Hawke’s Bay Triples
Hawke's Bay Triples (also advertised as the Hawkes Bay Triples Competition and Hawkesbay Triples) was a New Zealand three-player paintball tournament held in the Hawke's Bay region during the early 2000s.
The tournament was organised by Paintball Hawke's Bay, with the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club also named in the 2000 event announcement. It was hosted at the Pines Paintball Field on State Highway 50 at Roys Hill, near Hastings.[1][2]
Contemporary announcements document editions scheduled for 6–7 February 2000 and 3–4 February 2001. Both advertised open-class three-man competition with limited paintball allowances, although their entry fees, equipment arrangements and published rules differed.
The tournament developed from an earlier Hawke's Bay recreational big-game event known as Fantasyland. According to the contemporary Mercenaries Star tournament calendar, Fantasyland was replaced by the Hawke's Bay Triples following declining attendance.[3]
The event became part of New Zealand's national tournament calendar, providing opportunities for teams from the central and lower North Island to compete in the three-man format.
Results from the 2001 tournament were incorporated into the Valhalla National Rankings. The surviving records identify at least fifteen competing team entries and preserve normalised preliminary-round scores, although the complete final tournament classification has not been recovered.[4]
Background
Tournament paintball in New Zealand
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, organised paintball competition in New Zealand was conducted through a network of regional tournaments, commercial playing fields and independent clubs.
Established competitions included the New Zealand Paintball Nationals, Northland Open and South Pacific Championships.
Other events developed in regions outside Auckland, providing additional opportunities for teams to compete without travelling to the country's largest paintball centres.
These competitions used several team formats, including three-man, five-man and seven-man.
Three-man paintball allowed smaller groups of players to form competitive teams without requiring the larger rosters associated with national seven-man tournaments.
The Hawke's Bay Triples was one of the regional events offering this format.
Recreational paintball in Hawke's Bay
Before the Triples became established, the Hawke's Bay paintball community had hosted recreational paintball events.
One of these was known as Fantasyland.
The original Mercenaries Star tournament calendar listed Fantasyland alongside other historical recreational big games, including VADER in Christchurch and Bethells Revolution in Auckland.[3]
The calendar described a decline in attendance at these events and specifically stated that Fantasyland had developed into the Hawke's Bay Triples.
This suggests that the tournament emerged from an existing local event rather than being established entirely independently.
The surviving account does not establish Fantasyland's original founding date, precise venue, organisers or complete event history.
The paintball event's name should not, by itself, be taken as evidence that it was held at the former Fantasyland amusement park in Hastings.
Transition to tournament competition
The replacement of a recreational big game with a limited-paint three-man tournament illustrates changes occurring in New Zealand paintball around the turn of the millennium.
While recreational woodland paintball remained an important part of the sport, organised competition was becoming more specialised.
Smaller-team tournaments offered opportunities for players interested in structured competition, formal scoring and repeatable match formats.
The Hawke's Bay Triples represented one example of this development within the central North Island.
Organisation
Paintball Hawke's Bay
Paintball Hawke's Bay was the commercial paintball operator named as the principal presenter of the tournament.
The original announcements identified its Pines Paintball Field as the event venue.
The business also accepted tournament registrations and arranged paintball supplies.
The available documentation does not establish the company's founding date, full ownership history or eventual closure date.
Hawke's Bay Paintball Club
The announcement for the February 2000 competition named the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club alongside Paintball Hawke's Bay as a presenting organisation.[1]
The club's involvement reflects the role of local paintball communities in organising regional competition.
The surviving announcement does not establish the club's legal structure, membership or complete committee.
The 2001 announcement named Paintball Hawke's Bay as presenter but did not separately identify the club in its main heading.
Les Hall
Les Hall was the named tournament contact in both the 2000 and 2001 announcements.
Players were instructed to contact Hall for enquiries about participating in the competition.
His involvement across both editions indicates continuity in tournament administration.
The surviving sources do not establish his full responsibilities or whether he held an official position within the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club.
Venue
Pines Paintball Field
The tournament was advertised at:
Pines Paintball Field
State Highway 50, Roys Hill, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
The venue was described in the announcements as belonging to Paintball Hawke's Bay.[1][2]
Roys Hill lies near Hastings in the central Hawke's Bay region.
The field provided a local base for organised tournament competition and visiting teams.
The original announcements do not give a detailed description of the field layout, bunker construction or spectator arrangements.
They also do not establish whether the field used a permanent tournament layout or was reconfigured specifically for each event.
Tournament facilities
The organisers advertised paintball supply and arrangements for compressed gas.
The availability of these services was important for teams travelling from other regions.
