Syrian Suicide Squad (New Zealand Paintball Team) - Revision history

Admin at 09:19, 26 October 2026

2026-10-26T09:19:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:19, 26 October 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~```mediawiki~~
	'''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based New Zealand tournament [[paintball]] team active during the 1990s. The team competed at the 1997 [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]] and adopted the name '''Phoenix''' for the beginning of the 1998 season.[1][2]		'''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based New Zealand tournament [[paintball]] team active during the 1990s. The team competed at the 1997 [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]] and adopted the name '''Phoenix''' for the beginning of the 1998 season.[1][2]

Line 104:		Line 103:
	[[Category:Paintball in Auckland]]		[[Category:Paintball in Auckland]]
	[[Category:1990s in New Zealand paintball]]		[[Category:1990s in New Zealand paintball]]
	~~```~~

Admin: Updated the Syrian Suicide Squad article and confirmed that the Auckland Phoenix announced for the beginning of 1998 was the renamed team. Added the 1998 National Paintball League entry, Dave Armstrong’s documented manager role and the published league points. Added Neil Harris’s management account and former Auckland Phoenix membership without deriving unsupported exact dates. Explicitly separated Auckland Phoenix and all Syrian Suicide Squad history from the unrelated Wellington Phoenix team,

2026-10-26T09:18:52Z

Updated the Syrian Suicide Squad article and confirmed that the Auckland Phoenix announced for the beginning of 1998 was the renamed team. Added the 1998 National Paintball League entry, Dave Armstrong’s documented manager role and the published league points. Added Neil Harris’s management account and former Auckland Phoenix membership without deriving unsupported exact dates. Explicitly separated Auckland Phoenix and all Syrian Suicide Squad history from the unrelated Wellington Phoenix team,

Show changes

Admin: Admin moved page Syrian Suicide Squad to Syrian Suicide Squad (New Zealand Paintball Team)

2026-10-26T09:13:08Z

Admin moved page Syrian Suicide Squad to Syrian Suicide Squad (New Zealand Paintball Team)

← Older revision	Revision as of 05:13, 26 October 2026
(No difference)

Admin: Added Dirk Koornneef’s documented Syrian Suicide Squad membership using his contemporary player profile; retained the team’s 1997 results and verified change of name to Phoenix.

2026-10-24T12:18:45Z

Added Dirk Koornneef’s documented Syrian Suicide Squad membership using his contemporary player profile; retained the team’s 1997 results and verified change of name to Phoenix.

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:18, 24 October 2026
Line 11:		Line 11:
	=== Change of name ===		=== Change of name ===

	The team's Phoenix website, last updated on 16 March 1998, announced a new name and ~~a new~~ website for the start of 1998. It identified Phoenix as an Auckland paintball team and linked directly to the former Syrian Suicide Squad website.[1]		The team's Phoenix website, last updated on 16 March 1998, announced a new name and website for the start of 1998. It identified Phoenix as an Auckland paintball team and linked directly to the former Syrian Suicide Squad website.[1]

	The announcement stated that an explanation of the name change would be added later, but did not itself give the reason.[1]		The announcement stated that an explanation of the name change would be added later, but did not itself give the reason.[1]

			== Players ==

			A contemporary New Zealand Paintball profile identifies '''[[Dirk Koornneef]]''' as a longstanding Syrian Suicide Squad member.[4]

			Koornneef reported approximately five years of involvement in paintball at the time of the interview. He also recalled helping to organise a 60-player game, although the profile does not establish that this was a Syrian Suicide Squad event.[4]

	== Recorded results ==		== Recorded results ==
Line 45:		Line 51:
	== See also ==		== See also ==

			* [[Dirk Koornneef]]
	* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]		* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
	* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]		* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]
Line 53:		Line 60:
	# Rob Maddox, “1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals”, Paintball.co.nz, October 1997. Contemporary tournament report recording Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with 422 points; direct archived article URL not recovered.		# Rob Maddox, “1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals”, Paintball.co.nz, October 1997. Contemporary tournament report recording Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with 422 points; direct archived article URL not recovered.
	# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Mercenaries Star — Valhalla Hall of Heros: 1997]. Lists Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with a ranking score of 38. Archived GeoCities page preserved by OoCities.		# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Mercenaries Star — Valhalla Hall of Heros: 1997]. Lists Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with a ranking score of 38. Archived GeoCities page preserved by OoCities.
			# [https://web.archive.org/web/19980204164230/http://www.webel.co.nz/whdirk.htm New Zealand Paintball — Who's Who: Dirk Koornneef]. Contemporary profile identifying him as a longstanding Syrian Suicide Squad member; preserved in a February 1998 Internet Archive capture.

