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Created page with " '''Hawke's Bay Triples''' (also advertised as the '''Hawkes Bay Triples Competition''' and '''Hawkesbay Triples''') was a New Zealand three-player paintball tournament held in the Hawke's Bay region during the early 2000s. The tournament was organised by '''Paintball Hawke's Bay''', with the '''Hawke's Bay Paintball Club''' also named in the 2000 event announcement. It was hosted at the '''Pines Paintball Field''' on State Highway 50 at Roys Hill, near Hastings..."
 
Extended Hawke's Bay Triples history through 2009 using archived Yuku records. Added the confirmed February 2009 tournament, Bridge Pa venue, format, fees, post-event evidence and photography source; documented the 2006 forum reference and preserved the 2001 rankings with their limitations.
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'''Hawke's Bay Triples''' (also advertised as the '''Hawkes Bay Triples Competition''' and '''Hawkesbay Triples''') was a New Zealand three-player [[paintball]] tournament held in the [[Hawke's Bay]] region during the early 2000s.
'''Hawke's Bay Triples''' (also advertised as the '''Hawkes Bay Triples Competition''' and '''Hawkesbay Triples''') was a three-player [[paintball]] tournament held in the [[Hawke's Bay]] region of [[New Zealand]].


The tournament was organised by '''Paintball Hawke's Bay''', with the '''Hawke's Bay Paintball Club''' also named in the 2000 event announcement. It was hosted at the '''Pines Paintball Field''' on State Highway 50 at Roys Hill, near Hastings.[1][2]
Contemporary records document the competition in 2000 and 2001, with additional tournament discussions during 2006 and a confirmed event on 7–8 February 2009.[1][2][6][7]


Contemporary announcements document editions scheduled for '''6–7 February 2000''' and '''3–4 February 2001'''. Both advertised open-class three-man competition with limited paintball allowances, although their entry fees, equipment arrangements and published rules differed.
The early editions were organised by '''Paintball Hawke's Bay''' at its Pines Paintball Field near Hastings, with the '''Hawke's Bay Paintball Club''' also named in the 2000 announcement.[1][2]


The tournament developed from an earlier Hawke's Bay recreational big-game event known as '''Fantasyland'''. According to the contemporary [[Mercenaries Star]] tournament calendar, Fantasyland was replaced by the Hawke's Bay Triples following declining attendance.[3]
The 2009 tournament was held at a field on Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, near Hastings. The competition retained its three-player format, with limited paintball allowances and an emphasis on participation by teams from different regions.[7]


The event became part of New Zealand's national tournament calendar, providing opportunities for teams from the central and lower North Island to compete in the three-man format.
== History ==


Results from the 2001 tournament were incorporated into the [[Valhalla National Rankings]]. The surviving records identify at least fifteen competing team entries and preserve normalised preliminary-round scores, although the complete final tournament classification has not been recovered.[4]
=== Origins ===


== Background ==
The Hawke's Bay Triples developed from an earlier recreational paintball event known as '''Fantasyland'''.


=== Tournament paintball in New Zealand ===
The contemporary [[Mercenaries Star]] tournament calendar reported that Fantasyland had been replaced by the Hawke's Bay Triples following declining attendance at recreational big-game events.[3]


During the late 1990s and early 2000s, organised paintball competition in New Zealand was conducted through a network of regional tournaments, commercial playing fields and independent clubs.
The available records do not establish the date of the first Triples competition or the complete history of Fantasyland.


Established competitions included the [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]], [[Northland Open]] and South Pacific Championships.
=== 2000 tournament ===


Other events developed in regions outside Auckland, providing additional opportunities for teams to compete without travelling to the country's largest paintball centres.
The Hawke's Bay Triples was advertised for '''6–7 February 2000''' at Pines Paintball Field, State Highway 50, Roys Hill, Hawke's Bay.[1]


These competitions used several team formats, including three-man, five-man and seven-man.
The event was presented by Paintball Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club.


Three-man paintball allowed smaller groups of players to form competitive teams without requiring the larger rosters associated with national seven-man tournaments.
The published arrangements specified:


The Hawke's Bay Triples was one of the regional events offering this format.
* Three-player open-class competition.
* Limited paintball allowance of 100 rounds.
* Standard tournament rules.
* Entry fee of NZ$30 per team.
* Paintballs priced at NZ$0.10 each.
* Field paint or approved privately supplied paintballs.
* Compressed air to be provided by players.


=== Recreational paintball in Hawke's Bay ===
The registration form permitted squads of up to five players.


Before the Triples became established, the Hawke's Bay paintball community had hosted recreational paintball events.
The organisers prohibited staining paintballs and listed several products that would not be accepted.


One of these was known as '''Fantasyland'''.
Les Hall was named as the tournament contact.[1]


The original Mercenaries Star tournament calendar listed Fantasyland alongside other historical recreational big games, including VADER in Christchurch and Bethells Revolution in Auckland.[3]
The event's final results have not been recovered.


