New Zealand Local Series
New Zealand Local Series (NZLS) was a New Zealand tournament paintball series which organised competitions at multiple venues across the North Island during the 2010s.
Surviving records document NZLS events between 2014 and 2019, including tournaments in Rotorua, Hastings, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Hāwera and Auckland.[1][2][3][4][19][20]
The series provided regional tournament competition for established and developing teams. Its documented champions include Ballistics Unit, which won consecutive season titles in 2018 and 2019.[12][14]
The series' exact founding date has not been established. By February 2020, another New Zealand paintball organiser reported that NZLS was no longer running.[15]
History
2014 season
Contemporary newspaper reports establish NZLS activity during 2014. An October preview in the Whanganui Chronicle identified the competition as the NZ Local Series, while the subsequent report called it the New Zealand Paintball Regional Series. Both accounts concerned the 12 October tournament at Kaierau in Whanganui and quoted organiser Ben Androutsos.[19][20]
The October report stated that the regional competition had been running since March and involved approximately twenty teams across the season. Eight teams attended the October tournament, which was hosted by Wanganui Paintball Club at Kaierau Country Club.[20]
September and October results
Expendables won the 2014 NZLS September Tournament and the 12 October tournament. The contemporary report explicitly distinguished the two victories.[20]
Following October's event, Expendables held an unassailable series lead. The reported leading positions were:[20]
| Interim series position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Expendables |
| 2 | Tempest Blast |
| 3 | Dysfunctional |
| 4 | Pentakill |
These were series standings before the planned November final, not the October tournament's finishing order or a published final championship table.[20]
A separate Wanganui Cup competition ran alongside the regional series. Expendables also led that competition, with both finals scheduled for November at Kaierau.[20]
2015 season
Contemporary reports from CAMO MEAT identify Rotorua as the location of the opening round of the 2015 season. The team described entering two squads in its first NZLS appearance.[1]
Team Hijinx subsequently published photographs from an NZLS Round 3 tournament in Hastings in May 2015.[2]
Outpost 43 documented the season-ending tournament in Whanganui through a photographic album published in November 2015. Its accompanying report described NZLS as an eight-round competition held throughout the year at different locations around the central North Island.[3]
Championship and Wanganui Speedball Cup
Outpost 43 congratulated CAMO MEAT on finishing third overall in the 2015 NZLS championship and winning the Wanganui Speedball Cup.[3]
These were separately identified achievements. The available account does not establish that winning the Wanganui Speedball Cup was equivalent to winning the NZLS final round or the overall series.
The complete 2015 championship standings have not been established.
2016 season
NZLS continued during 2016, with events documented through tournament photography and video recordings.
Outpost 43 published a 108-photograph album titled NZLS @ LnL Round 4 2016, identifying a fourth-round event at Lock N Load Adventures.[4]
The competition also held an event in Hāwera, documented in footage published by Shupershuff. One recording, titled PB NZLS 2016 - Hawera: Immortal vs CZ 2, identifies a match involving Immortal Knights and CZ.[5]
The video's upload date in April 2017 is not treated as the 2016 tournament date.
Complete event results and the 2016 season championship standings remain unverified.
2017 season
Aces High Paintball event
PBLeagues records an NZLS tournament scheduled for 12 February 2017 at Aces High Paintball, 263 Flygers Line, Palmerston North.[6]
The event was listed as NZLS Event #1 Aces High Paintball and advertised a Division Four five-player competition using five-minute games.
Six teams were registered:[6]
| Team |
|---|
| Aces |
| Arachnidz |
| BOP Blast |
| Disturbed |
| Friendly Fire |
| Immortal Knights |
The database preserves the entries and scheduled matches. Its displayed placings are not treated as confirmed final results because the available schedule does not establish completed scores and the corresponding league championship page contains no completed season results.[6]
Hāwera
A separate 2017 NZLS competition in Hāwera is documented by match footage published by Shupershuff on 8 April 2017.
The recording is titled PB NZLS 2017 - Round 1 Hawera and identifies Immortal Knights.[7]
The recording's designation as Round 1 is retained as published. The available sources do not establish how its numbering related to the Aces High event listed as Event #1 in PBLeagues.
Final round
Outpost 43 published an 80-photograph album titled NZLS 2017 Final Round LnL on 19 November 2017. The album documents the season-ending event at Lock N Load Adventures.[8]
Complete results and the 2017 overall championship standings have not been recovered.
