On Sunday 26 January, 16 teams met at Fendalton Park Croquet Club for the above tournament. Due to weather considerations, the original format of two blocks of 8 was changed to four blocks of four followed by a 16-point knockout, to hopefully complete the tournament in time.

Players were very pleased with the new format and there was a great atmosphere and anticipation of some good croquet. The four blocks were completed after mid-day, Vilna the manager then worked out the 16-point draw based on the block results and players took to the lawns again in lovely sunshine!

The first round of 16 was successfully played, with some interesting results.  8 teams were knocked out and the next round of quarter finals was played. Clouds were beginning to gather overhead.  4 more teams were knocked out and the semi-finals of Jenny and Chris Clarke against Betty and Louis Inglewood (both from United) and Jocelyn Partridge and Phyl Holland (St Martins) against Owen Evans and Dick Sainsbury (Cashmere) got under way.

The St Martins vs Cashmere semi-final was completed without hitch with Jocelyn and Phyl from St Martins taking the honours. However, part way through the semifinal of Jenny and Chris against Betty and Louis, the heavens opened and rain started. By the time they managed to finish, with Jenny and Chris taking the honours, the rain was coming down in earnest and there was thunder and lightning. At the suggestion of the manager, and in the interests of the safety of the players, both teams agreed to not play the final, but take equal first honours for the tournament. It was a lovely gesture of sportsmanship from the four players, and they are to be congratulated on their play throughout the day.

Altogether there was some great croquet, great socialising and a lot of good competition. Those who hadn’t played Advantage format before, soon picked it up.

Grateful thanks must go to Sylvia Macfarlane for being the referee for the day; to Mike Dawson from Fendalton for setting up the lawns, and to Cathy Hide from Fendalton for providing the morning and afternoon tea.  Altogether, a successful tournament, with croquet winning the day in spite of the weather!

Full results are at https://croquetscores.com/2025/gc/canterbury-nz-advantage-doubles.

Vilna Gough-Jones
Tournament Manager