Raven Cup
Raven Cup was a paintball trophy associated with the Northland Open, a recurring New Zealand tournament. The surviving trophy records recipients between 1998 and 2011, including teams competing in the tournament's second or amateur division.[1]
Contemporary tournament reports confirm several of the engraved recipients as divisional winners. The trophy's exact award criteria appear to have varied or been described differently between editions.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
History
[edit]Early competitions
[edit]The Northland Open was incorporated into the original National Paintball League tournament programme in 1997.
At the 1998 Northland Open, held in Whangārei on 22 February, Team Raven received the Division Two trophy. Raven was the only team competing in that division, finishing fifth overall with 145 points. Saints won the tournament outright.[2]
At the 1999 Northland Open, Solidaire won Division Two with 323 points, finishing sixth overall. The surviving Raven Cup engraving identifies the recipient as Solidaire (Urban Combat).[1][3]
At the 2000 Northland Open, Team Crisis of Whangārei won Division Two and finished third overall with 445 points. The trophy records Team Crisis as its 2000 recipient.[1][4]
At the 2001 Northland Open, Rotorua team Tag n' Release won Division Two, finishing fifth overall with 585 points. The contemporary tournament report confirms that the team received a large cup.[5]
Later recipients
[edit]The trophy records XXX as the 2005 recipient. Contemporary NZ Paintball forum indexes establish that the 2005 Northland Open was held, although the complete results have not been recovered.[1]
The 2006 engraving names Pirates. The published results available for the 2006 Northland Open do not establish the team's placing or explain the award.[1]
At the 2007 Northland Open, Sinista won the Amateur division. Sinista also appears on the Raven Cup's engraved recipients list.[1][7]
However, the tournament announcement published in January 2007 described the Raven Cup as a second-place prize. The published Amateur results identify Nemisis as runner-up. The surviving records therefore do not fully explain the award arrangements that year.[6][7]
At the 2011 Northland Open, ADHD won the tournament, defeating Disposal Unit in the final. The trophy's latest visible engraving identifies Team ADHD as the 2011 recipient.[1][8]
Recorded recipients
[edit]The following names are transcribed from the surviving Raven Cup trophy. Years without engraved entries have been omitted.
| Year | Engraved recipient | Documented result |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Team Raven | Division Two winner.[2] |
| 1999 | Solidaire (Urban Combat) | Division Two winner.[3] |
| 2000 | Team Crisis (Nthld) | Division Two winner.[4] |
| 2001 | Team Tag n' Release | Division Two winner.[5] |
| 2005 | Team XXX | Recorded on trophy; full event results unavailable. |
| 2006 | Pirates | Recorded on trophy; award classification unverified. |
| 2007 | Team Sinista | Amateur division winner.[7] |
| 2011 | Team ADHD | Northland Open winner.[8] |
The engraved recipient list is physical historical evidence but should not be interpreted as a complete record of every Northland Open edition.
Surviving trophy
[edit]A photograph of the Raven Cup supplied by Shannon Anderson on 30 October 2026 documents its engraved recipients from 1998 through 2011.[1]
The photographic record does not establish the trophy's complete ownership history or whether its award criteria remained unchanged throughout that period.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Shannon Anderson. Photograph of the Raven Cup trophy, supplied to WikiPaintball, 30 October 2026. Physical evidence of the engraved recipients.
- Rob Maddox, The 1998 Northland Paintball Open. NZ Paintball Online.
- Rob Maddox, The 1999 Northland Paintball Open. NZ Paintball Online.
- Rob Maddox, The 2000 Northland Paintball Open. NZ Paintball Online.
- Rob Maddox, The 2001 Northland Paintball Open. NZ Paintball Online.
- 2007 Northland Open. NZ Paintball Message Boards, January 2007. Tournament announcement and advertised prizes.
- Northland scores. NZ Paintball Message Boards, 5 February 2007. Published Professional and Amateur results.
- Paintball teams splattered in Northland Open. Northern Advocate, 8 March 2011.