2018 season
The 2018 NZLS programme included tournaments at Asylum Paintball in Kingseat, Auckland.
Round 2
Surge documented Round 2 in April 2018 through a 40-photograph album.
In a subsequent report published on 1 May, Surge acknowledged podium finishes by Ballistics Unit and BOP Blast and thanked Johan and Luke for organising the tournament.[9]
The report also stated that the competition had not been played to completion. The surviving account does not establish the full results or explain which matches were outstanding.
Round 3
Surge documented the third round in July 2018 through a 59-photograph tournament album. The photographic record confirms the round number and month, but does not provide complete standings.[10]
Final round and championship
The final round was held at Asylum Paintball in Auckland.
Bay of Plenty Paintball Club reported entering two squads, with its leading team finishing second at the event and second overall in the North Island series. The club's report, published on 14 November 2018, described heavy rain during the tournament.[11]
Ballistics Unit subsequently identified itself as the 2018 NZLS series champion in an Instagram announcement published on 28 January 2019.[12]
Crisis Paintball Northland's retrospective history also records its return to tournament competition at NZLS Round 4 in 2018.[13]
2019 season
The 2019 NZLS season included competitions at Asylum Paintball and Hāwera.
Ballistics Unit won the overall championship for the second consecutive season.[14]
Round 1
The opening round was held at Asylum Paintball in March 2019.
Kaos Theory won the tournament, with two Ballistics Unit squads finishing second and third. Ballistics Unit confirmed these placings in a contemporary Instagram report published on 9 March 2019.[16]
Round 2
The second round was held in May 2019.
Ballistics Unit reported winning the event with Ballistics Unit 1, while Ballistics Unit 2 finished third. The team's report credited Expendables with supplying the inflatable bunkers and assisting with field preparation.[17]
Hāwera event
An NZLS tournament took place in Hāwera during October 2019.
In a report published on 27 October, Ballistics Unit stated that it had won the round-robin stage and secured the 2019 series championship with one round remaining.[18]
The same report identified Ballistics Unit player Chris Waters as the winner of the event's one-on-one competition for a second consecutive year.
Winning the preliminary round robin is distinguished from winning the entire event, as the available report does not establish the final tournament placings.
Championship
Ballistics Unit confirmed its 2019 NZLS championship in a season retrospective published on 1 December 2019. The report described the team as consecutive NZLS champions in 2018 and 2019.[14]
Crisis Paintball Northland separately reported finishing third in the 2019 series standings. This placing comes from the team's retrospective historical account and has not been independently verified against a complete official championship table.[13]
End of the series
On 8 February 2020, the newly established East Coast Paintball League (ECPL) announced that it intended to fill a gap in the regional competition calendar because NZLS was no longer operating.[15]
The announcement described a programme designed to encourage participation and the introduction of new players. It also referred to adopting X-Ball, following the example of the New Zealand Race Series.
The announcement provides contemporary evidence that NZLS was no longer running by February 2020, but does not establish an exact closure date or a formal organisational relationship between NZLS and ECPL.
Competition format
NZLS operated events at different venues and used competition formats documented in individual tournament records.
The October 2014 tournament used a speedball field with portable obstacles and a centre-flag format.[19][20]
The February 2017 Aces High event was registered as Division Four five-player competition with five-minute games.[6]
Later seasons included competitions at established speedball facilities, including Asylum Paintball.
The surviving records do not establish that a single ruleset, match duration or divisional structure was used consistently throughout the series' entire history.
Venues
Surviving sources identify the following NZLS tournament locations:
| Location | Venue or event | Documented year |
|---|---|---|
| Whanganui | Kaierau Country Club | 2014[19][20] |
| Rotorua | Opening round | 2015[1] |
| Hastings | Round 3 | 2015[2] |
| Whanganui | Season final | 2015[3] |
| Hāwera | NZLS tournament | 2016[5] |
| Palmerston North | Aces High Paintball | 2017[6] |
| Hāwera | Round 1 recording | 2017[7] |
| Auckland | Lock N Load Adventures | 2016 and 2017[4][8] |
| Kingseat, Auckland | Asylum Paintball | 2018[9][11] |
| Auckland | Asylum Paintball | 2019[16] |
| Hāwera | NZLS tournament | 2019[18] |
The table identifies documented venues and appearances rather than a complete venue history.
