New Zealand Paintball Nationals: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:31, 25 October 2026

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

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+'''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]
-'''New Zealand Paintball Nationals''', also known as the '''New Zealand Nationals''', was an annual [[paintball]] tournament championship held in Auckland, New Zealand. It was one of the country's principal competitive paintball events during the 1990s and early 2000s.[1]
+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]
-The tournament was closely associated with [[Actions Paintball Sports Arena]] and organiser [[Kyn Jackson]]. It attracted teams from across New Zealand and formed part of the original [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)|National Paintball League]] (NPL) First Division calendar.
 == History ==
-The New Zealand Paintball Nationals was established before the formation of the National Paintball League in 1997. The original NPL incorporated the Nationals alongside the [[Northland Open]] and Queen's Birthday tournament as its three principal First Division events.[1]
+The Nationals was already an established event when the original [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)|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]
-During the late 1990s, the Nationals was hosted at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū, west Auckland. The facility was operated by Kyn "Action" Jackson, who was closely involved in the development of tournament paintball in New Zealand.
-Following the relocation of Actions Paintball from Te Atatū, subsequent championships continued at Auckland venues.
-The original NPL structure ended in 1999, but the Nationals continued as an independent tournament. By 2001, the competition was using a seven-player format with separate First Division and Second Division finals.[7]
-The contemporary [[Mercenaries Star]] tournament calendar described the Nationals as New Zealand's most widely recognised and best-attended paintball tournament.[8]
-== Tournament format ==
-The Nationals initially used a five-player centre-flag format, with teams competing to eliminate opponents and capture a centrally positioned flag.
-The 1997 championship featured ten-minute games played across natural terrain and constructed tournament fields.[2]
-By 2000, the competition included open preliminary rounds followed by separate First Division and Second Division finals.[5][6]
-The 2001 Nationals was contested in a seven-player format, reflecting the increasing adoption of larger team formats within New Zealand tournament paintball.[7]
+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 ==
@@ Line 30: / Line 13: @@
 === 1997 ===
-The 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals was held on 25–26 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū, Auckland.
+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 Paintball Team|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]
-Eleven teams competed in the five-player centre-flag tournament.
+Gothique did not attend, and its scheduled opponents received 100-point byes. The published totals therefore include points awarded for unplayed fixtures.[2]
-[[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo]] won the championship with 1,008 points, followed by Saints Black and Kamo Karzi.[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 Nationals took place on 24–25 October at Actions Paintball Sports Arena in Te Atatū.
+The 1998 championship took place on '''24–25 October''' at Actions Paintball in Te Atatū, with fourteen teams.[3]
-Fourteen teams entered the tournament.
+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]
-[[Saints Gold]] won the championship with 1,290 points. Paint Contractors finished second with 1,008 points, followed by Saints Grey with 970 points.[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]
-The event was among the final major tournaments held at Actions Paintball's Te Atatū facility before its relocation.
 === 1999 ===
-The 1999 championship was held on 23–24 October in the Auckland region.
+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 the tournament ahead of Saints Gold, according to contemporary tournament reporting by [[Rob Maddox]].[4]
+Paint Contractors won with '''1,045 points''', ahead of Saints Gold on 1,025 and Phantom 5 Purple on 820.[4]
-The event took place during the final year of the original National Paintball League structure.
+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 Nationals was held on 21–22 October in Auckland.
+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]
-Saints Gold won the First Division championship, with Grey finishing second.[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 [[Wellington Phoenix (paintball team)|Phoenix]], Solidaire and Fusion.[5]
-The Second Division was won by Rotorua-based [[Tag n' Release]], ahead of Phoenix Wellington.
+Tag n' Release's separate team profile records 655 preliminary points and 235 points in the Second Division final round.[7]
-A contemporary Tag n' Release team profile confirms that the team won its Second Division final with 235 points from a possible 400, after recording 655 points from a possible 1,000 in the preliminary round.[6]
 === 2001 ===
-The 2001 Nationals was held in Auckland as a seven-player tournament.
+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]
-The surviving [[Valhalla National Rankings]] database records an open preliminary round followed by separate First Division and Second Division finals.[7]
+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]
-Documented First Division finalists included Saints Gold, Jetts, Katipo and Flashpoint.
+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]
-Second Division finalists included TNT, Damage, DamNatives Red and Fusion.
+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 surviving ranking data does not establish the official championship winners or complete finishing order.
+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 ==
-{| class="wikitable sortable"
