Editing Raven Cup (section)

== History ==

=== Early competitions ===

The Northland Open was incorporated into the original [[National Paintball League (New Zealand)|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 ===

The trophy records [[XXX (New Zealand Paintball Team)|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 (New Zealand Paintball Team)|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]