By Don Gazzaralli:

The origins of The Jacket itself are unknown. The earliest sightings we have of The Jacket are in Mangere.  In the early days of the comp, the Jacket was often formally referred to as The Mangere Meister Jacket.  It seems that now it is only referred to as The Pink Jacket, or The Jacket.

The birth of the Pink Jacket Tipping Compeition was an 11 man comp for the 1996 NPC. Due to a brief fling with tipping in Melbourne (courtesy of Errol), I realised upon my return to NZ that tipping was essential to leading a fulfilling life. And so the 1996 NPC Tipping Comp was born. 

11 novice tipsters participated in this comp run on a piece of refill from a Ponsonby basement. This was the very beginning of the Pink Jacket Tipping Competitions. At this point, we hadn't found The Jacket (or The Jacket had not found us) but this comp set off the need for a trophy of unparalleled status. The great quest that ultimately went out and found The Jacket may be deemed very fortunate to have stumbled upon The Jacket by accident... little did we realise the powers of this prize we had found.

After the 96 NPC comp a small expedition was launched in a quest for the ultimate prize. The pilgrims of this expedition were myself, Maddog, and a lovely young chick known as Tae (current whereabouts unknown).

Since The Jacket is known for its abilities to choose the new champion, there has been much interest and speculation as to who chose The Jacket.  It is believed that Tae was the first to see The Jacket, Maddog was the first to recognise The Jacket, and Don Gazzaralli the first to wear The Jacket. It is claimed that Maddog immediately recognised the power of The Jacket and in what may have been a form of possession that he doesn't believe in, began to profess its powers to all around him in one of his most passionate rants.  Nevertheless, on that important day The Jacket returned with the expedition and became the focus for the PJTC.

In the 1997 Super 12 PJTC, The Jacket chose formally for the very first time... that champion was me!... The Don!... The Big G!... "Don Gazzaralli"!!... none other than the instigator of the comp and original questor for The Jacket... and a truly incredible champion.

Out of respect for the significance of the 1996 NPC Tipping Comp, The Jacket was loaned to the champion of that comp, Leyland B. (now known as "Surfing Scorpion") for a one week period during my reign.  Pink Jacket historians accept that this signifies where Pink Jacket history begins. There was some debate on the actual origins of the Pink Jacket Tipping Comp but it is widely accepted that even though The Jacket was not the ensign for the 96 NPC TC, that particular competition was the beginning of what we now know as The Pink Jacket Tipping Comp. Influences have come from many others, in particular from Errol's Melbourne experiences, where he ran tipping comps for expat kiwis.