This year the decision was to have two Divisions with Div 1 players having -6 to 6 handicap and Div 2 with players on handicap of 7 to 14

There were 24 entries for the Div 2 section which worked out well for four groups of six players. The format decided was a block of six having 5 rounds for each player. The winners of the four blocks would then have a semis and then finals to determine the final positions. However, this meant having a second venue to accommodate the games required for each round. Thanks to Cashmere Club as the second venue and to Cheryl Morrall for stepping up as second manager at Cashmere.

Fortunately, there were no late withdrawals and all players started their games at 8.30am. The weather was good and play proceeded accordingly. Double banking meant some games took longer than others, but the referee kept an eye on progress and let one team through if the other team were contesting the hoop for a longer time. My thanks to Louis Inglewood and John Borner for refereeing during the day.

There was a lot of learning using the Advantage format for some players, but players took it all in their stride and there were some very close games with players going to the 14^th hoop and even the 15^th hoop for the last point. There was a great atmosphere of camaraderie and good sportsmanship throughout the day, and I thank all the participants for that.

My thanks must also go to John Borner for developing a program on Excel to determine the winning percentage of target hoops against hoops made so that players with the same number of wins could be ranked. Looking at net hoops in Advantage play is not correct, because of the starting score being different in each case.

Most of the five rounds were completed by mid afternoon.

The winners of the four blocks were Robin Lloyd, Ken Lowe, Alison Lowe and Betty Inglewood. Robin Lloyd did not lose a game during the day, and won the final against Betty Inglewood, with them contesting the 15^th hoop in the dark for Robin to win 7-6! It was a real battle with each hoop being hotly contested. The last hoop had Louis holding up a cell phone torch so they could see the hoop. All credit to these players to finish the game, which started in daylight, but took longer than anticipated, only finishing at 7pm.Third place went to Alison Lowe.

Congratulations to these finalists, but thanks to all who participated in the tournament, as without players, this could not take place.

My thanks go to the folk at Fendalton and Cashmere for their catering and setting up lawns.

The 16 entries for the Div 1 section meant a total field of 40 players which is an excellent outcome for the first CCA tournament of the season.

Vilna Gough-Jones
Tournament Manager for Div 2