New Zealand Paintball Players Association (NZPPA)

New Zealand Paintball Players Association (NZPPA) was a national paintball organisation in New Zealand involved in promoting the sport, representing paintball interests to government agencies and supporting the development of organised competition.

An incorporated society bearing the association's name was registered in 1992 and dissolved in December 2000. A subsequent organisation using the NZPPA name was established in 2001 by a group of players and paintball industry representatives, including Martin Dannefaerd.

During the 2000s, the association was involved in discussions concerning paintball regulation, equipment safety and tournament standards. It was also recognised as a paintball contact organisation in the New Zealand Police Arms Code.

History

Original association, 1992–2000

The New Zealand Paintball Players Association (Incorporated) was registered as an incorporated society on 10 December 1992, under registration number 557494.

The society was registered in Christchurch. [1]

The organisation's incorporation provides evidence of efforts to establish formal representation for New Zealand paintball players during the early 1990s.

The original incorporated society was dissolved effective 7 December 2000.

Its dissolution was published in the New Zealand Gazette on 14 December 2000, under section 28(1) of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. [2]

The notice identified the association by its registered name and society number.

The available records do not establish the original association's founders, officers or activities in sufficient detail to reconstruct its organisational history.

Re-establishment in 2001

In August 2001, a group of New Zealand paintball players and industry representatives established an organisation using the New Zealand Paintball Players Association name.

Martin Dannefaerd, who was involved in founding the 2001 organisation, described its purpose as developing paintball at the grassroots level and providing a channel of communication between the paintball community and government agencies. [3]

The association sought to represent the interests of both players and commercial operators, particularly in matters affecting the sport nationally.

Its work included contact with the New Zealand Police, Customs and other regulatory authorities.

Although an organisation bearing the NZPPA name had previously been incorporated in 1992, the legal relationship between that society and the organisation established in 2001 has not been confirmed.

Development during the 2000s

By 2003, Martin Dannefaerd was serving as NZPPA president.

In an interview published by New Zealand Paintball Online that year, Dannefaerd discussed the association's role in promoting paintball, representing the sport to government authorities and encouraging greater recognition of paintball as an organised sporting activity. [4]

The association also supported the development of tournament competition and discussions about consistent national playing standards.

In February 2004, former NZPPA secretary Rob Maddox published an article titled What has the NZPPA done for me?.

Maddox described the association's involvement in regulatory matters, compressed-air equipment requirements, tournament rules and the development of the sport. [5]

His account provides contemporary evidence of the issues being addressed by the association, although it represents a former official's perspective rather than an independent assessment of its achievements.

Activities

Government and regulatory representation

An important part of the NZPPA's work was communicating with government agencies about legislation and regulations affecting paintball.

The association engaged with issues involving the legal classification of paintball markers, importation requirements and the application of firearms legislation to paintball equipment.

Its representatives also sought to explain the differences between sporting paintball markers and conventional firearms.

The association's role was particularly relevant because paintball markers were regulated as airguns under New Zealand law.

The NZPPA also provided information to the paintball community about regulatory developments.

Compressed-air equipment

The NZPPA was involved in discussions about the testing, certification and safe use of compressed-air equipment.

By the early 2000s, high-pressure air systems were becoming increasingly common in competitive paintball.

In his February 2004 account, Rob Maddox identified compressed-air cylinder requirements among the matters addressed by the association. [5]

These issues affected the ability of players to use equipment imported from overseas and to participate in competitions using modern tournament markers.

Tournament development

The association supported the development of organised competitive paintball in New Zealand.

Its activities included discussions about tournament rules, refereeing standards and consistency between competitions.

Contemporary NZPPA material also referred to the development of an NZPPA tournament series. [4][5]

The association sought to encourage participation by players and teams while promoting a more coordinated national competition environment.

The surviving material does not provide a complete calendar or final standings for the proposed or organised NZPPA series.

Recognition in the New Zealand Police Arms Code

The New Zealand Police identified the NZPPA as a source of information about paintball in its official Arms Code.

In the section dealing with paintball airguns, the publication explained that organised paintball games were generally conducted at commercial fields operating under voluntary safety practices.

The Arms Code directed readers to the New Zealand Paintball Players Association for further information. [6]

Its contact directory also listed the NZPPA website at paintball.org.nz. [6]

This provides independent evidence that the association was recognised by New Zealand Police as a contact point for the paintball community.

The appearance of the NZPPA in later editions of the Arms Code should not, however, be taken as proof that the incorporated society remained legally active at the time of publication.

Organisation

Martin Dannefaerd

Martin Dannefaerd was among the founders of the organisation established under the NZPPA name in August 2001.

He served as president during 2003 and was involved in communicating the association's objectives to players, paintball operators and government agencies.

His account of the organisation's origins identifies grassroots participation, national development and regulatory representation as its principal objectives. [3][4]

Rob Maddox

Rob Maddox served as secretary of the NZPPA.

In February 2004, he published a retrospective account of the association's activities, including its regulatory work, equipment safety discussions and efforts to develop competitive paintball. [5]

The article provides a contemporary description of the association's work from a former officeholder.

Later history

A further dissolution notice naming New Zealand Paintball Players Association Inc. appeared in the New Zealand Gazette on 14 August 2008. [7]

The notice was issued under section 28(1) of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908.

The available notice does not identify a society registration number, and the legal connection between the association named in 2008 and the original society dissolved in 2000 has not been established.

Martin Dannefaerd's published professional history identifies his involvement with the NZPPA as continuing until October 2010. [3]

The surviving records therefore document organisational activity and personal involvement extending beyond some of the available society dissolution notices.

The association's eventual cessation of activities has not been independently established.

References

InfoProff. "New Zealand organisations registered on 10 December 1992." Historical registration listing identifying the New Zealand Paintball Players Association (Incorporated), registration number 557494.
New Zealand Gazette. Issue 166, 14 December 2000, pp. 4332–4337. Official notice recording the dissolution of New Zealand Paintball Players Association (Incorporated), society number 557494, effective 7 December 2000.
Dannefaerd, Martin. Professional profile. Identifies his founding involvement with the New Zealand Paintball Players Association from August 2001 and describes the organisation's objectives.
New Zealand Paintball Online. Historical articles archive. Includes a 2003 interview with NZPPA president Martin Dannefaerd discussing the association's objectives and activities.
Maddox, Rob. "What has the NZPPA done for me?" New Zealand Paintball Online, February 2004. Historical account by a former NZPPA secretary covering regulation, compressed-air equipment and tournament development.
New Zealand Police. "New Zealand Police Arms Code." 2013 edition, pp. 39 and 62. Identifies the New Zealand Paintball Players Association as an information contact for paintball.
New Zealand Gazette. Issue 127, 14 August 2008, p. 3290. Dissolution notice listing New Zealand Paintball Players Association Inc.

External links