The Zone Laser Tag Australasian Championships (ZLTAC for short) is an annual tournament held over 10 days typically around March each year comprising of a number of teams from the Australasian region. ZLTAC is the largest laser tag competition in the world reaching 37 teams with over 200 players in 2018. Teams in ZLTAC consist of at least 5 players who play against each other in a series of matches consisting of three teams. Teams are awarded victory points for placement on a ladder for the finals system at the end of the tournament. During the finals, teams attempt to play their way up the ladder through a series of ascending games giving even the bottom ranked teams a chance to try and make it to the grand final. Throughout the tournament, a number of side events are held which consist of a number of different formats and team compositions. These side events often consist of Solos, Doubles, Triples, Lord of the Rings, Masters, Womens and Juniors.
The game format used in the main event and many side events differs slightly from a normal game of Zone Laser Tag. In a normal game of Zone Laser Tag you have unlimited lives and shots and you score points by tagging players on the opposing teams. You can additionally score a lot of points for destroying the opposing teams bases by tagging it 3 times in a row. This is still the case in a tournament match however you lose some points when you get tagged by your team or the opposition and each time you tag the enemy bases without destroying it. You also have a limited number of lives and shots which you must replenish at reload stations located in the arena. This makes for a much more tactical and team focused game when compared to a casual game. Doubles uses the exact same format except is played with up to 8 teams of 2 in the arena. Solos, Masters, Womens and Juniors also use the same format except the bases are turned off and there are no teams as they are all solo events. Masters is an event for people over 35 and has a more fun nature owing the the inner child of the older players. Juniors is for players under 18 and Womens is naturally for women only. Triples has a different format every year to bring a bit of variety to the tournament. The triples format is often used to show of the versatility of the Zone Laser Tag systems in the variety and complexity of the game formats it is capable of. Lord of the Rings is a format designed around dueling where 3 players (a truel) are placed in a small ring in a 1v1v1 style match and the winner is the player that gets tagged the least.
Zone Nationals started in July, 1999, with the first tournament being held in Box Hill, Melbourne which is not too far from the head office of P&C Micros, the people who develop Zone Laser Tag. It all started out as a bunch of site operators who really loved laser tag wanting to test their mettle against each other in a friendly competition. There were 7 teams at the first event from Canberra, Hobart, Sunshine Coast and Box Hill. The site operators had to fight P&C to get permission to hold the competition but having seen the success of the first event a second was held the next year from August 31st to 3rd September, This time only with 6 teams but the addition of Solos and Doubles events. Since then, most years have seen an increase in the number of teams and players with 2001 in Canberra seeing Western Australia join and NSW joining in 2002 for 11 teams. 2003 saw South Australia enter with a few teams and New Zealand sending a team with 16 teams present in Hobart. All states of Australia were represented in 2004 with the Northern Territory finally joining, bringing the total number of teams to 22. By 2005 the tournament had grown to a week long event with the addition of Triples, Masters and Womens. New Zealand didn’t start regular attendance until 2008 which resulted in them holding the “Australian” Zone Championship in 2014 at Mt Wellington in which 19 teams were in attendance. At this point the competition was changed to the Zone Australasian Championships and finally Zone Laser Tag Australasian Championship in 2016. We also saw the introduction of the Juniors event in 2016 with the very first winner being a South Australian female player who went on to win the Womens event the next year. In 2017 we finally saw the tournament held in South Australia at Megazone Noarlunga with what was then a record 33 teams, only to be smashed by Albury with 37 the year after. Albury’s unprecedented number of teams meant that a complete round robin stage could not be held and the finals system had a cut-off point meaning the lower portion of the ladder did not have a finals chance. This was the tipping point for the competition needing to evolve from a huge bunch of friends playing laser tag to a proper competition.
Due to the growing size of the event and not wanting to stretch over 10 days with some players arriving days before the start to practice and train in the arena, the number of teams for 2019 is limited at 37 and will then be dropped to 33 with the performance criteria coming into full effect for the following years. Each region from Australasia can only send a limited number of teams which is determined by their performance in the previous years event. This encourages each region to send their best possible teams to place as highly on the ladder and earn more slots for their region in next years event. Teams can only be comprised of players from the same region unless given express permission by the ZLTAC committee to form with players from other areas. Side events where teams are used have no restrictions and players are free to form teams with players from other regions which often leads to interesting match-ups and results. International teams from around the world are welcome to take part in the ZLTAC with players from America and Finland having visited in past years to experience the format and playstyle that is unique to Australasian Zone Laser Tag players.
With such a large number of players with do much love and dedication to the sport, many of the players often contribute much of their spare time and additional skills and talents to the event outside of their scheduled games. The truly dedicated players help run the ZLTAC committee which in co-operation with the hosting site operator, organizes and runs the event each year. Many players during the competition referee matches, call in games and make sure players are organised and ready so that games can start on time and the event runs smoothly. In recent years a number of players have created the Media Team which started out with just the broadcasting of the scoreboard over Twitch and a couple of interviews to be put up on YouTube at the end of the day. In recent years this has grown to a roaming camera during Lord of the Ring and a full blown Twitch stream with live commentary and interviews. This is much to the benefit of the friends and family of players at the event and players that couldn’t make it or players relaxing at their accommodation. The ultimate goal of the Media team is to make the sport much more spectatable and entertaining to those who don’t know how the game is played at a top level. With so many keen and eager players at the communities disposal, it’s not hard to find someone with the know-how to make things happen.
Many players train all year round to be the best they possibly can for the chance to take home a trophy and bragging rights each year. Even with so many teams fighting for that first place trophy, bragging rights and slots for their region in next years event, it is still a very friendly and social event. Teams will continue cheering on each-other, even after being knocked out of the competition by their friends. Some teams even have their own friendly rivalries with Adelaide and Canberra having a perpetual trophy between them for who places higher on the final ladder, all over the result of a joke in 2013. This is an event that only seeks to grow in every way it possibly can to promote the recognition of laser tag as a true sport.