	== External links ==		== External links ==

Admin: Added the archived Phoenix website as evidence of Syrian Suicide Squad’s name change by early 1998; retained 1997 results and removed unsupported roster, sponsorship and reorganisation claims.

2026-10-24T11:38:37Z

Added the archived Phoenix website as evidence of Syrian Suicide Squad’s name change by early 1998; retained 1997 results and removed unsupported roster, sponsorship and reorganisation claims.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:38, 24 October 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
			'''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based New Zealand tournament [[paintball]] team active during the 1990s. The team competed at the 1997 [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]] and changed its name to '''Phoenix''' by early 1998.[1][2]
	'''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based ~~amateur~~ [[paintball]] team active ~~in New Zealand~~ during the 1990s. The team ~~participated in regional paintball activities and~~ the [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]~~, with~~ its ~~results appearing in contemporary tournament records and the [[Valhalla National Rankings]]~~.[1][2]

	== History ==		== History ==

	~~Syrian Suicide Squad was part of Auckland's competitive paintball community during the 1990s.~~		=== 1997 competition ===

	Paintball writer [[Neil Harris\|Neil M. Harris]] described Syrian Suicide Squad as a well-known Auckland amateur team in his article ''The Lone Gunman: Memoir of a Big Day Out''. The account mentions the team's presence at a paintball gathering held at [[Splat Attack Paintball]] in Silverdale on 25 April, although the event year has not been conclusively established.[1]

	~~The team also competed in organised tournaments during the period when New Zealand's competitive paintball scene was developing its national league structure.~~

	=== 1997 ~~New Zealand Nationals~~ ===

	~~Syrian Suicide Squad competed at the 1997 [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]], held on 25–26 October at [[Actions Paintball Sports Arena]] in Te Atatū, Auckland.~~

	~~The tournament featured 11 teams competing in a five-player centre-flag format.~~

	~~According to the contemporary tournament results documented by [[Rob Maddox]], Syrian Suicide Squad finished ninth overall with 422 points.[2]~~

	~~The team also appears in the retrospective 1997 standings preserved by the [[Valhalla National Rankings]] database.[3]~~

	~~=== 1999 Re-organisation and Reformation===~~
	The SSS was finally folded in 1998, when the team made the decision to go Semi-professional. The team was offered sponsyrship by Kyn 'Action' Jackson and David Pellet. Not all of the team were keen to go professional and some members dropped out (Tim and Jakie Coates), and some new members joined. The sponsorship came with strings. The name was deemed too close to offensive, and the team was re-formed as Phoenix. This should not be confused with the Wellington based 'Team Phoenix" formed in 1999.

	~~== Players ==~~

	~~'''Neil M. Harris''' founded the Syrian Suicide Squad with Tim Coates and Dirk Koorrneef. has been identified through retrospective participant testimony as a member of Syrian Suicide Squad.~~

	~~Harris was also associated with~~ [[~~Mercenaries Star~~]], ~~an early New Zealand paintball information website that preserved~~ tournament ~~results, rankings, calendars and historical~~ records.[4]		Syrian Suicide Squad competed at the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, held on 25–26 October at [[Actions Paintball]] in Te Atatū, Auckland. A contemporary tournament report by Rob Maddox records the team finishing ninth with 422 points.[2]

	~~'''Patrick DiCamillo'''~~		The team also ranked ninth in the retrospectively compiled 1997 [[Valhalla National Rankings]], with a ranking score of 38. This was separate from its Nationals tournament score.[3]

	~~'''David Armstrong'''~~		=== Change of name ===

	'~~''Kelvin Geen'''~~		The team's Phoenix website, last updated on 16 March 1998, announced a new name and a new website for the start of 1998. It identified Phoenix as an Auckland paintball team and linked directly to the former Syrian Suicide Squad website.[1]

	~~'''Kirk Koornneef'''~~		The announcement stated that an explanation of the name change would be added later, but did not itself give the reason.[1]

