Warp Speed (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Warp Speed, also styled Warpspeed, was a New Zealand tournament paintball team from Napier, Hawke's Bay. The team is documented in national and regional competition from 1998 to 2001, including four consecutive editions of the Valhalla National Rankings.[1][3]

Warp Speed competed at the New Zealand Paintball Nationals, Hawke's Bay Triples, South Pacific Championships, Northland Open, Volcanic Rotorua tournament and Wellington Cup.[2][3][4][5][6][8][9][10][11]

History

1998

Warp Speed finished twelfth at the 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals with 225 tournament points. A player identified only as Shane of Warp Speed received the tournament's Player of the Tournament award; the report does not supply his surname.[2]

The retrospectively compiled 1998 Valhalla National Rankings placed Warp Speed sixteenth with a ranking score of 19.[1]

1999

A contemporary report of the 1999 Hawke's Bay Triples explicitly identified Warp Speed as a Napier team. The event had eight entries, but the report does not provide a complete finishing order below the leading three teams.[3]

Warp Speed finished thirteenth at the 1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals with 235 points. The tournament report identifies a player named Des with Warp Speed but does not provide his surname or a complete roster.[4]

The 1999 Valhalla National Rankings placed Warp Speed twentieth with a ranking score of 23.[1]

2000

Warp Speed competed at six events included in the 2000 Valhalla records. It finished equal twenty-fourth in the national ranking table with a calculated score of 46.[1]

At the Mayhem Queen's Birthday tournament, held at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Swanson on 4 June, Warp Speed qualified for the Division One final but withdrew before the final stage. The surviving report does not assign the team a final placing.[5]

Warp Speed was among the ten teams which competed at the South Pacific Championships, held at Thunderball Adventure Games in Wellington on 22–23 April. It did not advance to the four-team final stage.[6]

At the 2000 Wellington Cup, Warp Speed defeated eventual winner Phoenix during the preliminary stage. The available report does not establish Warp Speed's final placing.[6]

Warp Speed competed in Division One at the 2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, scoring 500 preliminary points from three maximum-score games. It did not advance to the four-team divisional final.[7]

2001

Warp Speed finished seventh at the 2001 Northland Open, held at Jubilee Park in Whangārei, with 295 points.[8]

At the 2001 Rotorua Volcanic Paintball Tournament, Warp Speed scored 350 preliminary points and did not advance to either divisional final. Des and Mike were identified with the team in the contemporary report. Warp Speed also received the tournament's fair-play award.[9]

Warp Speed finished sixth at the 2001 Wellington Cup with 336 points.[10]

At the 2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, Warp Speed scored 695 preliminary points. It was among the ten teams that did not advance to the divisional finals.[11]

The October 2001 Valhalla tables placed Warp Speed eleventh in the seven-player category, eighth in the five-player category and twentieth in the three-player category. These tables recorded contributions from the Northland Open, RotoVegas, New Zealand Nationals, Wellington Cup and Hawke's Bay Triples.[1]

The 2001 records are the latest confirmed competitive appearances identified for Warp Speed. They do not establish when the team ceased operating.

Team identity

Contemporary sources usually present the name as Warp Speed. The styling Warpspeed refers to the same Napier and Hawke's Bay team.

The available sources do not establish a founding date, complete roster, formal home field or continuous management history. The team's Napier identity is explicitly documented by the 1999 Hawke's Bay Triples report.[3]

Warp Speed should not be confused with the Airgun Designs Warp Feed, which is a paintball loader system rather than a team or a product named Warp Speed.

Documented players

Name as published	Documented association	Evidence limit
Shane	Warp Speed player and Player of the Tournament at the 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals [2]	Surname not supplied
Des	Identified with Warp Speed at the 1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals and the 2001 Rotorua Volcanic tournament [4][9]	Surname and formal role not supplied
Mike	Identified with Warp Speed at the 2001 Rotorua Volcanic tournament [9]	Surname and formal role not supplied

These references do not establish complete event or season rosters.

Selected tournament results

Year	Tournament	Recorded result
1998	1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	12th; 225 points
1999	1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	13th; 235 points
2000	Mayhem Queen's Birthday tournament	Qualified for the Division One final; withdrew before the final stage
2000	2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	500 preliminary points; did not advance from Division One
2001	2001 Northland Open	7th; 295 points
2001	Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament	350 preliminary points; did not advance to a divisional final; fair-play award
2001	2001 Wellington Cup	6th; 336 points
2001	2001 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	695 preliminary points; did not advance to a divisional final

See also

• New Zealand Paintball Nationals
• Northland Open
• Volcanic Rotorua Paintball Tournament
• Wellington Cup
• Valhalla National Rankings
• Paintball in Hawke's Bay

References

1. 1998 Valhalla National Rankings; 1999 Valhalla National Rankings; 2000 Valhalla National Rankings; 2001 Valhalla National Rankings, Mercenaries Star.
2. Rob Maddox, The 1998 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz, October 1998.
3. Rick Levick, 1999 Hawkes Bay Triples, Paintball.co.nz.
4. Rob Maddox, The 1999 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz, October 1999.
5. Rob Maddox, The Mayhem 2000 Queens Birthday Tournament, Paintball.co.nz, 4 June 2000.
6. Wellington Phoenix news archive, reports covering the 2000 South Pacific Championships and Wellington Cup.
7. Rob Maddox, The 2000 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz, October 2000.
8. Rob Maddox, The 2001 Northland Paintball Open, Paintball.co.nz, 2001.
9. Rob Maddox, The 2001 Rotorua Volcanic Paintball Tournament, Paintball.co.nz, June 2001.
10. Martin Dannefaerd, The 2001 Wellington Cup, Paintball.co.nz, August 2001.
11. Rob Maddox, The 2001 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz, October 2001.