At the time, New Zealand tournament players used a mixture of carbon dioxide and compressed-air systems.
Gas availability could influence what equipment teams were able to bring and use during competition.
The surviving sources do not establish the field's filling equipment or the number of gas stations available.
Hawke's Bay Triples 2000
Dates and announcement
The tournament was advertised for:
6–7 February 2000
The announcement named Paintball Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club as presenters.
It specified the Pines Paintball Field at Roys Hill as the venue.
This announcement is preserved within the original Mercenaries Star tournament calendar.[1]
Competition format
The 2000 event was advertised as a three-man open-class competition.
A limited-paint format was specified, with an allowance described as 100 rounds.
The announcement stated that standard tournament rules would apply.
It did not identify a specific published rulebook or provide a complete scoring system.
The exact application of the 100-round restriction was not explained in the surviving announcement.
Entry fees
The published entry fee was:
NZ$30 per team
The original registration form allowed teams to list up to five players.
This permitted a roster larger than the three players who would compete in an individual game.
The form requested the team name, player names, contact address and telephone number.
Registrations could be returned to the organisers at a Norton Road address in Hastings.
Payment could be included with the registration or made on the day.
Paintball supply
The 2000 announcement advertised paintballs at:
NZ$0.10 per paintball
Teams could use field-supplied paintballs or bring their own, subject to restrictions.
The organisers prohibited staining paintballs and listed several products as examples of paint that would not be accepted.
These included:
- Evil
- All Star
- Ruby Red
- Premium Gold
The restrictions were intended to control the type of paintballs used at the venue.
The surviving announcement does not explain the organisers' complete policy on paintball quality or environmental considerations.
Compressed gas
The announcement listed nitrogen or compressed air as bring your own.
Carbon dioxide availability was mentioned, although the published form did not specify a confirmed price.
This differed from the more detailed gas arrangements published for the 2001 event.
Results
A complete results sheet for the 2000 Hawke's Bay Triples has not been recovered.
The contemporary announcement establishes the event's advertised date, location, organisers and format.
The tournament's inclusion in subsequent annual calendars supports its place in the established regional competition programme.
However, without a surviving results sheet, the winning team, final placings and number of participating teams cannot be confirmed.
Hawke's Bay Triples 2001
Dates and venue
The 2001 tournament was advertised for:
3–4 February 2001
The venue remained Paintball Hawke's Bay's Pines Paintball Field at Roys Hill.[2]
The February dates placed the event near the beginning of the New Zealand tournament season.
The contemporary Mercenaries Star calendar described Hawke's Bay Triples as a relatively new competition and an important event for teams in the central North Island.[3]
Competition format
The 2001 announcement specified:
- Three-man teams
- Open class
- Centre-flag games
- Limited paintball allowance
- Australian Paintball Players League rules
The paint allowance was stated as 100 rounds per end.
The centre-flag format involved teams contesting a common flag objective, rather than attempting to capture separate flags positioned at opposite ends.
The announcement identified the Australian Paintball Players League (APPL) rule system.
This represented a more specific published rules reference than the general wording used in the 2000 announcement.
The surviving source does not reproduce the complete event scoring rules.
Entry fee
The 2001 announcement advertised an entry fee of:
NZ$30 per player
This differed from the NZ$30 per team advertised in 2000.
The change should not be overlooked when comparing the two editions.
The available sources do not explain the reason for the revised pricing.
Paintball policy
Teams were permitted to bring their own paintballs.
The organiser also offered to arrange paintballs, naming Marballizer as an available option.
The announcement did not provide a fixed price per paintball for 2001.
Carbon dioxide
The 2001 announcement listed carbon dioxide at:
NZ$80 per G cylinder
This was a bulk-gas arrangement rather than an individually stated fill price.
The surviving announcement does not explain how cylinder costs were allocated between participating teams.
Compressed air
The organisers advised teams that compressed-air supply was their own responsibility.
Players using nitrogen or high-pressure air systems therefore needed to make their own arrangements.
This was particularly relevant during a period when both CO2 and compressed-air systems were used in tournament paintball.
2001 Tournament Results
Surviving records
The Valhalla National Rankings recorded results from the Hawke's Bay Triples in its 2001 national three-man rankings.
The database identified the competition as:
Hawkesbay Triples – Round 1 Open
It recorded a normalised score for each listed team.[4]
These values represented performances used in the national ranking calculations.
They were not necessarily the original tournament's raw scores or final standings.