+The table distinguishes overall placings from divisional placings. Scores from preliminary rounds and final rounds are not interchangeable.
+{| class="wikitable"
 ! Year
-! Division
+! Classification
 ! Winner
 ! Runner-up
-! Third place
+! Third
+! Fourth
 |-
 | 1997
-| Open
+| Overall
-| [[Katipo Paintball Team|Katipo]]
+| Katipo One
 | Saints Black
 | Kamo Karzi
+| Paint Contractors
+|-
+| 1997
+| Division Two
+| Kamo Karzi
+| Team Raven
+| Katipo Two
+| Flashpoint
 |-
 | 1998
-| Open
+| Overall
-| [[Saints Gold]]
+| Saints Gold
 | Paint Contractors
 | Saints Grey
+| House Steiner
 |-
 | 1999
-| Open
+| Overall
 | Paint Contractors
 | Saints Gold
-| Not confirmed
+| Phantom 5 Purple
+| Katipo One
 |-
 | 2000
 | First Division
-| Saints Gold
+| Saints
 | Grey
-| Not confirmed
+| Katipo
+| Crisis
 |-
 | 2000
 | Second Division
-| [[Tag n' Release]]
+| Tag n' Release
-| Phoenix Wellington
+| Phoenix
-| Not confirmed
+| 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 and the Mercenaries Star team archive.[2][3][4][5][6]
+Sources: contemporary tournament reports by Rob Maddox.[2][3][4][5][6]
-The results above represent individual Nationals tournament placings and should not be confused with the annual Valhalla national team rankings.
-== Tournament organisation ==
-The Nationals was organised through commercial paintball operators, particularly Actions Paintball Sports Arena.
-[[Kyn Jackson]] was associated with the organisation and operation of the championships, while [[Dave Pellet]] was involved in the 1997 event and the establishment of the original National Paintball League.[1][2]
-Contemporary reports identify Mike Sawyer as head marshal at the 1998 Nationals, assisted by Aaron Jay.[3]
-The 1997 and 1998 tournaments were documented by New Zealand paintball player and writer [[Rob Maddox]], whose reports recorded results, participating teams and tournament administration.
+Black Dragon's 1998 Second Division victory is explicitly recorded, but the report does not provide a complete separate divisional table.[3]
 == Historical records ==
-Surviving documentation of the Nationals includes contemporary tournament reports published through Paintball.co.nz, results recorded by participating teams and records preserved by [[Mercenaries Star]].
+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 database includes tournament scoring information from the 2001 Nationals, although its calculated national rankings are not equivalent to official championship results.[7][9]
+The [[Valhalla National Rankings]] used tournament results to calculate annual team rankings. Those calculated rankings are distinct from individual Nationals championship placings.[8]
-Documentation is incomplete for some editions, and the tournament's full operational history has not been established.
+The surviving reports document particular editions and do not establish the tournament's complete operational history.
 == See also ==
-* [[History of paintball in New Zealand]]
+* [[Paintball in New Zealand]]
 * [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)]]
 * [[Actions Paintball]]
@@ Line 149: / Line 149: @@
 == References ==
-# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Rules/Leagues/NPLIntro.htm Mercenaries Star - The Rise and Fall of the New Zealand National Paintball League.]
+# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Rules/Leagues/NPLIntro.htm Mercenaries Star — The Rise and Fall of the New Zealand National Paintball League.]
-# Rob Maddox, ''1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Transcript preserved in WikiPaintball historical research, October 2026.
+# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020613133123/http://www.paintball.co.nz/nats97.htm Rob Maddox, The 1997 Two Day NZ National “SplatMan” Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 13 June 2002.]
-# Rob Maddox, ''1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Transcript preserved in WikiPaintball historical research, October 2026.
+# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020817071008/http://www.paintball.co.nz/nats98.htm Rob Maddox, The 1998 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 17 August 2002.]
-# Rob Maddox, ''1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Historical report transcription.
+# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020817070413/http://www.paintball.co.nz/nats99/ Rob Maddox, The 1999 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 17 August 2002.]
-# Rob Maddox, ''2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals'', contemporary tournament report originally published through Paintball.co.nz. Historical report transcription.
+# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020613133336/http://www.paintball.co.nz/nats00.htm Rob Maddox, The 2000 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 13 June 2002.]
-# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Mercenaries Star - Tag n' Release Team Profile, contributed by Russell Clement, April 2001.]
+# [https://web.archive.org/web/20020806192513/http://www.paintball.co.nz/nats01.htm Rob Maddox, The 2001 Two Day NZ Nationals Tournament, Paintball.co.nz. Archived 6 August 2002.]
-# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Mercenaries Star - Valhalla National Rankings, 2001.]
+# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Mercenaries Star — Tag n' Release team profile, contributed by Russell Clement, April 2001.]
-# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Mercenaries Star - Annual Tournament Events, 2001.]
+# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/RankIndex.htm Mercenaries Star — Valhalla ranking methodology.]
-# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/RankIndex.htm Mercenaries Star - Valhalla National Rankings Methodology.]
 == External links ==
 * [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/ Mercenaries Star archived website]
-* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Archived 2001 national rankings and tournament data]
 [[Category:Paintball tournaments in New Zealand]]

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