The calendar described a decline in attendance at these events and specifically stated that Fantasyland had developed into the Hawke's Bay Triples.
=== 2001 tournament ===


This suggests that the tournament emerged from an existing local event rather than being established entirely independently.
The following edition was advertised for '''3–4 February 2001''' at the same Pines Paintball Field.[2]


The surviving account does not establish Fantasyland's original founding date, precise venue, organisers or complete event history.
The competition retained its three-player format but used centre-flag games under Australian Paintball Players League (APPL) rules.


The paintball event's name should not, by itself, be taken as evidence that it was held at the former Fantasyland amusement park in Hastings.
The published arrangements included:


=== Transition to tournament competition ===
* Open-class three-player competition.
* Limited paintball allowance of 100 rounds per end.
* Centre-flag format.
* Entry fee of NZ$30 per player.
* Privately supplied paintballs permitted.
* Carbon dioxide available at NZ$80 per G cylinder.
* Compressed-air arrangements remaining the players' responsibility.


The replacement of a recreational big game with a limited-paint three-man tournament illustrates changes occurring in New Zealand paintball around the turn of the millennium.
Paintball Hawke's Bay again presented the tournament, with Les Hall named as the contact.[2]


While recreational woodland paintball remained an important part of the sport, organised competition was becoming more specialised.
Partial results survive through the [[Valhalla National Rankings]], which recorded the tournament as ''Hawkesbay Triples – Round 1 Open''.[4]


Smaller-team tournaments offered opportunities for players interested in structured competition, formal scoring and repeatable match formats.
=== 2006 tournament reference ===


The Hawke's Bay Triples represented one example of this development within the central North Island.
An archived [[NZ Paintball Message Boards]] index from February 2006 contains a discussion titled ''HB Triples''.[6]


== Organisation ==
The discussion had received 23 replies by 6 February 2006.


=== Paintball Hawke's Bay ===
This establishes that the tournament was being discussed during 2006, although the individual discussion contents and any associated competition results have not yet been recovered.


'''Paintball Hawke's Bay''' was the commercial paintball operator named as the principal presenter of the tournament.
=== 2009 tournament ===


The original announcements identified its Pines Paintball Field as the event venue.
The Hawke's Bay Triples was held on '''7–8 February 2009''' at a paintball field located at:


The business also accepted tournament registrations and arranged paintball supplies.
'''75/77 Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, Hastings, New Zealand.'''[7]


The available documentation does not establish the company's founding date, full ownership history or eventual closure date.
The event was advertised through the NZ Paintball Message Boards on 24 January 2009.


=== Hawke's Bay Paintball Club ===
The tournament used a three-player round-robin format with limited paintball allowances and peer refereeing.


The announcement for the February 2000 competition named the '''Hawke's Bay Paintball Club''' alongside Paintball Hawke's Bay as a presenting organisation.[1]
The published arrangements were:


The club's involvement reflects the role of local paintball communities in organising regional competition.
{| class="wikitable"
! Item
! Details
|-
| Dates
| 7–8 February 2009
|-
| Location
| 75/77 Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, Hastings
|-
| Team format
| Three-player
|-
| Competition
| Round robin
|-
| Game duration
| Five minutes
|-
| Paint allowance
| One additional pod per player per game
|-
| Refereeing
| Peer refereeing
|-
| Entry fee
| NZ$50 per player
|-
| Paintballs
| NZ$80 per case
|-
| Compressed gas
| Bring your own, with hire arrangements available
|-
| Gas cylinder hire
| NZ$20 per tank
|}


The surviving announcement does not establish the club's legal structure, membership or complete committee.
The organisers also advertised camping facilities and included meals and refreshments as part of the event arrangements.[7]


The 2001 announcement named Paintball Hawke's Bay as presenter but did not separately identify the club in its main heading.
The entry deadline was 31 January 2009.


=== Les Hall ===
==== Confirmation of the event ====


'''Les Hall''' was the named tournament contact in both the 2000 and 2001 announcements.
Post-event messages published on 10 February 2009 described the competition and thanked those involved.


Players were instructed to contact Hall for enquiries about participating in the competition.
The discussion subsequently included requests for tournament photographs.


His involvement across both editions indicates continuity in tournament administration.
On 22 February, Les Hall posted about arrangements to make the photographs available. A link to a Flickr collection was subsequently shared on 23 February.[7]


The surviving sources do not establish his full responsibilities or whether he held an official position within the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club.
These contemporary reports establish that the 2009 tournament took place.


== Venue ==
The final standings, winning team and complete list of participants have not been recovered.


=== Pines Paintball Field ===
==== Historical photography ====


The tournament was advertised at:
A link to photographs from the 2009 event was published in the tournament discussion on 23 February 2009.


'''Pines Paintball Field'''
The photographs were associated with the Flickr account ''Tempus Fugit Photos''.[7]


'''State Highway 50, Roys Hill, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand'''
The original collection may provide additional evidence concerning participating teams, equipment and the playing field, subject to verification of the photographs and their dates.


