Editing Valhalla National Rankings


'''Valhalla National Rankings''' was an independent New Zealand [[paintball]] team ranking system maintained through the [[Mercenaries Star]] website. Its surviving records cover the 1997–2001 tournament seasons and provide one of the earliest systematic records of competitive paintball performance across New Zealand.[1]

The database began operating in 2000, with earlier results compiled retrospectively. It was intended to compare teams competing in different regions, tournaments and formats, using a scoring system that accounted for differences in the maximum points available.[2]

The rankings identified Katipo as the leading team in 1997 and Saints Gold as the leading team from 1998 through 2000. In 2001, separate rankings were published for seven-man, five-man and three-man competition.[3][4][5][6][7]

== History ==

=== Origins ===

During the 1990s, New Zealand tournament paintball consisted of independently organised competitions, including the [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]], [[Northland Open]] and South Pacific Championships.

Different organisers used different scoring systems, tournament formats and numbers of games. It was therefore difficult to compare teams competing at different events.

Valhalla was created to address this problem by compiling tournament results into a national ranking database.

The original concept divided teams into three grades according to the number of national tournaments they attended. However, this excluded many regional events, some of which featured strong competition.

The ranking system was subsequently revised to incorporate a broader selection of tournaments.[1]

=== Establishment in 2000 ===

The 2000 results page identifies that season as the database's first operational year.[6]

The 1997, 1998 and 1999 tables were consequently historical reconstructions using available tournament results.

Valhalla's compiler acknowledged that historical records were incomplete and invited organisers and players to submit missing scores.

The 2000 database included 37 ranked entries and reportedly contained results from almost every competition held that year. The principal missing event was the Southern Three-Mans.[6]

=== Administration ===

Valhalla formed part of Mercenaries Star, an early New Zealand paintball information website.

The website also maintained tournament calendars, team profiles, historical documents and a national directory of paintball resources.

'''Neil M. Harris''' was the published contact for tournament results, corrections and updates.[1]

The rankings depended on the collection and verification of results supplied by tournament organisers and participants.

== Ranking methodology ==

=== Definitions ===

Valhalla defined the New Zealand playing season as running from February through November.

The methodology distinguished between:

* '''Event''' – a recurring competition, such as the Northland Open.
* '''Tournament''' – a particular edition of an event.
* '''Round''' – an individual stage of competition within a tournament.
* '''Elimination round''' – a round determining which teams advanced.
* '''Final round''' – the concluding stage determining a tournament winner.

These distinctions allowed the database to calculate results from competitions with different structures.[1]

=== Normalised scoring ===

For the opening round of a tournament, Valhalla converted each team's score into a percentage of the maximum available points.

'''Ranking value = (Team score / Maximum possible score) × 100'''

The same calculation applied to subsequent elimination rounds.

A team achieving 400 points out of a possible 500 therefore received a round value of 80.

This enabled scores from competitions with different maximum point totals to be compared.

=== Finals weighting ===

For a final round occurring after the opening round, Valhalla applied a different formula:

'''Final-round value = 75 + 25 × (Team score / Maximum possible score)'''

This ensured that teams progressing to finals received substantial recognition for doing so.

For example:

* A final-round score of 0% produced a ranking value of 75.
* A final-round score of 50% produced 87.5.
* A final-round score of 100% produced 100.

The compiler explained that finalists often scored fewer points against stronger opposition. Without additional weighting, advancing to a final could actually reduce a team's overall ranking.[1]

=== Season calculations ===

The published methodology stated that all calculated round values were averaged to produce a team's season score.

A team attending two tournaments, with four recorded rounds in total, would have its four round values averaged.

The system therefore measured performance across rounds rather than simply awarding points for tournament attendance.

=== Separate squads ===

Teams entering multiple squads were recorded separately.

For example, Saints Gold and Saints Black had independent rankings.

The methodology also described assigning results entered under a general team name to that team's established premier squad where appropriate.

This prevented a larger team organisation from combining all its squads' results into one national score.[1]

=== Changes in 2001 ===

The published 2001 rankings differed from earlier tables.

Rather than presenting an average score on an approximately 0–100 scale, the 2001 tables displayed cumulative totals from individual tournament rounds.

They were also divided into separate seven-man, five-man and three-man categories.

Consequently, the 2001 figures cannot be compared directly with the 1997–2000 scores.

The surviving 2001 tables are labelled October 2001 and do not explicitly establish final results for the entire February–November season.[7]

== 1997 rankings ==

The 1997 rankings contained eleven teams or squads.

'''Katipo 1''' finished first with 91 points, ahead of Saints Black and Kamo Karzi.[3]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Valhalla 1997 – leading teams
! Rank !! Team !! Score
|-
| 1 || Katipo 1 || 91
|-
| 2 || Saints Black || 79
|-
| 3 || [[Kamo Karzi]] || 74
|-
| 4 || Paint Contractors || 72
|-
| 5 || Grey || 71
|-
| 6 || Team Raven || 58
|-
| 7= || Katipo 2 || 55
|-
| 7= || Flashpoint || 55
|}

Katipo also won the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, held at [[Actions Paintball]] in Te Atatū, Auckland.

