Nelson Airsoft Corps capture NZ title
Nelson never stops communicating.
That’s the line of feedback the Nelson Airsoft Corps received after winning the Airsoft Sports New Zealand national championships in Palmerston North last week.
‘‘We’ve all got good players. Everyone is a good player with reasonable skills in everything from shooting, communicating and situation awareness,’’ team leader Jamie Auld said.
‘‘But without the communication we wouldn’t have the awareness as a team. When we get into trouble we know about it early. When the other teams get into trouble it’s almost too late.
‘‘We know there’s a potential target who could be firing back, and we know where it is so there’s no panic.’’
Nelson’s win was the club’s third in succession, although technically it was the third in four years as they were not allowed to enter in 2016 when they hosted the competition.
Airsoft is similar to paintball, but involves more realistic looking guns that fire six millimetre plastic BBs, with players wearing authentic equipment and clothing.
The national competition was scored across three different games; a classic death match, a castle game where the respective teams would defend a structure, and rush which is a fast-paced variation played in a more open field.
The Nelson team featured Auld, Ryan Ryder, Sam Collins, Giacomo Sardella, Nick Robinson, Clay Wilhelmus, James Fitchett and Edward Nees.
Airsoft Hawke’s Bay narrowly finished second with the 2016 winners, Christchurch-based Tactical Airsoft Group, ending up in third.
Auld said Nelson return to the national competition ‘‘hungrier than ever’’ but he acknowledged the gap was closing.
‘‘Even though we’ve won it quite a few times the margin for winning has gotten tighter and tighter, and it’s good to see it like that because we don’t want to dominate. We want to play against the best so we get better.’’
The Nelson club features close to 50 members who meet once a week for games.