Recorded teams
Fifteen team entries have non-zero values in the surviving Hawke's Bay Triples column.
| Team | Normalised score |
|---|---|
| House Steiner | 84.3 |
| Phoenix (WGN) Red | 75.0 |
| Phoenix (WGN) Grey | 64.9 |
| Tag n' Release GPS | 64.3 |
| Damage | 62.9 |
| Total Kaos | 57.1 |
| Crossfire GBH | 52.1 |
| Phoenix (WGN) Orange | 50.0 |
| DamNatives Red | 46.4 |
| DaBayBoyz | 46.4 |
| Crossfire BG | 43.0 |
| Warp Speed | 37.1 |
| Brew Ha | 31.4 |
| DamNatives Black | 29.4 |
| Nutters | 26.8 |
Source: Valhalla National Rankings, 2001 three-man results.[4]
The teams are listed in descending order of their published normalised opening-round scores.
This is not a confirmed final tournament placing table.
The surviving data does not identify whether all competing teams completed the same number of games or whether additional final rounds were held.
House Steiner
House Steiner recorded the highest opening-round value in the surviving Valhalla results, with 84.3.
This indicates a strong preliminary-round performance.
However, the ranking table does not explicitly identify House Steiner as the overall tournament winner.
A separate final results sheet would be needed to establish the championship result.
Phoenix
The Wellington-associated Phoenix organisation entered several teams.
The records identify:
- Phoenix (WGN) Red – 75.0
- Phoenix (WGN) Grey – 64.9
- Phoenix (WGN) Orange – 50.0
These separate entries illustrate how an established tournament organisation could field multiple three-player squads at the same competition.
The records do not provide the individual player rosters for these squads.
Tag n' Release
The Rotorua-based team Tag n' Release participated in the 2001 tournament.
Its contemporary team profile, written by Russell "Dangermouse" Clement, records the following result:
Hawke's Bay Triples 2001 – Round 1 Open
Fourth place – 900 points from 1,400 possible[5]
The result corresponds to approximately 64.3 per cent of the possible score.
The Valhalla table lists Tag n' Release GPS with a normalised value of 64.3.
The exact correspondence between the raw score and normalised percentage strongly indicates that the profile and ranking table describe the same competition entry.
The fourth-place result applies to the recorded opening round, not necessarily the final tournament classification.
Damage
Damage recorded a normalised opening-round value of 62.9.
The team also appeared in other national tournament results during the 2001 season.
The Hawke's Bay Triples score contributed to its presence in the wider competitive tournament records.
DamNatives
The DamNatives organisation fielded at least two squads.
The Valhalla records identify:
- DamNatives Red – 46.4
- DamNatives Black – 29.4
DamNatives Red subsequently finished first in the published 2001 national three-man rankings.
That national achievement was based on results from multiple tournaments and should not be interpreted as a victory at the Hawke's Bay Triples.
Crossfire
Two Crossfire entries appear in the results:
- Crossfire GBH – 52.1
- Crossfire BG – 43.0
The surviving ranking table does not identify their individual rosters or explain the squad designations.
Other participating teams
Other entries included Total Kaos, DaBayBoyz, Warp Speed, Brew Ha and Nutters.
Their appearance provides evidence of participation by teams whose individual histories may be less extensively documented.
The surviving results are particularly valuable for preserving the names of these smaller or less frequently recorded squads.
Relationship with the Valhalla National Rankings
National three-man competition
The Valhalla National Rankings was an independent effort to record and compare New Zealand paintball teams using tournament results.
The system maintained separate rankings for different competition formats.
In 2001, the three-man rankings incorporated results from several events, including:
- Hawke's Bay Triples
- Indoor Three-Man Open Competition
- National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships
- Combat Zone Three-Mans
This allowed teams participating in different events to contribute to a national ranking.
Scoring methodology
The Valhalla table converted recorded tournament scores into normalised values.
For example, Tag n' Release's documented score of 900 out of 1,400 possible points corresponds to 64.3 per cent.
The table's scores therefore offer a means of comparing recorded preliminary-round performance.
However, they should not automatically be interpreted as final tournament placements.
A high preliminary-round score could differ from a team's eventual placing if the tournament included separate finals or additional rounds.
Published 2001 national rankings
The published October 2001 national three-man standings included:
| National rank | Team | Cumulative ranking score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DamNatives Red | 226.4 |
| 2 | Insane | 181.7 |
| 3 | Tag n' Release GPS | 159.3 |
| 4 | Saints Gold | 152.5 |
| 5 | Flashpoint | 114.4 |
These scores represent cumulative ranking contributions from multiple events.
The Hawke's Bay Triples was one component of the competition record, not the sole basis of the national standings.
Not every nationally ranked team participated in the Hawke's Bay tournament.
Relationship with Other Tournaments
Northland Open
The Northland Open was another regional tournament held near the beginning of the New Zealand paintball season.