	~~'''Matt'''~~		== Recorded results ==

	~~'''Tim Coates'''~~		{\| class="wikitable"
			! Year
			! Competition or ranking
			! Position
			! Score
			! Source
			\|-
			\| 1997
			\| New Zealand Paintball Nationals
			\| 9th
			\| 422 tournament points
			\| [2]
			\|-
			\| 1997
			\| Valhalla National Rankings
			\| 9th
			\| 38 ranking points
			\| [3]
			\|}

	~~'''Jackie Coates'''~~		== Team websites ==

	~~== Later history ==~~		Syrian Suicide Squad maintained a website at homepages.ihug.co.nz/~subby. The Phoenix website continued to link to those pages after announcing the team's new name in 1998.[1]

	~~The team~~'s ~~precise establishment date and final period of activity are not documented in~~ the ~~currently available sources~~. ~~Its involvement beyond the 1990s requires further verification~~.		Phoenix's new website used the address phoenix.org.nz.[1]

	== See also ==		== See also ==

	* [[History of paintball in New Zealand]]
	* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]		* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
	* [[Mercenaries Star]]
	* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]		* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]

	== References ==		== References ==

	# ~~Neil M~~. ~~Harris, ''The Lone Gunman~~: ~~Memoir of a Big Day Out'', historical New Zealand~~ paintball ~~account~~, ~~previously recovered in WikiPaintball research~~.		# [https://web.archive.org/web/19981206002013/http://www.phoenix.org.nz/ Team Phoenix — homepage]. Page last updated 16 March 1998; Internet Archive capture dated 6 December 1998. Identifies Phoenix as an Auckland paintball team, announces the name change and links to the former Syrian Suicide Squad website.
	# Rob Maddox, ~~''1997~~ New Zealand Paintball ~~Nationals''~~, ~~contemporary tournament report originally published through~~ Paintball.co.nz~~, transcription preserved in WikiPaintball historical research~~, October ~~2026~~.		# Rob Maddox, “1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals”, Paintball.co.nz, October 1997. Contemporary tournament report recording Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with 422 points; direct archived article URL not recovered.
	# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Mercenaries Star - Valhalla Hall of ~~Heroes,~~ 1997.]		# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Mercenaries Star — Valhalla Hall of Heros: 1997]. Lists Syrian Suicide Squad ninth with a ranking score of 38. Archived GeoCities page preserved by OoCities.
	~~# [https://www~~.~~oocities~~.~~org/mercstar_nz/ Mercenaries Star -~~ Archived ~~New Zealand paintball information website~~.]

	== External links ==		== External links ==

	* [https://~~www~~.~~oocities~~.org/~~mercstar_nz~~/~~VALHALLA~~/~~1997Hall~~.~~htm Valhalla 1997 national rankings~~]		* [https://web.archive.org/web/19981206002013/http://www.phoenix.org.nz/ Archived Phoenix team website]

	[[Category:Paintball teams]]		[[Category:Paintball teams]]

81.103.165.186 at 12:07, 17 October 2026

2026-10-17T12:07:37Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:07, 17 October 2026
Line 65:		Line 65:
	* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Valhalla 1997 national rankings]		* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Valhalla 1997 national rankings]

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

81.103.165.186: /* History */

2026-10-17T11:54:18Z

History

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:54, 17 October 2026
Line 19:		Line 19:

	The team also appears in the retrospective 1997 standings preserved by the [[Valhalla National Rankings]] database.[3]		The team also appears in the retrospective 1997 standings preserved by the [[Valhalla National Rankings]] database.[3]

			=== 1999 Re-organisation and Reformation===
			The SSS was finally folded in 1998, when the team made the decision to go Semi-professional. The team was offered sponsyrship by Kyn 'Action' Jackson and David Pellet. Not all of the team were keen to go professional and some members dropped out (Tim and Jakie Coates), and some new members joined. The sponsorship came with strings. The name was deemed too close to offensive, and the team was re-formed as Phoenix. This should not be confused with the Wellington based 'Team Phoenix" formed in 1999.