The venue was described in the announcements as belonging to Paintball Hawke's Bay.[1][2]
== Venues ==


Roys Hill lies near Hastings in the central Hawke's Bay region.
The surviving announcements identify two locations used by the competition.


The field provided a local base for organised tournament competition and visiting teams.
{| class="wikitable"
 
! Period
The original announcements do not give a detailed description of the field layout, bunker construction or spectator arrangements.
! Venue
 
! Location
They also do not establish whether the field used a permanent tournament layout or was reconfigured specifically for each event.
|-
 
| 2000–2001
=== Tournament facilities ===
| Pines Paintball Field
 
| State Highway 50, Roys Hill, Hawke's Bay
The organisers advertised paintball supply and arrangements for compressed gas.
|-
 
| 2009
The availability of these services was important for teams travelling from other regions.
| Paintball field at Ngatarawa Road
 
| 75/77 Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, Hastings
At the time, New Zealand tournament players used a mixture of carbon dioxide and compressed-air systems.
|}
 
Gas availability could influence what equipment teams were able to bring and use during competition.
 
The surviving sources do not establish the field's filling equipment or the number of gas stations available.
 
== Hawke's Bay Triples 2000 ==
 
=== Dates and announcement ===
 
The tournament was advertised for:
 
'''6–7 February 2000'''
 
The announcement named Paintball Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club as presenters.
 
It specified the Pines Paintball Field at Roys Hill as the venue.
 
This announcement is preserved within the original Mercenaries Star tournament calendar.[1]
 
=== Competition format ===
 
The 2000 event was advertised as a '''three-man open-class competition'''.
 
A limited-paint format was specified, with an allowance described as 100 rounds.
 
The announcement stated that standard tournament rules would apply.
 
It did not identify a specific published rulebook or provide a complete scoring system.
 
The exact application of the 100-round restriction was not explained in the surviving announcement.
 
=== Entry fees ===
 
The published entry fee was:
 
'''NZ$30 per team'''
 
The original registration form allowed teams to list up to five players.
 
This permitted a roster larger than the three players who would compete in an individual game.
 
The form requested the team name, player names, contact address and telephone number.
 
Registrations could be returned to the organisers at a Norton Road address in Hastings.
 
Payment could be included with the registration or made on the day.


=== Paintball supply ===
The 2000 and 2001 announcements explicitly identified Pines Paintball Field as the venue.[1][2]


The 2000 announcement advertised paintballs at:
The 2009 announcement provided the Bridge Pa address but did not identify the location as Pines Paintball Field.[7]


'''NZ$0.10 per paintball'''
The surviving sources do not establish when the competition changed venues or whether the two locations had the same operator.


Teams could use field-supplied paintballs or bring their own, subject to restrictions.
== 2001 tournament results ==


The organisers prohibited staining paintballs and listed several products as examples of paint that would not be accepted.
=== Valhalla records ===


These included:
The [[Valhalla National Rankings]] incorporated results from the 2001 Hawke's Bay Triples into its national three-player rankings.[4]


* Evil
The surviving table contains fifteen team entries with non-zero values in the ''Hawkesbay Triples – Round 1 Open'' column.
* All Star
* Ruby Red
* Premium Gold


The restrictions were intended to control the type of paintballs used at the venue.
These values represent normalised opening-round scores rather than confirmed final tournament placings.
 
The surviving announcement does not explain the organisers' complete policy on paintball quality or environmental considerations.
 
=== Compressed gas ===
 
The announcement listed nitrogen or compressed air as '''bring your own'''.
 
Carbon dioxide availability was mentioned, although the published form did not specify a confirmed price.
 
This differed from the more detailed gas arrangements published for the 2001 event.
 
=== Results ===
 
A complete results sheet for the 2000 Hawke's Bay Triples has not been recovered.
 
The contemporary announcement establishes the event's advertised date, location, organisers and format.
 
The tournament's inclusion in subsequent annual calendars supports its place in the established regional competition programme.
 
However, without a surviving results sheet, the winning team, final placings and number of participating teams cannot be confirmed.
 
== Hawke's Bay Triples 2001 ==
 
=== Dates and venue ===
 
The 2001 tournament was advertised for:
 
'''3–4 February 2001'''
 
The venue remained Paintball Hawke's Bay's Pines Paintball Field at Roys Hill.[2]
 
The February dates placed the event near the beginning of the New Zealand tournament season.
 
The contemporary Mercenaries Star calendar described Hawke's Bay Triples as a relatively new competition and an important event for teams in the central North Island.[3]
 
=== Competition format ===
 
The 2001 announcement specified:
 
* Three-man teams
* Open class
* Centre-flag games
* Limited paintball allowance
* Australian Paintball Players League rules
 
The paint allowance was stated as '''100 rounds per end'''.
 
The centre-flag format involved teams contesting a common flag objective, rather than attempting to capture separate flags positioned at opposite ends.
 
The announcement identified the '''Australian Paintball Players League''' (APPL) rule system.
 
This represented a more specific published rules reference than the general wording used in the 2000 announcement.
 
