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 documented formats included ten-player competition in an early participant account and five-player competition in 2000–01.[1][7][9]
The tournament 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.[1]
Aull named himself, his brothers Doug and David Aull, and Marcel Ensing among the intended entrants who assembled the House Steiner tournament team. He also recalled recruiting six other Thunderball players, whom he did not name.[1]
A later Mercenaries Star calendar described the South Pacific Championship as one of New Zealand's oldest tournaments, attracting teams from both main islands.[2]
1994
A planned 1994 edition was cancelled because of insufficient entries. Correspondence published in Australian Paintballer attributed the limited participation partly to the cost of entering the Wellington tournament.[3]
1995
The 1995 championship took place in Wellington over Easter. Saints won, with Australia's Sydney HEAT finishing second.[4]
| Place | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Saints |
| 2 | Sydney HEAT |
The event was Sydney HEAT's first tournament outside Australia. Its travelling contingent included former Oz-Ball players Peter Russell, Martin Yew, Matthew Hawkins and Robert Ambrose. These four names represent part of the contingent, rather than a complete playing roster.[4]
A later report also recorded Dragons Claw's participation in stock-class competition at the South Pacific Championships.[5]
1996
The 1996 championship was advertised for 5–7 April in Wellington. The published calendar named Wayne Hillman as the tournament contact.[6]
2000
The 2000 championship was held at Thunderball Adventure Games, Wellington, on 22–23 April, followed by a recreational day on 24 April. Ten teams attended the five-player tournament.[7]
The entrants were Phoenix, House Steiner, Paint Contractors, Saints, Viper, Warp Speed, Flashpoint, Solidaire, Damn Natives and DOA.[7]
Phoenix qualified for the finals alongside Saints, House Steiner and Paint Contractors, then finished fourth. The Phoenix account does not give the finishing order of the other three finalists.[7]
| Place | Team |
|---|---|
| 4 | Phoenix |
The report names Peter Hamilton, Jeremy Hooper and Shane Grant in descriptions of Phoenix's games. This is a partial identification of the event squad.[7]
2001
The 2001 championship was held on 14–15 April at Thunderball Paintball, Manor Park, in the Wellington region. The announcement specified open five-player centre-flag competition under Australian Paintball Players League rules, with entry of NZ$350 per team. John Clement was the tournament contact.[9]
A Phoenix report congratulated Tag n' Release on winning the tournament. Phoenix's history recorded its own fourth-place finish.[7][8]
| Place | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tag n' Release |
| 4 | Phoenix |
Valhalla scoring records
The Valhalla National Rankings preserved the following normalised scores from the preliminary and final stages. These are ranking contributions, rather than raw tournament points or a complete finishing order.[10]
| Team | Preliminary score | Final score |
|---|---|---|
| Saints Gold | 71.9 | 48.0 |
| Tag n' Release | 68.3 | 56.5 |
| Phoenix Wellington | 47.1 | 20.0 |
| DamNatives | 42.3 | 40.0 |
| Fusion | 36.3 | — |
| Flashpoint | 24.0 | — |
| Nutters | 24.0 | — |
| P.C/B.C | 7.7 | — |
A dash indicates that no final-stage score was recorded in the table.[10]
See also
- Paintball in New Zealand
- South Pacific Paintball Championships (Australia)
- Wellington Cup
- New Zealand Paintball Nationals
- House Steiner
- Tag n' Release
References
- Willy Aull, Paintball.co.nz player profile; archived 22 February 2002.
- Mercenaries Star, Annual Tournament Events, 2001; preserved by OoCities.
- Australian Paintballer, June–July 1995, letters concerning the Wellington South Pacific Championships and New Zealand tournament participation.
- Australian Paintballer, June–July 1995, “Sydney HEAT Make Friends in High Places”.
- Australian Paintballer, December 1995–February 1996, report on the 1995 Auckland tournament and preview of the 1996 New Zealand South Pacific Championships.
- Australian Paintballer, April–June 1996, “New Zealand Tournament Calendar 1996”.
- Wellington Phoenix, News, South Pacific Championship reports dated 27 April 2000 and 24 April 2001; archived 20 October 2001.
- Wellington Phoenix, History, 2000–01 tournament results; archived 17 December 2001.
- Mercenaries Star, South Pacific Championships, 2001, tournament announcement; preserved by OoCities.
- Mercenaries Star, Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2001, five-player rankings; preserved by OoCities.