Syrian Suicide Squad (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Syrian Suicide Squad (SSS) was an Auckland-based New Zealand tournament paintball team active during the 1990s. The team competed at the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals and adopted the name Phoenix for the beginning of the 1998 season.[1][2]

The Auckland Phoenix that succeeded Syrian Suicide Squad was entirely separate from Wellington Phoenix, which developed independently in Wellington.[1]

History

Syrian Suicide Squad

Syrian Suicide Squad competed at the 1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, held on 25–26 October at Actions Paintball in Te Atatū, Auckland. The team finished ninth overall and fifth in Division Two with 422 points.[2]

The team also finished ninth in the retrospectively compiled 1997 Valhalla National Rankings, with a ranking score of 38. The ranking score was a calculated seasonal value and was separate from the team's Nationals tournament points.[3]

Neil Harris later described himself as having managed or co-managed Syrian Suicide Squad for seven years. His profile is undated, so that statement does not establish a precise management period or the team's exact formation date.[4]

Auckland Phoenix

The team's Phoenix website announced a new team name and a new website for the beginning of 1998. It identified Phoenix as an Auckland paintball team and linked directly to the former Syrian Suicide Squad pages.[1]

The announcement stated that an explanation of the name change would be published later, but the surviving page does not provide that explanation.[1]

Phoenix entered the 1998 National Paintball League Division Two competition. The league list identified Dave Armstrong as team manager. The surviving results recorded 16 league points for Phoenix but did not provide a final placing.[5][6]

Neil Harris's later profile identified him as a former Phoenix member who subsequently played as a guest for other teams. In context, this refers to the Auckland Phoenix associated with Syrian Suicide Squad, not the separate Wellington team.[4]

Players and team personnel

Name	Documented association
Neil Harris	Reported managing or co-managing Syrian Suicide Squad; later a former Auckland Phoenix member[4]
Dirk Koornneef	Longstanding Syrian Suicide Squad member[7]
Dave Armstrong	Manager of the Phoenix entry in the 1998 NPL Division Two team list[5]

These records do not constitute a complete playing roster. Harris's reported management period should not be converted into exact team operating dates, and the available sources do not establish that every named person played at the same event.

Team identity

The archived Phoenix website directly documents the change from Syrian Suicide Squad to Phoenix and identifies the renamed team as Auckland-based.[1]

The Auckland team must not be confused with Wellington Phoenix. The Wellington organisation has its own history, tournament results and player group, and no organisational connection with Syrian Suicide Squad or Auckland Phoenix has been established.

Unqualified tournament records using only the name Phoenix should be assigned to either team only when their date, location, roster or source context establishes the identity.

Recorded results

Year	Name used	Competition or ranking	Result
1997	Syrian Suicide Squad	1997 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	9th overall; 5th in Division Two; 422 points[2]
1997	Syrian Suicide Squad	Valhalla National Rankings	9th; ranking score 38[3]
1998	Phoenix	National Paintball League Division Two	16 league points; final placing not supplied[5][6]

Team websites

Syrian Suicide Squad maintained a website at homepages.ihug.co.nz/~subby. The Auckland Phoenix website continued linking to those pages after announcing the change of name.[1]

The renamed team used phoenix.org.nz.[1]

References

External links

Archived Auckland Phoenix website

History