Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament

Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament was a New Zealand paintball competition held at Rotorua International Stadium during the early 2000s. It attracted teams from New Zealand and Australia. The Australian Jetts won Division One in 2001 and the Cup competition in 2002, while Saints won the Cup in 2003.[1][2][6]

History

Development

The tournament developed within the organising community behind the Rotorua Invitational, a separate series of paintball days that began at Blue Lake Reserve in December 2000. Russell Clement's contemporary account described plans for a larger stadium tournament over Queen's Birthday weekend in 2001, with inflatable playing fields and spectator facilities.[3]

The 2001 event was advertised as RotoVegas Rotorua. Members of Tag n' Release undertook much of the planning, with assistance from Kyn Jackson.[3][4]

Contemporary reports credited Tag n' Release and the Rotorua Paintball Club with organising the 2001 event, and the club and Peter Mumby with the 2002 edition.[1][2] Paintball BOP's own tournament history additionally identified the business as an organiser of both events in association with the club, and as the organiser of the 2003 V Comp Volcanic.[5]

2001

Main article: 2001 Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament

The tournament took place on 2–3 June 2001 at Rotorua International Stadium. It attracted 17 teams and used a seven-player format with two end flags. Games were played on a Sup'Air field and a smaller speedball field.[1]

Each team played 14 preliminary games. The leading four teams in each division progressed to divisional finals.[1]

Position	Division One	Final points	Division Two	Final points
1	Jetts	290	Team Damage	220
2	Saints	220	Damn Natives	210
3	Katipo A	145	Full Boar	135
4	Black Dragon	30	Havoc	20

Results are from the contemporary tournament report.[1]

2002

Main article: 2002 Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament

The second edition, also promoted as Tracs Volcanic, took place on 1–2 June 2002 at Rotorua International Stadium. It attracted 20 teams, including the Australian Jetts and Diabolique.[2]

Two inflatable fields were used. The Sup'Air field from the previous tournament had been purchased by Auckland's Extreme Events, headed by Wayne Rolleston of Team Phantom. A second inflatable field came from Christchurch and incorporated additional wooden obstacles.[2]

Teams initially competed in four seeded pools. The leading ten teams across the pools advanced to the Cup competition, while the remaining ten contested the Plate. Games used a centre flag and a ten-minute time limit.[2]

Position	Cup	Points	Plate	Points
1	Jetts	705	Rush	793
2	Saints	627	Titans	708
3	Katipo	567	Fusion	600

The Cup and Plate were separate competitions. Damage finished fifth in the Cup, while the separate Christchurch team Damage Inc finished sixth in the Plate.[2]

Following the tournament, Mumby indicated that he intended to step back from organising future events.[2] The contemporary report of the 2003 edition nevertheless identified him as one of its organisers.[6]

2003

Main article: 2003 Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament

The third stadium tournament moved from June to the Saturday and Sunday of the October long weekend. Eighteen teams attended, including three from Australia.[6]

The event used two airball fields, including an Angel field supplied by WDP. Teams played under Millennium Series rules in accordance with New Zealand Paintball Players Association guidelines. Initial seeded pools determined progression into Cup and Plate competitions, which concluded with best-of-three finals.[6]

Saints defeated Firestorm in two consecutive games to win the Cup. Fusion defeated Damage by two games to one in the Plate final.[6]

References

Rob Maddox — The 2001 Rotorua Volcanic Paintball Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 11 August 2002.
Rob Maddox — The 2002 Rotorua Volcanic Paintball Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 13 June 2002.
Russell Clement — Rotorua Invitational Paintball Days, Mercenaries Star. Preserved by OoCities.
RotoVegas Rotorua tournament announcement, Mercenaries Star, 2001. Preserved by OoCities.
Paintball BOP — Tournaments. Archived 12 January 2005.
Rob Maddox — Rotorua International Tournament – Oct 03, NZ Paintball Online. October 2003; archived 18 December 2005.