The CCA Agnes Dick Handicap Doubles competition was held at the Elmwood park club on the weekend of the 13-14 March.
Eight pairs in two groups contested the trophy over the two days in an event somewhat affected by a very wet first day. Those who had difficulty with the heavy conditions were disadvantaged by the rain.
The final was contested between Steve Costigan and Leonie Clarke (from Fendalton) and the husband and wife pairing of Alister and Hilda Newey (Rangiora). The trophy was won (22-12) by Steve and Leonie.
The Don Reyland Stars is a handicap GC competition with club and association playoffs and a national final.
The final was held 16 to 19 March at the Rangatira Croquet Club in Dannevirke that was established in 1911. Day 1 warm, Day 2 showers all day, Day 3 clear and warm. Sixteen associations were represented.
Patrick Conolly from Cashmere, representing CCA won the tournament, with one loss from 15 matches. Runner up was Doug Cowie from Auckland who he beat on Hoop 13 with a tricky angle jump shot.
The CCA GC Open Doubles tournament was held on Sunday 12th at Cashmere Croquet Club. Following heavy dew the day turned sunny and warm, cooling down as play continued into the early evening.
Four doubles combinations entered, and the format was a best of three round- robin with the potential for nine games. As it turned out each combination played eight so it was a big day at the office.
Geoff Price (United) and Helen Webber (Hornby) combined to be a winning combination. Not having played together before they soon got to know each other’s play and surprised with a 7/5, 5/7, 7/6 win over St James combination of Jono Hart and Marguaritte Rogers. Both had their chances at the thirteenth, with Geoff taking it with a short, angled jump shot.
Meanwhile on the other lawn the Barrington pairing of Rachael McLeod and Marie McDonald had a shock 7/6 win over Gay Jones (Cashmere) and Sue Cleveland (Geraldine) in the first game. Gay and Sue prevailed 7/4, 7/4 in the next two games to take the match.
Round 2 was a quicker affair with Jono and Marguaritte overcoming Rachael and Marie in two games, 7/4, 7/4. Geoff and Helen again surprised with 7/6, 7/1 wins over Gay and Sue.
With two matches under their belt Geoff and Helen were leading the tournament when they faced Rachael and Marie in the final round but needed a match win if the winner was not to be decided on a countback. The Barrington girls took the first game 7/3 and Geoff and Helen followed up with a similar score in game 2. Taking the third game 7/5 they ended the day with three match wins and the title. Gay and Sue, after winning their match with Jono and Marguaritte, were runner–up.
The bi-annual South Island Association’s GC Teams Event will be held at Waireka Croquet Club, Ashburton on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March.
One player from each grade; Premier, Advanced (Senior), Intermediate and Primary are selected by each Association. The Association competing this year are Canterbury, South Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson and Otago.
Congratulations to the following players from Canterbury: Levi Franks, Geoff Price, Mike Bunce and Geraldine Murphy
The criteria for selection was that players had played in a CNZ or CCA event and the results achieved throughout the season and were available to play this weekend.
Finally, after two postponements the Primary Grades were played on 10th March in sunshine albeit at 8:30am there were a few spots of rain.
A field of 26 players representing 9 Clubs were divided into blocks with two being played at Cashmere and 4 at St Martins. All players managed 5 games before the 2 semi-finalists from Cashmere joined the St Martins semi-finalists at St Martins.
The semi-final games of Patsy Clegg v Graeme Johnston (St James) was won by Graeme 7 – 4 and the other between Herman Zegerman (Hornby) and Steve Stokes (Cashmere) saw Steve win 7 – 5.
The final and the 3rd and 4th playoffs were watched by many players and supporters.
Well done to Steve Stokes who prevailed in the final over Graeme Johnston 7 – 4. It was a hard fought game with both players starting to feel the effect of the sun and their 7th game. Patsy took third place in another great game against Herman.
It was pleasing to have entrants from players new to tournaments and also the number of Clubs represented.
Thanks to all players, to St Martins for hosting the event and Cashmere as second venue, referees Sylvia MacFarlane, Vilna Gough-Jones and Bruce McLay who were kept busy, kitchen staff at both venues for the fabulous morning and afternoon teas, the lawns setters on the day and last but not least the grounds people for the wonderful playing lawns which were appreciated by all players.
The CCA Open GC Singles Tournament was played on Sunday 26th February at Cashmere Croquet club. We welcomed one player from Geraldine, all the 11 others were from round town. There was a good spread of handicaps, from -4 to 7, so everyone had opportunity to play against others of a similar level.
We kicked off bright and early in slightly overcast conditions. Despite the gloomy forecast the weather progressively improved and it became a very pleasant day on the lawns. Play started with two round-robin blocks to sort out initial rankings, followed by playoffs between similarly ranked players in each block. The top four players then went into a semi-final/final challenge. Patrick Connolly and John Borner battled it out for 3rd place with John winning 7-3, and Josh Winter prevailed over Levi Franks in the final 10-6 to win the 1st and 2nd placings.