	== Players ==		== Players ==

81.103.165.186: /* Players */

2026-10-17T11:45:20Z

Players

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:45, 17 October 2026
Line 27:		Line 27:

	'''Patrick DiCamillo'''		'''Patrick DiCamillo'''

	'''David Armstrong'''		'''David Armstrong'''

	'''Kelvin Geen'''		'''Kelvin Geen'''

	'''Kirk Koornneef'''		'''Kirk Koornneef'''

	'''Matt'''		'''Matt'''

	'''Tim Coates'''		'''Tim Coates'''

	'''Jackie Coates'''		'''Jackie Coates'''

81.103.165.186: /* Players */

2026-10-17T11:44:55Z

Players

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:44, 17 October 2026
Line 22:		Line 22:
	== Players ==		== Players ==

	'''Neil M. Harris''' has been identified through retrospective participant testimony as a member of Syrian Suicide Squad.		'''Neil M. Harris''' founded the Syrian Suicide Squad with Tim Coates and Dirk Koorrneef. has been identified through retrospective participant testimony as a member of Syrian Suicide Squad.

	Harris was also associated with [[Mercenaries Star]], an early New Zealand paintball information website that preserved tournament results, rankings, calendars and historical records.[4]		Harris was also associated with [[Mercenaries Star]], an early New Zealand paintball information website that preserved tournament results, rankings, calendars and historical records.[4]

	~~A complete roster of Syrian Suicide Squad has not been established.~~		'''Patrick DiCamillo'''
			'''David Armstrong'''
			'''Kelvin Geen'''
			'''Kirk Koornneef'''
			'''Matt'''
			'''Tim Coates'''
			'''Jackie Coates'''

	== Later history ==		== Later history ==

Admin: Created page with " '''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based amateur paintball team active in New Zealand during the 1990s. The team participated in regional paintball activities and the New Zealand Paintball Nationals, with its results appearing in contemporary tournament records and the Valhalla National Rankings.[1][2] == History == Syrian Suicide Squad was part of Auckland's competitive paintball community during the 1990s. Paintball writer Neil Har..."

2026-10-17T08:36:58Z

Created page with " '''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based amateur paintball team active in New Zealand during the 1990s. The team participated in regional paintball activities and the New Zealand Paintball Nationals, with its results appearing in contemporary tournament records and the Valhalla National Rankings.[1][2] == History == Syrian Suicide Squad was part of Auckland's competitive paintball community during the 1990s. Paintball writer Neil Har..."

New page

'''Syrian Suicide Squad''' ('''SSS''') was an Auckland-based amateur [[paintball]] team active in New Zealand during the 1990s. The team participated in regional paintball activities and the [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]], with its results appearing in contemporary tournament records and the [[Valhalla National Rankings]].[1][2]

== History ==

Syrian Suicide Squad was part of Auckland's competitive paintball community during the 1990s.

Paintball writer [[Neil Harris|Neil M. Harris]] described Syrian Suicide Squad as a well-known Auckland amateur team in his article ''The Lone Gunman: Memoir of a Big Day Out''. The account mentions the team's presence at a paintball gathering held at [[Splat Attack Paintball]] in Silverdale on 25 April, although the event year has not been conclusively established.[1]

The team also competed in organised tournaments during the period when New Zealand's competitive paintball scene was developing its national league structure.

=== 1997 New Zealand Nationals ===

Syrian Suicide Squad competed at the 1997 [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]], held on 25–26 October at [[Actions Paintball Sports Arena]] in Te Atatū, Auckland.

The tournament featured 11 teams competing in a five-player centre-flag format.

According to the contemporary tournament results documented by [[Rob Maddox]], Syrian Suicide Squad finished ninth overall with 422 points.[2]

The team also appears in the retrospective 1997 standings preserved by the [[Valhalla National Rankings]] database.[3]

== Players ==

'''Neil M. Harris''' has been identified through retrospective participant testimony as a member of Syrian Suicide Squad.

Harris was also associated with [[Mercenaries Star]], an early New Zealand paintball information website that preserved tournament results, rankings, calendars and historical records.[4]

A complete roster of Syrian Suicide Squad has not been established.

== Later history ==

The team's precise establishment date and final period of activity are not documented in the currently available sources. Its involvement beyond the 1990s requires further verification.

== See also ==

* [[History of paintball in New Zealand]]
* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* [[Mercenaries Star]]
* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]

== References ==

# Neil M. Harris, ''The Lone Gunman: Memoir of a Big Day Out'', historical New Zealand paintball account, previously recovered in WikiPaintball research.
# Rob Maddox, ''1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz, transcription preserved in WikiPaintball historical research, October 2026.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Mercenaries Star - Valhalla Hall of Heroes, 1997.]
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/ Mercenaries Star - Archived New Zealand paintball information website.]

== External links ==

* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/1997Hall.htm Valhalla 1997 national rankings]

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