Editing Navarone (section)

== History ==

=== Formation and early competition ===

Navarone was established by Andy Greenwell with Lucas Foster and Ricky Thom. A Paintball.Media retrospective dates the formation of The Guns of Navarone to 1985.[1] Greenwell recalled that an initial attempt to assemble a team had failed, after which he recruited players individually. The team began entering tournaments in 1986.[2]

Originally called The Guns of Navarone, the team subsequently adopted the shorter Navarone name and was also known as Team Navarone.[1][3] Its principal objective was to win the National Survival Game championship. The organisation developed written plans covering training, tactics and player responsibilities.[1][3]

In 1986, Navarone progressed through the National Survival Game regional qualification system to reach the NSG National Championships. Greenwell recalled that the team had been together only since October and finished ninth among eleven teams, winning three games and losing one.[2]

=== Team organisation ===

Navarone was divided into two principal squads. Armageddon was the first team and Apocalypse the second.[2] Contemporary reporting from 1987 identified Greenwell as Navarone's founder and captain and Jim Daniels as the captain of Apocalypse.[4]

Greenwell recalled that Navarone eventually included approximately 35 players. The leading group had an average age of approximately 30 to 32, while the second group averaged approximately 24.[2] Player pairings and field assignments were selected partly according to personality and compatibility, and much of the principal roster remained together for approximately four years.[2]

=== 1987 season ===

Navarone entered both Armageddon and Apocalypse in the [[1987 International Air Pistol Open]], held at National Survival Game of New York in Newburgh on 18–19 July 1987.[4]

Apocalypse scored 296 of a possible 300 points in its opening game but missed qualification for the final round by four points. Daniels reported that the squad finished fifth overall.[4]

Armageddon recorded a perfect 300-point preliminary game and advanced to the finals. It won the tournament ahead of Land Sharks II, the Boonie Rats and the Unknown Rebels. Its decisive flag return was completed with approximately two seconds remaining.[4] A separate contemporary account reported that Armageddon won all but one of its games by capturing and returning the opposing flag.[5]

Apocalypse subsequently finished second at the fifth annual Survival Game North American Championship, held near Pittsburgh from 9 to 12 October 1987. The Wild Geese of New Hampshire won the championship, with Apocalypse receiving the US$10,000 second-place prize.[6]

The championship involved 33 fifteen-player teams using stock-class .68-calibre pistols and 12-gram carbon-dioxide cartridges. Games were limited to 45 minutes.[6]

=== Masters victory and departure of the original team ===

Navarone continued competing with pump-action markers as semi-automatic equipment became increasingly common. Greenwell stated that the team won the Masters and its associated tournament series in 1990 while still using pump markers.[2]

Following the 1990 season, Greenwell and approximately sixteen other members left the organisation. The Navarone name continued in competition, although Greenwell distinguished the subsequent roster from the original team.[2]

=== Later competition ===

The Navarone name continued to appear in American tournament paintball during the 1990s.

At the 1996 [[National Professional Paintball League]] World Cup in Orlando, Florida, Navarone reached the semi-finals of the amateur ten-player division but did not advance to the final.[7]

In 1997, Navarone finished second behind Marine Team Gold in the amateur five-player division at the Great Western Tournament Series event in Portland.[8] The team again placed second to Marine Team Gold at the series event held alongside the NPPL tournament in Las Vegas.[9]

On 5–6 May 2000, Navarone won the five-player competition at the NPPL Pittsburgh Open.[10] Available sources do not establish the extent of the organisational or personnel continuity between these later entries and Greenwell's original team.