South Pacific Championships
South Pacific Championships, also known as the New Zealand South Pacific Championship or South Pacs, was a paintball tournament associated with the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its history includes an early account of ten-player competition, five-player tournaments in 2000–01 and seven-player competition in 2002.[1][6][8][9]
It was separate from the similarly named Australian competition.
History
Early history
In an account of House Steiner's formation, Willy Aull recalled that John Sheldon and Lyall Norton of Thunderball Adventure Games were planning the first Wellington South Pacific Open during 1990. The proposed tournament used ten-player teams. This date comes from Aull's retrospective account.[1]
1994
The planned 1994 edition was cancelled because of insufficient entries. In contemporary correspondence, Tony Witheridge attributed the limited participation partly to players being unable to afford the entry fee.[2]
1995
The 1995 championship took place in Wellington over Easter. Saints won, with Australia's Sydney HEAT finishing second. It was Sydney HEAT's first tournament outside Australia.[3]
A later report also recorded Dragons Claw's participation in stock-class competition at the event.[4]
1996
The 1996 championship was advertised for 5–7 April in Wellington. The published calendar named Wayne Hillman as the tournament contact.[5]
2000
The 2000 championship took place at Thunderball Adventure Games on 22–23 April, followed by a recreational day on 24 April. Ten teams attended the five-player competition.[6]
Phoenix qualified for the finals alongside Saints, House Steiner and Paint Contractors, then finished fourth. The Phoenix account does not establish the finishing order of the other three finalists.[6]
2001
The 2001 tournament took place on 14–15 April at Thunderball Paintball, Manor Park. The announcement specified open five-player centre-flag competition under Australian Paintball Players League rules, with John Clement as the contact.[8]
Tag n' Release won the tournament. Phoenix's team history records fourth place.[6][7]
2002
Eight teams competed in the 2002 seven-player tournament on 30–31 March at Thunderball Adventure Games. Games took place on the venue's speedball field, which used tyre barricades and large cable reels. Wayne Hilliam served as ultimate referee.[9]
Saints, Tag n' Release, Damage and Tag and Training qualified for the finals. Saints won, while Tag and Training finished one point ahead of Tag n' Release.[9]
| Position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Saints |
| 2 | Tag and Training |
| 3 | Tag n' Release |
| 4 | Damage |
| 5 | Phoenix |
| 6 | Rush |
| 7 | Flashpoint |
| 8 | Tag 'n' Boys |
The contemporary report gives the finishing order but does not publish points totals.[9]
Editions
- 1994 South Pacific Championships — cancelled
- 1995 South Pacific Championships
- 1996 South Pacific Championships — advertised
- 2000 South Pacific Championships
- 2001 South Pacific Championships
- 2002 South Pacific Championships
See also
- Paintball in New Zealand
- South Pacific Paintball Championships (Australia)
- Wellington Cup
- New Zealand Paintball Nationals
References
- Willy Aull, Paintball.co.nz player profile. Archived 22 February 2002.
- Tony Witheridge, “Tony has a go at Lukas”, Australian Paintballer, June–July 1995, p. 23.
- Peter Russell, “Sydney HEAT make friends in high places”, Australian Paintballer, June–July 1995, p. 9.
- Cameron McLeay, “The New Zealand Nationals — Labour Weekend 1995”, Australian Paintballer, December 1995–February 1996, p. 63.
- “New Zealand Tournament Calendar 1996”, Australian Paintballer, April–June 1996, p. 70.
- Wellington Phoenix, News. South Pacific Championship reports headed 27 April 2000 and 24 April 2001. Archived 20 October 2001.
- Wellington Phoenix, History. Records 2000–01 tournament results. Archived 17 December 2001.
- South Pacific Championships. Mercenaries Star, tournament announcement for 14–15 April 2001. Preserved by OoCities.
- SouthPacs 2002. Paintball.co.nz. Includes Martin Dannefaerd's tournament report and “South Pacs 30–31 March 2002” by Ants, captain of Team T.N.T. Archived 17 August 2002.