The surviving source does not reproduce the complete event scoring rules.
 
=== Entry fee ===
 
The 2001 announcement advertised an entry fee of:
 
'''NZ$30 per player'''
 
This differed from the NZ$30 per team advertised in 2000.
 
The change should not be overlooked when comparing the two editions.
 
The available sources do not explain the reason for the revised pricing.
 
=== Paintball policy ===
 
Teams were permitted to bring their own paintballs.
 
The organiser also offered to arrange paintballs, naming '''Marballizer''' as an available option.
 
The announcement did not provide a fixed price per paintball for 2001.
 
=== Carbon dioxide ===
 
The 2001 announcement listed carbon dioxide at:
 
'''NZ$80 per G cylinder'''
 
This was a bulk-gas arrangement rather than an individually stated fill price.
 
The surviving announcement does not explain how cylinder costs were allocated between participating teams.
 
=== Compressed air ===
 
The organisers advised teams that compressed-air supply was their own responsibility.
 
Players using nitrogen or high-pressure air systems therefore needed to make their own arrangements.
 
This was particularly relevant during a period when both CO2 and compressed-air systems were used in tournament paintball.
 
== 2001 Tournament Results ==
 
=== Surviving records ===
 
The [[Valhalla National Rankings]] recorded results from the Hawke's Bay Triples in its 2001 national three-man rankings.
 
The database identified the competition as:
 
'''Hawkesbay Triples – Round 1 Open'''
 
It recorded a normalised score for each listed team.[4]
 
These values represented performances used in the national ranking calculations.
 
They were not necessarily the original tournament's raw scores or final standings.
 
=== Recorded teams ===
 
Fifteen team entries have non-zero values in the surviving Hawke's Bay Triples column.


{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Hawke's Bay Triples 2001 – Valhalla opening-round results
|+ Hawke's Bay Triples 2001 – Recorded opening-round scores
! Team
! Team
! Normalised score
! Normalised score
Line 342: Line 229:
|}
|}


Source: Valhalla National Rankings, 2001 three-man results.[4]
Source: Valhalla National Rankings, 2001.[4]
 
The teams are listed in descending order of their published normalised opening-round scores.
 
'''This is not a confirmed final tournament placing table.'''
 
The surviving data does not identify whether all competing teams completed the same number of games or whether additional final rounds were held.
 
=== House Steiner ===
 
House Steiner recorded the highest opening-round value in the surviving Valhalla results, with '''84.3'''.
 
This indicates a strong preliminary-round performance.
 
However, the ranking table does not explicitly identify House Steiner as the overall tournament winner.
 
A separate final results sheet would be needed to establish the championship result.


=== Phoenix ===
The teams are listed in descending order of their opening-round scores. The table does not establish the tournament's final classification.


The Wellington-associated Phoenix organisation entered several teams.
=== Leading teams ===


The records identify:
House Steiner recorded the highest surviving opening-round value, with 84.3.


* Phoenix (WGN) Red – 75.0
The Wellington Phoenix organisation entered three separately recorded squads: Red, Grey and Orange.
* Phoenix (WGN) Grey – 64.9
* Phoenix (WGN) Orange – 50.0


These separate entries illustrate how an established tournament organisation could field multiple three-player squads at the same competition.
Other organisations with multiple entries included Crossfire and DamNatives.


The records do not provide the individual player rosters for these squads.
The records provide evidence of participation by teams including Total Kaos, DaBayBoyz, Warp Speed, Brew Ha and Nutters, whose individual tournament histories are less extensively documented.


=== Tag n' Release ===
=== Tag n' Release ===


The Rotorua-based team [[Tag n' Release]] participated in the 2001 tournament.
A contemporary [[Tag n' Release]] team profile recorded the following performance at the 2001 Hawke's Bay Triples:[5]
 
Its contemporary team profile, written by '''Russell "Dangermouse" Clement''', records the following result:
 
'''Hawke's Bay Triples 2001 – Round 1 Open'''
 
'''Fourth place – 900 points from 1,400 possible'''[5]
 
The result corresponds to approximately 64.3 per cent of the possible score.
 
The Valhalla table lists '''Tag n' Release GPS''' with a normalised value of '''64.3'''.
 
The exact correspondence between the raw score and normalised percentage strongly indicates that the profile and ranking table describe the same competition entry.
 
The fourth-place result applies to the recorded opening round, not necessarily the final tournament classification.
 
=== Damage ===
 
Damage recorded a normalised opening-round value of '''62.9'''.
 
The team also appeared in other national tournament results during the 2001 season.
 
The Hawke's Bay Triples score contributed to its presence in the wider competitive tournament records.
 
=== DamNatives ===
 
The DamNatives organisation fielded at least two squads.
 
The Valhalla records identify:
 
* DamNatives Red – 46.4
* DamNatives Black – 29.4
 
DamNatives Red subsequently finished first in the published 2001 national three-man rankings.
 
That national achievement was based on results from multiple tournaments and should not be interpreted as a victory at the Hawke's Bay Triples.
 
