bring your own
|-
| CO2 supply
| Bring your own
|-
| Nitrogen/compressed-air supply
| Bring your own
|}

Source: Original 2001 Northland Open tournament announcement.[2]

The published entry fee was comparatively straightforward, with players expected to provide their own consumables and gas.

This differed from some commercial-field tournaments where organisers required teams to purchase paintballs supplied by the venue.

=== Event organisers ===

The 2001 tournament announcement listed '''Brent and Cindy Mathews''' as the event contacts.

Their published telephone number used the Whangārei area code, and an email address associated with NZ 2x4 Homes Limited was supplied for enquiries.[2]

The announcement stated that Brent was considering changes to certain event arrangements.

It also warned that the number of participating teams would be limited, with places allocated on a first-come basis.

The available announcement identifies the Mathewses as contacts but does not independently establish their formal titles or the complete organising committee.

=== Paintball and gas policies ===

The 2001 event operated on a bring-your-own basis.

Participants were permitted to bring their own paintballs.

The original announcement also required teams to arrange their own CO2 or nitrogen/compressed-air supplies.[2]

This is a notable operational detail because reliable compressed-gas supply was an important practical concern for tournament players during the period.

Different markers could use CO2 or high-pressure air systems, and players attending events away from commercial fields could not always rely on on-site filling equipment.

The 2001 Northland Open's published arrangements placed responsibility for these supplies on participating teams.

=== Seven-man results ===

The surviving 2001 [[Valhalla National Rankings]] include an individual Northland Open column in the seven-man competition table.[3]

The recorded values were ranking contributions calculated from tournament scores rather than the original raw event points.

They provide evidence of participation and relative opening-round performance.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Northland Open 2001 – recorded Valhalla round contributions
! Team
! Ranking points
|-
| Saints Gold
| 100
|-
| Phantom 5
| 83.9
|-
| Phoenix (WGN) Red
| 81.1
|-
| Black Dragon
| 66.1
|-
| Tag n' Release
| 65
|-
| Katipo
| 62
|-
| Warp Speed
| 32.8
|-
| Havoc
| 27.8
|-
| Solidaire
| 24.4
|-
| Insane
| 6.7
|}

Source: 2001 Valhalla seven-man rankings, Northland Open Round 1 Open.[3]

The table identifies ten named teams with recorded Northland Open round contributions.

It does not establish whether the tournament contained additional participating squads whose results were not incorporated into Valhalla.

The figures are not a verified final tournament classification.

=== Saints Gold ===

Saints Gold achieved the highest recorded Valhalla contribution from the 2001 Northland Open, scoring 100.

The result represented the maximum normalised ranking value for the recorded round.

Saints Gold subsequently headed the published national seven-man rankings for 2001, which incorporated results from the Northland Open, RotoVegas and New Zealand Nationals.

Its high Northland Open score contributed to that season total.

However, a first-place ranking contribution for the opening round does not independently establish that Saints Gold won the tournament's final.

=== Phantom 5 and Phoenix ===

Phantom 5 recorded 83.9, the second-highest contribution shown in the Valhalla table.

Phoenix (WGN) Red recorded 81.1.

These results placed both squads among the leading recorded opening-round performers.

Phoenix's presence also demonstrates participation by a Wellington-based team in the Northland competition.

The available table does not establish the original event's final standings for either team.

=== Tag n' Release ===

Rotorua-based [[Tag n' Release]] participated in the 2001 Northland Open.

Its contemporary team profile, contributed by Russell Clement in April 2001, independently confirms the appearance.[6]

The profile records that Tag n' Release finished fifth in the opening round, scoring '''585 points out of a possible 900'''.

The Valhalla database converted this to a normalised ranking contribution of 65.

The team's source records are consistent:

{| class="wikitable"
! Source
! Recorded result
|-
| Original Tag n' Release profile
| 585 of 900 tournament points
|-
| Original team profile placement
| 5th in Round 1 Open
|-
| Valhalla 2001 ranking
| 65 ranking points
|}

The difference between the two point values illustrates how Valhalla converted tournament scores into percentages.

The recorded fifth-place result refers to the opening round, not necessarily the team's final position after any subsequent stages.

=== Katipo ===

[[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo]] also appeared at the 2001 Northland Open.

The team recorded a Valhalla contribution of 62 from the opening round.[3]

Katipo was one of New Zealand's established tournament teams, having won the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals.

It subsequently finished third in the published 2001 seven-man national rankings.

The Northland Open was one of several events contributing to that overall position.

=== Team Insane ===

Auckland team [[Team Insane|Insane]] participated in the 2001 Northland Open.

The Valhalla table recorded a ranking contribution of 6.7 points.

The team also competed at RotoVegas and the New Zealand Nationals during the same season.

Insane finished twenty-first among 23 entries in the published seven-man rankings.

The Northland Open appearance formed part of the team's early tournament history.

== Notable participating teams ==

The surviving Northland Open records connect the event with several important New Zealand paintball teams.