It attracted established teams from different regions and formed part of the national tournament calendar.
While the Northland Open was associated with seven-man competition during this period, the Hawke's Bay Triples offered a smaller three-man format.
The two events contributed to the range of competitive opportunities available to New Zealand players.
Rotorua Invitational
The Rotorua Invitational was established in December 2000 by Tag n' Release and the Rotorua Paintball Club.
It was another example of a regional tournament organised outside Auckland.
Both events reflected the importance of local clubs and field operators in providing opportunities for tournament participation.
National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships
The National Three-Man Centre Flag Championships, held in Invercargill, was another event in the three-man tournament calendar.
Its inclusion alongside the Hawke's Bay Triples in the Valhalla rankings demonstrates the geographic spread of small-team competition.
The tournaments provided opportunities for players in different parts of New Zealand to participate in the same general format.
Larger national tournaments
The New Zealand Paintball Nationals and South Pacific Championships generally attracted larger teams and were important events on the national calendar.
The Hawke's Bay Triples complemented these competitions by offering an alternative format with fewer players required.
Its limited-paint rules also distinguished it from some other forms of tournament paintball.
Historical Significance
Regional tournament development
The Hawke's Bay Triples demonstrates the role played by regional commercial fields and local clubs in developing competitive paintball.
Although the largest tournaments often attracted national attention, smaller events provided opportunities for players to gain experience and remain active throughout the season.
The tournament's location at Roys Hill helped establish Hawke's Bay as a destination within New Zealand's competitive paintball calendar.
Transition from recreational big games
The tournament is historically notable for its reported relationship with Fantasyland.
The contemporary tournament calendar explicitly described Fantasyland as having become the Hawke's Bay Triples after declining attendance.
This documents a local example of the shift from a recreational big-game event to a formal small-team tournament.
It does not mean recreational paintball disappeared from the region, but it illustrates how organisers adapted to changing patterns of participation.
Limited-paint competition
Both the 2000 and 2001 announcements specified restrictions on the number of paintballs players could use.
Limited-paint formats encouraged teams to plan their use of ammunition rather than relying solely on high-volume shooting.
They also provided a format with different equipment and running-cost considerations from larger unlimited-paint tournaments.
The exact restrictions varied between the surviving announcements, showing that the event's format was not necessarily identical from year to year.
Preservation of smaller teams
The 2001 Valhalla results are particularly valuable because they identify numerous team entries that might otherwise be absent from surviving historical records.
These include multiple squads from Phoenix, Crossfire and DamNatives, alongside teams such as Total Kaos, DaBayBoyz, Brew Ha and Nutters.
The records provide a foundation for researching their membership, origins and subsequent tournament participation.
Historical records
The most important surviving sources are the original event announcements, the Mercenaries Star calendar, the 2001 Valhalla rankings and Russell Clement's Tag n' Release team profile.
Together, they document the organisers, venue, event formats, registration arrangements, participating teams and a substantial portion of the 2001 preliminary results.
The complete tournament podiums, full player rosters and subsequent history of the event remain incompletely documented.
See also
- Paintball in New Zealand
- Paintball in Hawke's Bay
- Paintball Hawke's Bay
- Hawke's Bay Paintball Club
- Northland Open
- Rotorua Invitational
- New Zealand Paintball Nationals
- Valhalla National Rankings
- Tag n' Release
- House Steiner
- DamNatives
- Mercenaries Star
References
- Hawkes Bay Triples Competition – February 2000. Mercenaries Star. Original announcement identifying Paintball Hawke's Bay and the Hawke's Bay Paintball Club as presenters, with dates, Roys Hill venue, NZ$30 team entry, paintball policy and limited-paint three-man format.
- Hawkes Bay Triples – February 2001. Mercenaries Star. Original announcement identifying the 3–4 February 2001 dates, centre-flag format, APPL rules, NZ$30 per-player entry and compressed-gas arrangements.
- Annual Tournament Events, 2001. Mercenaries Star. Contemporary tournament calendar describing Hawke's Bay Triples as an established regional competition and recording its development from the earlier Fantasyland recreational event.
- Valhalla Hall of Heroes – 2001. Mercenaries Star. National three-man rankings, including Hawke's Bay Triples opening-round results and cumulative season scores.
- Tag n' Release Team Profile. Russell "Dangermouse" Clement, April 2001. Contemporary record of Tag n' Release's Hawke's Bay Triples preliminary fourth place, with 900 points from a possible 1,400.
- Annual Paintball Tournament Calendar. Mercenaries Star. Earlier calendar identifying Hawke's Bay Triples among New Zealand's annual tournaments and describing the decline of recreational big games.