Australia Day Golf Croquet Tournament 26 Jan 2009 Maitland Croquet Club | ||||||
Local Pipe Band plays during morning session at Maitland's Australia Day Tournament Upon enrolment players lucky-dipped miniature clip-on koalas or pencils to start the day in a positive way. A full compliment of 36 players were in attendance and round-robin play was organised in 6 blocks of 6 players with each game having a time limit of 1 hour. Block A was level play and the remaining 5 blocks experienced handicap play. Each block was organised so as handicaps were as even as possible. (Note handicaps shown on block result sheets.) Maitland club had 5 entrants, Toronto 6 entrants, Newcastle National Park 4 entrants, Taree 4 entrants, Gloucester 3 entrants, Branxton 2 entrants, Mt Sugarloaf 2 entrants, Wollongong 1 entrant, EDSACC 2 entrants, Sutherland 1 entrant, Sydney 4 entrants, Jamberoo 1 entrant and 1 only individual entrant.. Tournament Referee, Bev Smith was assisted by 8 full-time "referees in charge" and a number of player referees who became referees in charge for only one or 2 games as needed.. Block A was made up from players with handicaps of 2 and 3 and so competition was of a very high standard with a number of players having competed nationally and having world rankings. The winner in this block was decided on count-back and was very close. Play began precisely at 8:00 am after registration, player and referee’s briefing, block and worker photos and the singing of the national anthem To assist players and referees, Liaison officers ensured players were ready to play when lawns became available; provided new score sheets for referees and took the completed sheets and the players, to the scorer’s table where handicap cards were completed and results entered into the computer which completed the grids for each block, calculated the new index for each player, calculated each player’s handicap and flagged any changes as well as completing the required forms (Handicap And Index Form and Daily Score Sheet.). These personnel also ensured referee’s needs were catered for and also maintained a "Now Playing" board which showed all players, at a glance, who was playing on which lawn and who should be getting ready to play next. These people made the day most enjoyable and relaxing for all who participated. Robyn Wallace from Maitland Club was the only player to remain undefeated over the five games played and had a healthy net of 5 7 Handicap changes occurred during the day’s play. Quite a few players were competing in their first "away-from-home" tournament and settled in to the play very comfortably. Around 9:00 am a visit by the local Pipe Band , which played a lively bracket of songs, added some sparkle to the day (and most probably some frowns to those struggling on the lawns). The band was very warmly received by all not playing at that time and we look froward to future visits by them All play was completed by about 5:30pm and a presentation was held with the popular local mayor, Peter Blackmore distributing a total of $720.00 in prize money to winners and runners-up in each block. Maitland City Council had generously donated $500.00 towards the prizes for the day and Peter has promised ongoing support in the future. Peter Smith Tournament Manager
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