New Zealand Paintball Nationals

New Zealand Paintball Nationals, also known as the New Zealand Nationals, was a paintball tournament held in Auckland, New Zealand. Contemporary reports document championships from 1997 to 2001, including changes from five-player centre-flag competition to seven-player tournaments with separate divisional finals.[2][3][4][5][6]

The tournament was associated with Actions Paintball and organiser Kyn Jackson. It attracted teams from throughout New Zealand and, in 2001, an Australian entry.[2][6]

History

The Nationals was already an established event when the original National Paintball League began in 1997. The league incorporated the Nationals, Queen's Birthday tournament and Northland Open into its First Division calendar. The original league structure operated until 1999, while the constituent tournaments continued.[1]

The 1997 and 1998 Nationals took place at Actions Paintball in Te Atatū. The 1998 report described the tournament as the final event before that field closed for relocation. Subsequent reports place the 1999 championship in Helensville and the 2000 championship in Swanson.[2][3][4][5]

Championship history

1997

The 1997 championship was held on 25–26 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū, following a change from a planned Māngere venue. Eleven teams competed in five-player centre-flag games lasting ten minutes, across a bush field and a constructed barricade field.[2]

Katipo One won overall with 1,008 points, ahead of Saints Black and Kamo Karzi. Kamo Karzi also won the tournament's Second Division, a separate achievement from its season-long NPL Division Two league title.[2]

Gothique did not attend, and its scheduled opponents received 100-point byes. The published totals therefore include points awarded for unplayed fixtures.[2]

The report identifies Jo Pitts as Saints Black captain, Reg Lowe as Katipo One captain and Allan Gatland as Kamo Karzi captain. Dave Pellet organised the tournament, with Kyn Jackson operating the venue.[2]

1998

The 1998 championship took place on 24–25 October at Actions Paintball in Te Atatū, with fourteen teams.[3]

Saints Gold won with 1,290 points from a possible 1,300. Paint Contractors finished second with 1,008 points and Saints Grey third with 970. Black Dragon finished fifth overall and won the Second Division.[3]

Mike Sawyer was head marshal, assisted by Aaron Jay. The report identifies Rik Goldsworthy as Saints Gold captain and names Black Stallion energy drinks as a prize sponsor.[3]

1999

The 1999 championship was held on 23–24 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Helensville. Thirteen teams played five-player, eight-minute centre-flag games on fields named Bunker and Speedball.[4]

Paint Contractors won with 1,045 points, ahead of Saints Gold on 1,025 and Phantom 5 Purple on 820.[4]

Kamo Karzi supplied most of the referees, with Marty Kinny as head marshal. Its members' refereeing participation was separate from the thirteen playing entries.[4]

2000

The 2000 championship was held on 21–22 October at Actions Paintball in Swanson. Sixteen teams competed in seven-player, two-flag games across the Symetrical and Minefield fields. Preliminary competition determined four finalists in each division.[5]

The contemporary report names Saints as First Division winner, followed by Grey, Katipo and Crisis. Tag n' Release won the Second Division ahead of Phoenix, Solidaire and Fusion.[5]

Tag n' Release's separate team profile records 655 preliminary points and 235 points in the Second Division final round.[7]

2001

The 2001 championship was held at Actions Paintball over the Saturday and Sunday of Labour Weekend. Eighteen teams competed in seven-player, two-flag games across three fields. The top four teams in each division advanced to finals.[6]

Saints won the First Division with 225 final-round points. Katipo finished second on 165, Jetts third on 160 and Flashpoint fourth on 30.[6]

Jetts initially received the second-place trophy, but a subsequent countback established that Katipo was five points, equivalent to one elimination, ahead. The trophies were exchanged following the correction.[6]

Tag and Training won the Second Division with 180 final-round points, followed by Damn Natives on 130, Fusion on 120 and Damage on 117. The report describes Tag and Training as Tag n' Release's amateur team; the two competed as separate entries.[6]

The Australian Jetts supplemented their squad with unnamed Black Dragon players after the collapse of Ansett disrupted travel for some Australian team members. Kyn Jackson organised the event and also played for Jetts.[6]

Selected championship results

The table distinguishes overall placings from divisional placings. Scores from preliminary rounds and final rounds are not interchangeable.

Year	Classification	Winner	Runner-up	Third	Fourth
1997	Overall	Katipo One	Saints Black	Kamo Karzi	Paint Contractors
1997	Division Two	Kamo Karzi	Team Raven	Katipo Two	Flashpoint
1998	Overall	Saints Gold	Paint Contractors	Saints Grey	House Steiner
1999	Overall	Paint Contractors	Saints Gold	Phantom 5 Purple	Katipo One
2000	First Division	Saints	Grey	Katipo	Crisis
2000	Second Division	Tag n' Release	Phoenix	Solidaire	Fusion
2001	First Division	Saints	Katipo	Jetts	Flashpoint
2001	Second Division	Tag and Training	Damn Natives	Fusion	Damage

Sources: contemporary tournament reports by Rob Maddox.[2][3][4][5][6]

Black Dragon's 1998 Second Division victory is explicitly recorded, but the report does not provide a complete separate divisional table.[3]

Historical records

Contemporary reports published by Paintball.co.nz preserve tournament formats, participating teams, results and organisational details. Mercenaries Star also preserved team profiles and tournament data.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

The Valhalla National Rankings used tournament results to calculate annual team rankings. Those calculated rankings are distinct from individual Nationals championship placings.[8]

The surviving reports document particular editions and do not establish the tournament's complete operational history.

References

External links

Mercenaries Star archived website