Documented championship results
| Season | Team | Result | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | CAMO MEAT | 3rd overall | Outpost 43 contemporary report.[3] |
| 2018 | Ballistics Unit | Series champion | Ballistics Unit team announcement.[12] |
| 2018 | Bay of Plenty Paintball Club squad | 2nd overall | Club's contemporary season report.[11] |
| 2019 | Ballistics Unit | Series champion | Ballistics Unit championship report.[14] |
| 2019 | Crisis Paintball Northland | Reported 3rd overall | Team retrospective; independently unconfirmed.[13] |
The available sources do not provide complete final championship standings for every season. The reported 2014 positions appear separately under that season's history because they were published before the final round.
Individual tournament results
| Event | Documented result |
|---|---|
| 2014 NZLS September Tournament | Expendables, 1st.[20] |
| 2014 NZLS October Tournament | Expendables, 1st.[20] |
| 2015 Wanganui Speedball Cup | CAMO MEAT, 1st.[3] |
| 2018 NZLS Final Round | Bay of Plenty Paintball Club squad, 2nd.[11] |
| 2019 NZLS Round 1 | Kaos Theory, 1st; Ballistics Unit squads, 2nd and 3rd.[16] |
| 2019 NZLS Round 2 | Ballistics Unit 1, 1st; Ballistics Unit 2, 3rd.[17] |
| 2019 NZLS Hāwera Event | Ballistics Unit won the round robin; Chris Waters won the one-on-one competition.[18] |
These are individual event results and awards, not cumulative series standings. The Wanganui Speedball Cup was separately identified in contemporary coverage.
See also
- 2014 NZLS September Tournament
- 2014 NZLS October Tournament
- 2016 NZLS Round 4
- 2016 NZLS Hāwera Event
- 2017 NZLS Hāwera Event
- 2017 NZLS Final Round
- 2018 NZLS Round 2
- 2018 NZLS Round 3
- 2018 NZLS Final Round
- 2019 NZLS Round 1
- 2019 NZLS Round 2
- 2019 NZLS Hāwera Event
- East Coast Paintball League
- New Zealand Race Series
- History of paintball in New Zealand
References
- CAMO MEAT – Historical team posts describing the 2015 NZLS opening round in Rotorua.
- Team Hijinx – NZLS Round 3 Hastings photographs, Facebook, May 2015.
- Outpost 43 – 2015 NZLS championship placing, Wanganui Speedball Cup and final-round photographs, Facebook, November 2015.
- Outpost 43 – NZLS at Lock N Load Round 4 2016, Facebook photographic album.
- Shupershuff – PB NZLS 2016 - Hawera: Immortal vs CZ 2, YouTube, uploaded 8 April 2017.
- PBLeagues – NZLS Event #1 Aces High Paintball, registration and event details, 12 February 2017.
- Shupershuff – PB NZLS 2017 - Round 1 Hawera, YouTube, uploaded 8 April 2017.
- Outpost 43 – NZLS 2017 Final Round at Lock N Load, photographic album, published 19 November 2017.
- Surge Paintball Team – NZLS Round 2 report, Facebook, 1 May 2018.
- Surge Paintball Team – NZLS Round 3 July 2018, Facebook photographic album.
- Bay of Plenty Paintball Club – NZLS: 2018 season ending on a high, 14 November 2018.
- Ballistics Unit – 2018 NZLS series championship announcement, Instagram, 28 January 2019.
- Crisis Paintball Northland – Retrospective team history documenting the 2018 return and reported 2019 season placing.
- Ballistics Unit – 2019 season retrospective and consecutive NZLS championship report, Instagram, 1 December 2019.
- East Coast Paintball League – Establishment announcement referring to the cessation of NZLS, Facebook, 8 February 2020.
- Ballistics Unit – NZLS Round 1 tournament results, Instagram, 9 March 2019.
- Ballistics Unit – NZLS Round 2 results, Instagram, 11 May 2019.
- Ballistics Unit – NZLS Hāwera event and championship report, Instagram, 27 October 2019.
- Jared Smith, “Shooters take over grounds”, Whanganui Chronicle / NZ Herald, 11 October 2014, New Zealand time.
- Iain Hyndman, “Feilding team hottest shots in speedball +Photos”, Whanganui Chronicle / NZ Herald, 13 October 2014, New Zealand time.