=== Crossfire ===
 
Two Crossfire entries appear in the results:
 
* Crossfire GBH – 52.1
* Crossfire BG – 43.0
 
The surviving ranking table does not identify their individual rosters or explain the squad designations.
 
=== Other participating teams ===
 
Other entries included Total Kaos, DaBayBoyz, Warp Speed, Brew Ha and Nutters.
 
Their appearance provides evidence of participation by teams whose individual histories may be less extensively documented.
 
The surviving results are particularly valuable for preserving the names of these smaller or less frequently recorded squads.
 
== Relationship with the Valhalla National Rankings ==
 
=== National three-man competition ===
 
The [[Valhalla National Rankings]] was an independent effort to record and compare New Zealand paintball teams using tournament results.
 
The system maintained separate rankings for different competition formats.
 
In 2001, the three-man rankings incorporated results from several events, including:
 
* Hawke's Bay Triples
* Indoor Three-Man Open Competition
* National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships
* Combat Zone Three-Mans
 
This allowed teams participating in different events to contribute to a national ranking.
 
=== Scoring methodology ===
 
The Valhalla table converted recorded tournament scores into normalised values.
 
For example, Tag n' Release's documented score of 900 out of 1,400 possible points corresponds to 64.3 per cent.
 
The table's scores therefore offer a means of comparing recorded preliminary-round performance.
 
However, they should not automatically be interpreted as final tournament placements.
 
A high preliminary-round score could differ from a team's eventual placing if the tournament included separate finals or additional rounds.
 
=== Published 2001 national rankings ===
 
The published October 2001 national three-man standings included:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Leading teams in the 2001 Valhalla three-man rankings
! National rank
! Team
! Cumulative ranking score
|-
| 1
| DamNatives Red
| 226.4
|-
| 2
| [[Team Insane|Insane]]
| 181.7
|-
| 3
| Tag n' Release GPS
| 159.3
|-
| 4
| [[Saints Paintball Team|Saints Gold]]
| 152.5
|-
| 5
| Flashpoint
| 114.4
|}
 
These scores represent cumulative ranking contributions from multiple events.
 
The Hawke's Bay Triples was one component of the competition record, not the sole basis of the national standings.
 
Not every nationally ranked team participated in the Hawke's Bay tournament.
 
== Relationship with Other Tournaments ==
 
=== Northland Open ===
 
The [[Northland Open]] was another regional tournament held near the beginning of the New Zealand paintball season.
 
It attracted established teams from different regions and formed part of the national tournament calendar.


While the Northland Open was associated with seven-man competition during this period, the Hawke's Bay Triples offered a smaller three-man format.
* Competition: Round 1 Open
* Placing: Fourth
* Points earned: 900
* Points available: 1,400


The two events contributed to the range of competitive opportunities available to New Zealand players.
The recorded score corresponds to approximately 64.3 per cent of the available points, matching the team's normalised value of 64.3 in the Valhalla rankings.


=== Rotorua Invitational ===
The profile therefore corroborates the opening-round ranking entry.


The [[Rotorua Invitational]] was established in December 2000 by [[Tag n' Release]] and the Rotorua Paintball Club.
It does not independently establish the team's final placing in the tournament.


It was another example of a regional tournament organised outside Auckland.
== Relationship with national rankings ==


Both events reflected the importance of local clubs and field operators in providing opportunities for tournament participation.
The [[Valhalla National Rankings]] maintained separate standings for different tournament formats.


=== National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships ===
In 2001, its three-player rankings incorporated results from the Hawke's Bay Triples alongside other competitions, including the Indoor Three-Man Open, National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships and Combat Zone Three-Mans.[4]


The National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships, held in Invercargill, was another event in the three-man tournament calendar.
The published national championship was headed by DamNatives Red with 226.4 ranking points, followed by Insane with 181.7 and Tag n' Release GPS with 159.3.


Its inclusion alongside the Hawke's Bay Triples in the Valhalla rankings demonstrates the geographic spread of small-team competition.
These totals combined performances across different events and do not represent the final standings of the Hawke's Bay Triples.


The tournaments provided opportunities for players in different parts of New Zealand to participate in the same general format.
== Historical records ==


=== Larger national tournaments ===
The principal surviving historical sources are the original 2000 and 2001 tournament announcements, the Mercenaries Star calendar, the Valhalla National Rankings and archived discussions from the NZ Paintball Message Boards.


The New Zealand Paintball Nationals and South Pacific Championships generally attracted larger teams and were important events on the national calendar.
Together, these sources document the event's early organisation, competition rules, participating teams, venues and later activity.


The Hawke's Bay Triples complemented these competitions by offering an alternative format with fewer players required.
The 2009 Yuku archive extends the tournament's documented history beyond the period previously established by the Mercenaries Star records.


Its limited-paint rules also distinguished it from some other forms of tournament paintball.
Complete results for the 2000, 2001 and 2009 competitions have not been recovered. The available sources also do not establish whether the tournament was held every year between the documented editions or when it ceased operating.
 
