S.L.O.B.s (New Zealand Paintball Team)
S.L.O.B.s, expanded in contemporary records as Slow Old Bastards, was an Invercargill-based New Zealand competitive paintball team. A 1998 organiser's report identifies the team as the winner of Invercargill's inaugural official competition in 1994 and documents it as a finalist at the 1998 National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition.[1]
History
[edit]1994 competition
[edit]While introducing S.L.O.B.s in his report on the 1998 Invercargill tournament, organiser Ken Ryder stated that the team had won the first official competition in 1994.[1] This is a retrospective account; no surviving results table or roster for the 1994 event has been recovered.
1998 National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition
[edit]S.L.O.B.s competed at the National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition held in Invercargill over Queen's Birthday weekend in 1998. Four teams played six matches each over one and a half days, using three-player centre-flag games on two fields.[1]
The team was captained by Dave Hancox, with Paul Murdoch and Ricky Saunders as players and Craig Martin as reserve. Martin was also listed with WarPigs; the report explained that the tournament rules allowed a player to reserve for two teams.[1]
S.L.O.B.s led the published end-results table with 291 points, ahead of WarPigs on 278, K.S.B. on 224 and Last Boy Scouts on 90. The accompanying prose states that the leading teams were separated by 22 points, although the printed totals differ by 13 points.[1]
S.L.O.B.s and WarPigs advanced to a final for which their scores were reset to zero. The report states that the final was decided by nine points but does not identify the winner or publish the final score. S.L.O.B.s can therefore be verified as the preliminary leader and a finalist, but not as the tournament champion.[1]
An archived profile by Ryder separately described S.L.O.B.S. as an over-thirties group and expanded the name as Slow Old Bastards.[2]
Documented personnel
[edit]| Person | Documented role |
|---|---|
| Dave Hancox | Captain at the 1998 National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition.[1] |
| Paul Murdoch | Player at the 1998 National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition.[1] |
| Ricky Saunders | Player at the 1998 National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition.[1] |
| Craig Martin | Reserve at the 1998 National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition; also listed with WarPigs under the event's reserve rules.[1] |
Tournament results
[edit]| Year | Tournament | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Inaugural official Invercargill competition | Winner (retrospective organiser's account) | Not reported[1] |
| 1998 | 1998 National Three-Man Centre Flag Competition | 1st in the end-results table; finalist (final winner not identified) | 291 before the final[1] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Invercargill 3-man Results — June 1998. Ken Ryder, paintball.co.nz. Contemporary tournament report, roster and results; includes Ryder's retrospective statement about the team's 1994 win.
- Ken Ryder — Who's Who of New Zealand Paintball. paintball.co.nz. Archived profile expanding S.L.O.B.S. as Slow Old Bastards and describing it as an over-thirties group.