{| class="wikitable"
! Team
! Historical connection
|-
| [[Saints Paintball Team|Saints Gold]]
| Highest recorded 2001 opening-round Valhalla contribution
|-
| [[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo]]
| Established Auckland team and 1997 Nationals winner
|-
| [[Tag n' Release]]
| Rotorua team; fifth in the documented 2001 opening round
|-
| [[Team Insane|Insane]]
| Auckland team competing in its early tournament years
|-
| Phantom 5
| Second-highest recorded 2001 opening-round ranking contribution
|-
| Phoenix (WGN) Red
| Wellington team recorded in the 2001 results
|-
| Black Dragon
| Established late-1990s New Zealand tournament team
|-
| Warp Speed
| Regular tournament participant during the period
|-
| Havoc
| Central North Island tournament participant
|-
| Solidaire
| New Zealand tournament team recorded in Valhalla
|}

The table is based primarily on the surviving 2001 results and should not be interpreted as a complete list of teams that ever entered the Northland Open.

== Relationship with other national tournaments ==

=== New Zealand Paintball Nationals ===

The [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]] was one of the country's principal championship events.

During the original NPL period, it was grouped with the Northland Open and Queen's Birthday tournament as a major First Division competition.

Unlike the Northland Open, the Nationals was generally associated with the latter part of the tournament season.

Both events provided opportunities for teams to compete against opponents from different regions.

=== Queen's Birthday tournament ===

Queen's Birthday competition formed another part of the early NPL First Division programme.

Together with the Northland Open and Nationals, it helped provide a calendar of major tournaments spread across the playing season.

The surviving league history confirms this relationship but does not establish identical organisers or playing formats for all three events.

=== RotoVegas ===

By 2001, the Northland Open was one of the three tournaments appearing in Valhalla's seven-man results, alongside RotoVegas and the Nationals.

The separate events were held in different regions and contributed to the national seven-man competitive calendar.

The rankings document teams travelling between these events.

== Historical significance ==

The Northland Open was an important early-season tournament during the development of organised competitive paintball in New Zealand.

Its inclusion in the original National Paintball League programme connected Whangārei and Northland with the wider national competitive scene.

The event brought together teams from Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and other regions, helping establish opportunities for interregional competition.

Its changing locations also illustrate how tournament paintball could be organised independently of permanent commercial playing fields.

The documented use of a rugby ground converted to a speedball arena in 2000 and 2001 provides an example of temporary sporting infrastructure being adapted for paintball competition.

The detailed 2001 announcement preserves information about entry costs, formats, rules and equipment policies during a period when tournament organisers often had limited online communication channels.

The surviving Valhalla records document ten named teams competing in the opening round of the 2001 event and provide a connection between their Northland performances and the wider national tournament season.

Although full event results for all editions have not yet been reconstructed, the Northland Open remains an important part of New Zealand's late-1990s and early-2000s tournament history.

== See also ==

* [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)]]
* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]
* [[Saints Paintball Team]]
* [[Katipo Paintball Team]]
* [[Tag n' Release]]
* [[Team Insane]]
* [[Mercenaries Star]]
* [[Actions Paintball]]

== References ==

# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Annual Tournament Events]. ''Mercenaries Star'', 2001. Describes the Northland Open as an early-season Whangārei tournament, records the rugby-field venue used in 2000 and the intention to return in 2001.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/NorthlandOpen.htm Northland Open 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Original tournament announcement giving 25 February 2001, Jubilee Park, seven-man format, end flags, APPL rules, NZ$70 entry and Brent and Cindy Mathews as contacts.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. October 2001 seven-man rankings, including Northland Open opening-round contributions.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Rules/Leagues/NPLIntro.htm The Rise and Fall of the New Zealand National Paintball League]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Historical account identifying the Northland Open as one of the original NPL First Division tournaments.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Rules/Tournament/APPL.htm Australian Paintball Players League Tournament Rules]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Historical copy of APPL regulations, the rule framework advertised for the 2001 Northland Open.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Tag n' Release Team Profile]. Russell Clement, ''Mercenaries Star'', April 2001. Contemporary record of Tag n' Release scoring 585 of 900 points and finishing fifth in the Northland Open opening round.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/MS_Calendar.html Annual Tournament Calendar]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Historical calendar describing the Northland Open and its 2000 temporary rugby-field venue.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/RankIndex.htm Valhalla National Team Rankings – Methodology]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Explains the calculation of normalised tournament-round scores.

== External links ==

* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/NorthlandOpen.htm Original 2001 Northland Open announcement]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Historical tournament calendar]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm 2001 national rankings and Northland Open results]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Tag n' Release's contemporary Northland Open result]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Rules/Leagues/NPLIntro.htm Original National Paintball League history]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Rules/Tournament/APPL.htm Historical APPL tournament rules]

[[Category:Paintball tournaments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:New Zealand paintball history]]
[[Category:Paintball in Northland]]
[[Category:Sport in Whangārei]]
[[Category:1990s in paintball]]
[[Category:2000s in paintball]]