== Historical Significance ==
 
=== Regional tournament development ===
 
The Hawke's Bay Triples demonstrates the role played by regional commercial fields and local clubs in developing competitive paintball.
 
Although the largest tournaments often attracted national attention, smaller events provided opportunities for players to gain experience and remain active throughout the season.
 
The tournament's location at Roys Hill helped establish Hawke's Bay as a destination within New Zealand's competitive paintball calendar.
 
=== Transition from recreational big games ===
 
The tournament is historically notable for its reported relationship with Fantasyland.
 
The contemporary tournament calendar explicitly described Fantasyland as having become the Hawke's Bay Triples after declining attendance.
 
This documents a local example of the shift from a recreational big-game event to a formal small-team tournament.
 
It does not mean recreational paintball disappeared from the region, but it illustrates how organisers adapted to changing patterns of participation.
 
=== Limited-paint competition ===
 
Both the 2000 and 2001 announcements specified restrictions on the number of paintballs players could use.
 
Limited-paint formats encouraged teams to plan their use of ammunition rather than relying solely on high-volume shooting.
 
They also provided a format with different equipment and running-cost considerations from larger unlimited-paint tournaments.
 
The exact restrictions varied between the surviving announcements, showing that the event's format was not necessarily identical from year to year.
 
=== Preservation of smaller teams ===
 
The 2001 Valhalla results are particularly valuable because they identify numerous team entries that might otherwise be absent from surviving historical records.
 
These include multiple squads from Phoenix, Crossfire and DamNatives, alongside teams such as Total Kaos, DaBayBoyz, Brew Ha and Nutters.
 
The records provide a foundation for researching their membership, origins and subsequent tournament participation.
 
=== Historical records ===
 
The most important surviving sources are the original event announcements, the Mercenaries Star calendar, the 2001 Valhalla rankings and Russell Clement's Tag n' Release team profile.
 
Together, they document the organisers, venue, event formats, registration arrangements, participating teams and a substantial portion of the 2001 preliminary results.
 
The complete tournament podiums, full player rosters and subsequent history of the event remain incompletely documented.


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 584: Line 284:
* [[Paintball Hawke's Bay]]
* [[Paintball Hawke's Bay]]
* [[Hawke's Bay Paintball Club]]
* [[Hawke's Bay Paintball Club]]
* [[Northland Open]]
* [[Rotorua Invitational]]
* [[New Zealand Paintball Nationals]]
* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]
* [[Valhalla National Rankings]]
* [[Tag n' Release]]
* [[Tag n' Release]]
* [[House Steiner]]
* [[Northland Open]]
* [[DamNatives]]
* [[NZ Paintball Message Boards]]
* [[Mercenaries Star]]
* [[Mercenaries Star]]


== References ==
== References ==


# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/HB3/NextHB3M.html Hawkes Bay Triples Competition – February 2000]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Original announcement identifying Paintball Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club as presenters, with dates, Roys Hill venue, NZ$30 team entry, paintball policy and limited-paint three-man format.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/HB3/NextHB3M.html Hawkes Bay Triples Competition – February 2000]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Contemporary tournament announcement identifying the dates, Roys Hill venue, organisers, entry fees and playing format.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/HB3M.htm Hawkes Bay Triples – February 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Original announcement identifying the 3–4 February 2001 dates, centre-flag format, APPL rules, NZ$30 per-player entry and compressed-gas arrangements.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/HB3M.htm Hawkes Bay Triples – February 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Contemporary announcement identifying the dates, venue, centre-flag format, APPL rules and equipment arrangements.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Annual Tournament Events, 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Contemporary tournament calendar describing Hawke's Bay Triples as an established regional competition and recording its development from the earlier Fantasyland recreational event.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Annual Tournament Events, 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Tournament calendar describing the development of the Hawke's Bay Triples from the earlier Fantasyland recreational event.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. National three-man rankings, including Hawke's Bay Triples opening-round results and cumulative season scores.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2001]. ''Mercenaries Star''. National three-man rankings containing Hawke's Bay Triples opening-round results.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Tag n' Release Team Profile]. Russell "Dangermouse" Clement, April 2001. Contemporary record of Tag n' Release's Hawke's Bay Triples preliminary fourth place, with 900 points from a possible 1,400.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Tag n' Release Team Profile]. Russell Clement, April 2001. Contemporary record of the team's 2001 Hawke's Bay Triples opening-round result.
# [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/MS_Calendar.html Annual Paintball Tournament Calendar]. ''Mercenaries Star''. Earlier calendar identifying Hawke's Bay Triples among New Zealand's annual tournaments and describing the decline of recreational big games.
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20060207135644/http://p069.ezboard.com/fnzpaintballfrm6 NZ Paintball Message Forum – Other Tourney Events, archived 7 February 2006]. Forum index containing an HB Triples discussion.
# [https://web.archive.org/web/20090818150024/http://nzpaintball.yuku.com/topic/4330/t/HB-Triples-2009.html NZ Paintball Message Boards – HB Triples 2009, archived 18 August 2009]. Contemporary tournament announcement dated 24 January 2009, with post-event discussions and a photograph collection reference.