The Nationals victory and Valhalla's national ranking were separate achievements.

== 1998 rankings ==

The 1998 rankings contained eighteen entries.

'''Saints Gold''' led the standings with 92.5 points.[4]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Valhalla 1998 – leading teams
! Rank !! Team !! Score
|-
| 1 || Saints Gold || 92.5
|-
| 2 || Grey || 78
|-
| 3 || Katipo 1 || 72
|-
| 4 || Paint Contractors || 71
|-
| 5 || Saints Black || 64
|-
| 6 || House Steiner || 51
|-
| 7 || Black Dragon || 50
|-
| 8 || Katipo 2 || 48
|-
| 9 || [[Kamo Karzi]] || 43
|-
| 10 || Kiwi Extreme || 42
|}

Saints Gold also won the 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals.

The presence of Saints Gold and Saints Black in the same rankings demonstrates the separate treatment of multiple squads.

== 1999 rankings ==

Saints Gold retained the leading position in 1999, scoring 91 points.

The table contained 22 entries.[5]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Valhalla 1999 – leading teams
! Rank !! Team !! Score
|-
| 1 || Saints Gold || 91
|-
| 2 || Paint Contractors || 80
|-
| 3 || Psychosis || 77.5
|-
| 4 || Grey || 77
|-
| 5 || Black Dragon || 76
|-
| 6 || Flashpoint || 74.5
|-
| 7 || Katipo 1 || 69
|-
| 8 || Solidaire || 65
|-
| 9 || [[Kamo Karzi]] || 63
|-
| 10 || Phantom 5 Purple || 59
|}

The 1999 season coincided with the reorganisation of the original [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)|National Paintball League]], which had operated a two-division competition structure since 1997.

Valhalla's rankings were independent of the NPL and should not be treated as its official championship standings.

== 2000 rankings ==

The 2000 season was the first during which the Valhalla database operated.

The published table contained 37 entries, including teams from regional competitions.[6]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Valhalla 2000 – leading teams
! Rank !! Team !! Score
|-
| 1 || Saints Gold || 91
|-
| 2= || Team Crisis || 82.5
|-
| 2= || Grey || 82.5
|-
| 4 || Paint Contractors || 82
|-
| 5 || Katipo 1 || 81
|-
| 6 || House Steiner Red || 80.5
|-
| 7 || Assault Korps || 74.5
|-
| 8 || Phoenix (Wellington) || 73.5
|-
| 9= || Phantom 5 Purple || 69.5
|-
| 9= || Vipers 1 || 69.5
|}

Saints Gold led Valhalla for the third consecutive season.

The compiler noted that Saints averaged approximately 96% of available points in the opening rounds of tournaments.

'''Warp Speed''' received special mention for attending six events during the season, demonstrating an unusually high level of tournament participation.

Other ranked entries included Tag n' Release, Fusion, Full Boar, Havoc, Southern Raiders, Hokonui Head Hunters, DamNatives and Insane.

[[Kamo Karzi]] finished eighteenth with 59 points.

[[Team Insane|Insane]] appeared in the 2000 rankings with 9 points.

== 2001 rankings ==

=== Separate categories ===

The October 2001 tables distinguished between seven-man, five-man and three-man competitions.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 2001 published ranking leaders
! Format !! Leader !! Total !! Entries
|-
| Seven-man || Saints Gold || 400.5 || 23
|-
| Five-man || [[Tag n' Release]] || 214.5 || 16
|-
| Three-man || DamNatives Red || 226.4 || 30
|}

The totals were cumulative values from the recorded tournament rounds, not scores directly comparable with previous years.[7]

=== Seven-man ===

The seven-man rankings incorporated the Northland Open, RotoVegas and New Zealand Paintball Nationals.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 2001 seven-man rankings
! Rank !! Team !! Total
|-
| 1 || Saints Gold || 400.5
|-
| 2 || Jetts || 313
|-
| 3 || Katipo || 308.2
|-
| 4 || Damage || 236.5
|-
| 5 || DamNatives Red || 215.6
|-
| 6 || Phantom 5 || 207.8
|-
| 7 || Phoenix (WGN) Red || 205.6
|-
| 8 || [[Tag n' Release]] || 192.9
|-
| 9 || Black Dragon || 158.6
|-
| 10 || [[Kamo Karzi]] || 111.4
|}

Saints Gold accumulated 400.5 points from five recorded rounds across the three competitions.

The team scored 100 in the Northland Open, 83.4 and 73.3 at RotoVegas, and 87.5 and 56.3 at the Nationals.

Insane finished 21st of 23 entries with 28.2 points.