Overall it was a full day with the finals finishing early evening.
The Carol Hayward competition was sponsored by the Margaret Stoddart retirement village. It is a handicap association croquet event open to players over the age of 60 years.
As usual, it was held over six Tuesday mornings from 31 January to 7 March 2023. One 18-point 21/2 hour game is played each morning with a break for a well-catered morning tea. It is run as a flexible Swiss so players can choose to play each week. A player must complete at least five games to be elligible for a prize.
We were fortunate to have good weather for all games.
It was a small field this year with 14 entering the competition with the number of games each week varying from four to six.
Sue Stott won all six of her games to take the trophy. Tim Slack was beaten only by Sue and was runner-up. John Doyle won three out of five games to take third place.
Lyn Dawson spoke about Margaret Stoddart providing respite care of her husband so she can play croquet and do other activities.
John Yarrall managed the competition and played one game when there were an odd number of players.
The 2023 AC Open was played at Barrington Park Croquet Club. It was initially scheduled to be played over three days from Friday 3 March 2023, but was reduced to the weekend because only six players entered.
It was played as a single block with three 3-hour games Saturday and two games scheduled for Sunday. Owen Evans played Joshua Winter on Friday as Owen was not available Sunday afternoon. The lawns were on the slow side and hoops were set to 0.8mm clearance.
John Yarrall was the tournament manager who also played.
In spite of the forecast rain, Saturday was dry, if overcast and grey. The highlight of the day was Joshua Winter completing his first triple peel to earn a gold merit award.
Sunday started wet, and an effort was required to get the length of the lawns. Rain was intermittent, but got heavier late morning.
The fourth-round decider between Joshua and Jarrod created interest. Josh pegged out Jarrod’s and his ball with Josh on 1-back and Jarrod on hoop 5. When both balls were on 3-back an impass developed, requiring a study of the laws before the game was restarted. Jarrod finally won the game 26-23.
When Jarrod started his final-round game with Peter Parkinson, the rain increased making play impractical. At this stage, Peter withdrew leaving Jarrod on four wins out of four games to win and Josh on three wins out of four as runner-up.
The CCA Association Croquet Grades Tournament was held on the weekend of 11th to 12th February 2023. It also incorporated the Canterbury Silver Badge competition with winners decide by the outcome of games where both contestants were eligible. With too few players in the lower handicap ranges the 10 to 16 and 18 to 24 handicap ranges were combined.
Good weather and lawns that were rated by players as “just right” made for an enjoyable tournament. With six entries, the 0 to 3.5 grade played a round robin of five games. The 4 to 9 grade, with four entries, a round robin of three games with the final round a playoff for first and third. With five entries, the 10 to 24 grade would play a round robin with four games and a bye. Unfortunately sickness meant that one player could not compete on the Sunday so all her games were deleted and only three games are included in the results.
All players in the 0 to 3.5 grade had a win but with four wins Carolyn Fordyce pipped John Hearnshaw on net hoops. John won the Silver Badge as Carolyn’s region is South Canterbury. The 4 to 9 grade saw Leo van Oosten undefeated with Tony O’Donnell runner-up. Sue Stott was also undefeated in the 10 to 24 range with Alice Spittle runner-up. They were the Silver Badge winners in the two grades.
Winner of the 0-3.5 grade, Carolyn Fordyce and Tony O’DonnellRunner-up of the 0-3.5 grade, John Hearnshaw and Tony O’DonnellWinner of the 4-9 grade, Leo vanOosten and runner-up, Tony O’DonnellWinner of the 10-24 grade, Sue Stott and Tony O’DonnellRunner-up of the 10-24 grade, Alice Spittle and Tony O’Donnell
On 29 January 2023, 38 players turned up at Fendalton Park Croquet Club to play doubles croquet and hopefully win the trophy. The lawns were good, the weather just right and the camaraderie and sportsmanship a delight. There were three groups of five teams and one group of four teams. The groups of five teams played 5 rounds of 13-point games, with one team having a bye each round. The group of four teams played three rounds of 19-point games, which led to much learning in determining extra turns and deciding what order hoops were to be played. The top teams in each group were determined by number of wins and then net points. It was a close contest!
These four players then had a semi-final followed by a final.
Winners of the trophy were Owen Evans & Patrick Connolly (Cashmere)
Runners-up were Maria Narbey & Frances de Latour (Akaroa)
Thanks go to Tim Slack for being the referee for the day, and to Fendalton under the guidance of Tricia Morrow for providing a great morning and afternoon tea.
Vilna Gough-Jones (Manager), Patrick Connolly and Owen EvansFrances de Latour, Vilna Gough-Jones and Maria Narbey
Croquet Canterbury 