== External links ==
== External links ==


* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/HB3/NextHB3M.html Original 2000 Hawke's Bay Triples announcement]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Calendar/HB3/NextHB3M.html Original 2000 tournament announcement]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/HB3M.htm Original 2001 Hawke's Bay Triples announcement]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/HB3M.htm Original 2001 tournament announcement]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm 2001 Valhalla national rankings and Hawke's Bay results]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/VALHALLA/2001Hall.htm 2001 Valhalla rankings]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Events/EventsIndex.htm Contemporary New Zealand tournament calendar]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090818150024/http://nzpaintball.yuku.com/topic/4330/t/HB-Triples-2009.html Archived 2009 tournament discussion]
* [https://www.oocities.org/mercstar_nz/Links/TagNRelease.htm Tag n' Release team profile and tournament results]
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/tempusfugitphotos/ Tempus Fugit Photos – historical photography collection]


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Revision as of 03:02, 25 October 2026

Hawke's Bay Triples (also advertised as the Hawkes Bay Triples Competition and Hawkesbay Triples) was a three-player paintball tournament held in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand.

Contemporary records document the competition in 2000 and 2001, with additional tournament discussions during 2006 and a confirmed event on 7–8 February 2009.[1][2][6][7]

The early editions were organised by Paintball Hawke's Bay at its Pines Paintball Field near Hastings, with the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club also named in the 2000 announcement.[1][2]

The 2009 tournament was held at a field on Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, near Hastings. The competition retained its three-player format, with limited paintball allowances and an emphasis on participation by teams from different regions.[7]

History

Origins

The Hawke's Bay Triples developed from an earlier recreational paintball event known as Fantasyland.

The contemporary Mercenaries Star tournament calendar reported that Fantasyland had been replaced by the Hawke's Bay Triples following declining attendance at recreational big-game events.[3]

The available records do not establish the date of the first Triples competition or the complete history of Fantasyland.

2000 tournament

The Hawke's Bay Triples was advertised for 6–7 February 2000 at Pines Paintball Field, State Highway 50, Roys Hill, Hawke's Bay.[1]

The event was presented by Paintball Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club.

The published arrangements specified:

  • Three-player open-class competition.
  • Limited paintball allowance of 100 rounds.
  • Standard tournament rules.
  • Entry fee of NZ$30 per team.
  • Paintballs priced at NZ$0.10 each.
  • Field paint or approved privately supplied paintballs.
  • Compressed air to be provided by players.

The registration form permitted squads of up to five players.

The organisers prohibited staining paintballs and listed several products that would not be accepted.

Les Hall was named as the tournament contact.[1]

The event's final results have not been recovered.

2001 tournament

The following edition was advertised for 3–4 February 2001 at the same Pines Paintball Field.[2]

The competition retained its three-player format but used centre-flag games under Australian Paintball Players League (APPL) rules.

The published arrangements included:

  • Open-class three-player competition.
  • Limited paintball allowance of 100 rounds per end.
  • Centre-flag format.
  • Entry fee of NZ$30 per player.
  • Privately supplied paintballs permitted.
  • Carbon dioxide available at NZ$80 per G cylinder.
  • Compressed-air arrangements remaining the players' responsibility.

Paintball Hawke's Bay again presented the tournament, with Les Hall named as the contact.[2]

Partial results survive through the Valhalla National Rankings, which recorded the tournament as Hawkesbay Triples – Round 1 Open.[4]

2006 tournament reference

An archived NZ Paintball Message Boards index from February 2006 contains a discussion titled HB Triples.[6]

The discussion had received 23 replies by 6 February 2006.

This establishes that the tournament was being discussed during 2006, although the individual discussion contents and any associated competition results have not yet been recovered.

2009 tournament

The Hawke's Bay Triples was held on 7–8 February 2009 at a paintball field located at:

75/77 Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, Hastings, New Zealand.[7]

The event was advertised through the NZ Paintball Message Boards on 24 January 2009.

The tournament used a three-player round-robin format with limited paintball allowances and peer refereeing.

The published arrangements were:

Item Details
Dates 7–8 February 2009
Location 75/77 Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, Hastings
Team format Three-player
Competition Round robin
Game duration Five minutes
Paint allowance One additional pod per player per game
Refereeing Peer refereeing
Entry fee NZ$50 per player
Paintballs NZ$80 per case
Compressed gas Bring your own, with hire arrangements available
Gas cylinder hire NZ$20 per tank

The organisers also advertised camping facilities and included meals and refreshments as part of the event arrangements.[7]

The entry deadline was 31 January 2009.

Confirmation of the event

Post-event messages published on 10 February 2009 described the competition and thanked those involved.

The discussion subsequently included requests for tournament photographs.

On 22 February, Les Hall posted about arrangements to make the photographs available. A link to a Flickr collection was subsequently shared on 23 February.[7]

These contemporary reports establish that the 2009 tournament took place.

