Northland Open: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:47, 25 October 2026

Northland Open was a New Zealand tournament paintball competition held in Whangārei, Northland, during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The tournament was included in the original National Paintball League (NPL) First Division programme in 1997 and subsequently appeared in the Valhalla National Rankings.[1][2]

The event was traditionally held early in the New Zealand tournament season. The 2000 edition used a rugby ground converted into a temporary speedball field, while the 2001 tournament was advertised for Jubilee Park, Whangārei, on 25 February.[3][4]

History

National Paintball League

The Northland Open was among the tournaments included in the original National Paintball League, developed during 1996 by Ian Southern and Dave Pellet and launched in 1997.[1]

The league's First Division programme included the Northland Open, New Zealand Paintball Nationals and Queen's Birthday tournament.

The original league was supported by three commercial paintball operators: Splatman in Auckland, Strategy Tag in Whangārei and Actions Paintball in Auckland.[1]

Although Strategy Tag was associated with the Whangārei tournament community, its responsibility for organising individual Northland Open editions has not been established.

The tournament's inaugural year remains unconfirmed.

2000 tournament

The 2000 Northland Open was held in Whangārei on a rugby ground converted into a temporary speedball field.[3]

The contemporary tournament calendar recorded that the Northland Open had used different venues during its earlier history.

The exact 2000 venue, playing format and final tournament results have not been recovered.

2001 tournament

The 2001 Northland Open was scheduled for Sunday, 25 February, at Jubilee Park in Whangārei.[4]

The event was advertised as an open seven-player tournament using end flags and Australian Paintball Players League (APPL) rules.

The published entry fee was NZ$70 per team, with participants permitted to bring their own paintballs.

Teams were also responsible for supplying their own CO2 or nitrogen/compressed-air requirements.

Detail	Published information
Date	25 February 2001
Venue	Jubilee Park, Whangārei
Format	Seven-player
Game type	End flags
Division	Open
Rules	Australian Paintball Players League
Entry fee	NZ$70 per team
Paintballs	Bring your own
CO2 and compressed air	Bring your own

The original announcement identified Brent and Cindy Mathews as event contacts and indicated that entries would be limited.[4]

2001 results

The 2001 Valhalla National Rankings preserve scores from the Northland Open opening round of seven-player competition.[2]

These figures were normalised ranking contributions rather than raw tournament scores or final event placings.

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-player rankings, Northland Open opening round.[2]

Saints Gold recorded the highest normalised score, followed by Phantom 5 and Phoenix (WGN) Red.

A contemporary team profile written by Russell Clement independently records Tag n' Release finishing fifth in the opening round with 585 points from a possible 900.[5]

The team's normalised Valhalla score of 65 corresponds to 65 per cent of the available points.

The surviving results establish the participation of ten named teams but do not provide a complete final tournament classification.

2011 tournament

The Northland Open continued into the 2010s.

The 2011 Northland Open was held on 6 March at Strategy Tag Paintball in Mangapai, near Whangārei.

Eight teams competed in the five-player tournament. Auckland's ADHD won, defeating Disposal Unit in the final. TPC Blast and Gary Locks shared third place.[9]

Contemporary tournament footage was also published in March 2011.[10]

Tournament format

The Northland Open formed part of New Zealand's early competitive paintball calendar, during which tournament formats included five-player and seven-player competition.

The 2001 event specifically advertised seven-player, end-flag games under Australian Paintball Players League rules.[4]

A historical copy of the APPL rulebook was preserved by Mercenaries Star.[6]

The precise format and rules used at earlier Northland Open editions have not been established.

Relationship to national rankings

The Northland Open contributed to the 2001 Valhalla seven-player rankings alongside RotoVegas and the New Zealand Nationals.[2]

Valhalla calculated national rankings from tournament performances, using normalised scores to compare teams across different competitions.

The Northland Open results therefore formed part of the season rankings but should not be confused with the tournament's final standings.[7]

References

External links

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 [[Category:1990s in paintball]]
 [[Category:2000s in paintball]]
+[[Category:Paintball in Northland]]
+[[Category:1990s in New Zealand paintball]]
+[[Category:2000s in New Zealand paintball]]
+[[Category:2010s in New Zealand paintball]]