The Singles were played at the United Croquet Club in Hagley Park from the 26th to the 31st January 2021. Entries were fewer than normal, and the sixteen entrants started as two blocks of eight playing three games on Tuesday and Wednesday and one game on Thursday. The top four players from each block qualified for the knockout with the remaining eight players having a round robin giving them a further seven games.
The event started on the Tuesday that Christchurch experienced its record temperature of 36.1oC. This combined with bright sun, gusty winds, tight hoops and fast lawns once the lawns dried made conditions challenging. Wednesday was slightly cooler at 34 whilst the overcast skies and lighter wind made conditions ideal. Heavy rain on Thursday caused ponding on all lawns with the day’s play abandoned in the early afternoon after pegging down the games. Further rain overnight delayed the start for some players whilst water was removed from some lawns and all eight sets of games were double banked instead of just the Plate. The best of 3 quarter finals of the knockout and the first three rounds of the Plate block were completed on Friday. Saturday saw the completion of the best of 3 semi-finals, the Bowl and another three rounds of the Plate in somewhat windy conditions.
Felix Webby dominated Block A winning all seven of his games including a triple peel. Duncan Dixon was Runner-up with six wins and Harps Tahurangi third with five wins including a quadruple. Mike McClure played John Yarrall in the final round of the block requiring a win by two hoops to draw level. Mike’s win 22-21 was just not enough. In Block B, Logan McCorkindale also won all seven games with Josh Winter and Chris Shilling on five wins and Cole Wenmoth on four joining him and the qualifiers from Block A in the Quarter-Finals.
Felix Webby and Duncan Dixon won their quarter finals in straight games while Chris Shilling and Logan McCorkindale both lost their second game before winning the third. In the semis Felix and Duncan won a game each at 26 – 24 before Felix won their third 26 – 17. Logan ensured his place in the final winning in straight games. The final started with Logan winning the first game before Felix equalised in the second and went on to win his first national AC Open title in the third game
The Bowl was played as a single round robin with seventeen-year-old, Josh Winter, winning all three games and Harps Tahurangi runner-up.
The Plate was decided in the last round when sixteen-year-old, Levi Franks, beat his only potential rival for the trophy, Mike McClure. This meant that Nairn Smith, the only player to win against Levi in the Plate, pipped Mike for Runner-Up.
All results are at https://croquetscores.com/2021/ac/cnz-open
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