The final standings, winning team and complete list of participants have not been recovered.

Historical photography

A link to photographs from the 2009 event was published in the tournament discussion on 23 February 2009.

The photographs were associated with the Flickr account Tempus Fugit Photos.[7]

The original collection may provide additional evidence concerning participating teams, equipment and the playing field, subject to verification of the photographs and their dates.

Venues

The surviving announcements identify two locations used by the competition.

Period Venue Location
2000–2001 Pines Paintball Field State Highway 50, Roys Hill, Hawke's Bay
2009 Paintball field at Ngatarawa Road 75/77 Ngatarawa Road, Bridge Pa, Hastings

The 2000 and 2001 announcements explicitly identified Pines Paintball Field as the venue.[1][2]

The 2009 announcement provided the Bridge Pa address but did not identify the location as Pines Paintball Field.[7]

The surviving sources do not establish when the competition changed venues or whether the two locations had the same operator.

2001 tournament results

Valhalla records

The Valhalla National Rankings incorporated results from the 2001 Hawke's Bay Triples into its national three-player rankings.[4]

The surviving table contains fifteen team entries with non-zero values in the Hawkesbay Triples – Round 1 Open column.

These values represent normalised opening-round scores rather than confirmed final tournament placings.

Hawke's Bay Triples 2001 – Recorded opening-round scores
Team Normalised score
House Steiner 84.3
Phoenix (WGN) Red 75.0
Phoenix (WGN) Grey 64.9
Tag n' Release GPS 64.3
Damage 62.9
Total Kaos 57.1
Crossfire GBH 52.1
Phoenix (WGN) Orange 50.0
DamNatives Red 46.4
DaBayBoyz 46.4
Crossfire BG 43.0
Warp Speed 37.1
Brew Ha 31.4
DamNatives Black 29.4
Nutters 26.8

Source: Valhalla National Rankings, 2001.[4]

The teams are listed in descending order of their opening-round scores. The table does not establish the tournament's final classification.

Leading teams

House Steiner recorded the highest surviving opening-round value, with 84.3.

The Wellington Phoenix organisation entered three separately recorded squads: Red, Grey and Orange.

Other organisations with multiple entries included Crossfire and DamNatives.

The records provide evidence of participation by teams including Total Kaos, DaBayBoyz, Warp Speed, Brew Ha and Nutters, whose individual tournament histories are less extensively documented.

Tag n' Release

A contemporary Tag n' Release team profile recorded the following performance at the 2001 Hawke's Bay Triples:[5]

  • Competition: Round 1 Open
  • Placing: Fourth
  • Points earned: 900
  • Points available: 1,400

The recorded score corresponds to approximately 64.3 per cent of the available points, matching the team's normalised value of 64.3 in the Valhalla rankings.

The profile therefore corroborates the opening-round ranking entry.

It does not independently establish the team's final placing in the tournament.

Relationship with national rankings

The Valhalla National Rankings maintained separate standings for different tournament formats.

In 2001, its three-player rankings incorporated results from the Hawke's Bay Triples alongside other competitions, including the Indoor Three-Man Open, National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships and Combat Zone Three-Mans.[4]

The published national championship was headed by DamNatives Red with 226.4 ranking points, followed by Insane with 181.7 and Tag n' Release GPS with 159.3.

These totals combined performances across different events and do not represent the final standings of the Hawke's Bay Triples.

Historical records

The principal surviving historical sources are the original 2000 and 2001 tournament announcements, the Mercenaries Star calendar, the Valhalla National Rankings and archived discussions from the NZ Paintball Message Boards.

Together, these sources document the event's early organisation, competition rules, participating teams, venues and later activity.

The 2009 Yuku archive extends the tournament's documented history beyond the period previously established by the Mercenaries Star records.

Complete results for the 2000, 2001 and 2009 competitions have not been recovered. The available sources also do not establish whether the tournament was held every year between the documented editions or when it ceased operating.

See also

References

  1. Hawkes Bay Triples Competition – February 2000. Mercenaries Star. Contemporary tournament announcement identifying the dates, Roys Hill venue, organisers, entry fees and playing format.
  2. Hawkes Bay Triples – February 2001. Mercenaries Star. Contemporary announcement identifying the dates, venue, centre-flag format, APPL rules and equipment arrangements.
  3. Annual Tournament Events, 2001. Mercenaries Star. Tournament calendar describing the development of the Hawke's Bay Triples from the earlier Fantasyland recreational event.
  4. Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2001. Mercenaries Star. National three-man rankings containing Hawke's Bay Triples opening-round results.
  5. Tag n' Release Team Profile. Russell Clement, April 2001. Contemporary record of the team's 2001 Hawke's Bay Triples opening-round result.
  6. NZ Paintball Message Forum – Other Tourney Events, archived 7 February 2006. Forum index containing an HB Triples discussion.
  7. NZ Paintball Message Boards – HB Triples 2009, archived 18 August 2009. Contemporary tournament announcement dated 24 January 2009, with post-event discussions and a photograph collection reference.
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