=== Five-man ===

The five-man rankings used results from the South Pacific Championships and Wellington Cup Five-Mans.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 2001 five-man rankings
! Rank !! Team !! Total
|-
| 1 || [[Tag n' Release]] || 214.5
|-
| 2 || Saints Gold || 211
|-
| 3 || House Steiner || 93.4
|-
| 4 || DamNatives || 82.3
|-
| 5 || Phoenix (WGN) || 67.1
|-
| 6 || DamNatives Red || 60
|-
| 7 || Tag n' Release Training || 52.3
|-
| 8 || Warp Speed || 48
|}

Tag n' Release finished 3.5 points ahead of Saints Gold.

Its total comprised 68.3 and 56.5 points from the South Pacific Championships and 89.7 from the Wellington Cup.

The team had been formed in Rotorua in 2000 and was also documented in an original team profile contributed to Mercenaries Star by Russell Clement.[8]

=== Three-man ===

The three-man rankings incorporated results from the Hawkes Bay Triples, Indoor Three-Man Open, National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships and Combat Zone Three-Mans.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 2001 three-man rankings
! Rank !! Team !! Total
|-
| 1 || DamNatives Red || 226.4
|-
| 2 || [[Team Insane|Insane]] || 181.7
|-
| 3 || Tag n' Release GPS || 159.3
|-
| 4 || Saints Gold || 152.5
|-
| 5 || Flashpoint || 114.4
|-
| 6 || House Steiner || 84.3
|-
| 7 || Havoc || 80
|-
| 8 || Phoenix (WGN) Red || 75
|-
| 9 || Phoenix (WGN) Grey || 64.9
|-
| 10 || Damage || 62.9
|}

DamNatives Red recorded 46.4 points at the Hawkes Bay Triples and 100 and 80 points in the two Combat Zone rounds.

Auckland team Insane finished second with 181.7 points, consisting of:

* Indoor Three-Man Open: 100
* Combat Zone preliminary round: 56.7
* Combat Zone final: 25

A separate squad, Insane B, placed 24th with 28.3 points.

Insane's second-place position represented its ranking across the recorded rounds, not necessarily a runner-up finish at an individual tournament.

== Historical significance ==

Valhalla provides one of the most detailed surviving records of New Zealand competitive paintball during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Its records preserve the names and results of numerous teams, including Saints, Katipo, Paint Contractors, Kamo Karzi, Phantom 5, House Steiner, Tag n' Release and Insane.

The database also documents the transition from five-man tournament formats toward more widespread seven-man competition, while retaining information about smaller three-man events.

Its inclusion of regional tournaments makes it particularly valuable for documenting teams that may not have competed regularly at the Nationals.

=== Limitations ===

The original compiler openly acknowledged limitations in the ranking system.

The most important were:

* Incomplete historical tournament results.
* Variations in competition strength between events.
* Different numbers of tournaments attended by teams.
* Changes to ranking methodology.
* Separate team squads sometimes competing under inconsistent names.
* The cumulative scoring format used in the 2001 tables.

A strong performance at a smaller regional tournament could result in a higher score than a less dominant performance against stronger opposition at a national event.

Consequently, Valhalla should be understood as an independent ranking system based on available results, rather than an absolute measurement of team ability.

The database also used the term "national champions" for its ranking leaders. These titles should be distinguished from victory at an individual national championship tournament or a title sanctioned by a national sporting organisation.

== Preservation ==

The original Valhalla pages were hosted on the Mercenaries Star GeoCities website.

Following the disappearance of many early personal websites, the pages were preserved through archival mirrors, including Oocities.

The surviving archive contains the ranking methodology and annual standings from 1997 through 2001.

These records remain important primary sources for the history of New Zealand tournament paintball.

== See also ==

* [[Mercenaries Star]]
* [[Paintball.co.nz]]
* [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)]]
* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* [[Northland Open]]
* [[South Pacific Championships]]
* [[Saints Paintball Team]]
* [[Katipo Paintball Team]]
* [[Kamo Karzi]]
* [[Team Insane]]
* [[Tag n' Release]]

== References ==

# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/RankIndex.htm Valhalla National Team Rankings – Methodology]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Original explanation of scoring, round weighting and limitations.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2000Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2000]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Identifies 2000 as the database's first operational year.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 1997]. Original season standings.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1998Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 1998]. Original season standings.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1999Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 1999]. Original season standings.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2000Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2000]. Original season standings and compiler's commentary.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2001]. October 2001 seven-man, five-man and three-man tables.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Tag n' Release Team Profile]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Original team profile contributed by Russell Clement.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Annual Tournament Events]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Historical tournament calendar.

== External links ==

* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/RankIndex.htm Original Valhalla ranking methodology]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm 1997 rankings]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1998Hall.htm 1998 rankings]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1999Hall.htm 1999 rankings]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2000Hall.htm 2000 rankings]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm 2001 rankings]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/ Mercenaries Star archive]

[[Category:New Zealand paintball history]]
[[Category:Paintball rankings]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Paintball statistics]]
[[Category:1990s in paintball]]
[[Category:2000s in paintball]]