Club tournament results

Golf Croquet Carnival
9-11 Aug 2013
Port Macquarie Croquet Club
 
Port Macquarie Croquet Club hosted its annual Golf Croquet Carnival from Monday September to Wednesday September 11th.

Late withdrawals meant that only 31 visiting players remained in the draw, with the late vacancies filled by local players of similar handicaps.

All 31 visitors played in the doubles matches. These were highly competitive, partly because the 4 divisions were seeded, with the top 8 players playing in Block A and so on. Consequently only one pair – Wendy Forbes of Urunga and Bev Murray of Gloucester - went through the 3 matches undefeated.

Block winners were as follows:

Block A Ray Vize (Forster) and Herman Camphuis (Port Macquarie)
Block B Elaine Coles (Forster) and Yvonne Bagnall (Gloucester)
Block C Wendy Forbes (Urunga) and Bev Murray (Gloucester)
Block D Robyn Roberts (Gloucester) and Pat Johnson (Forster)

In the singles events, the organising committee experimented with a rolling draw. Games were given a number but no lawn, time or colours. Matches were placed on the lawns in numerical order as soon as a lawn became available so that there were always 4 matches in progress on the 2 lawns all day. As a result, play finished every day soon after 3 pm, saving an estimated hour of play each day.

All singles Blocks were keenly contested, with only Sandy Coutts winning all 5 matches. In Block A, despite the presence of Jim Hicks, Graham Innocent and Joe Dimech, Bill Munns was the only player to register 4 wins and was duly crowned the champion for 2013.

The results of the singles blocks were as follows:

Block A Winner Bill Munns (Toronto); Runner-up Joe Dimech (Taree)
Block B Winner Sandy Coutts (Forster); Runner-up Herman Camphuis (Port Macquarie)
Block C Winner John Ikin (Gloucester); Runner-up Elaine Coles (Forster)
Block D Winner Greg Freeman (Port Macquarie); Runner-up Pam Faber (Macquarie City)
Block E Winner Clare Vize (Forster); Runner-up Cathryn Parry (Macquarie City)
Block F Winner Pam Wiemers (Woolgoolga); Runner-up Pat Johnson (Forster)

Away from the lawns, the players enjoyed the customary generosity of the Port Macquarie members. Biscuits, slices, cakes etc were available all day and a selection of sandwiches and soups at lunchtimes. Anne Freeman and her kitchen helpers worked tirelessly to meet the needs of all the players. Herman Camphuis again provided free photos of the play; these were eagerly grabbed by the players, although I suspect it was often to prevent anyone else seeing them. !

So many of the Port Macquarie members contributed to the success of the carnival. That, above all, is why it is one of the most popular events of the croquet calendar and why so many players make Port Macquarie their home for a few days each September.

The Carnival had a new sponsor this year in Australian Unity;the club hopes it just the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial arrangement.

John Hincks