Canberra Hosts Third NSW Gateball Championships

The third NSW Gateball Championships was hosted by the Canberra Croquet Club on the weekend of 2-3 September. Seven teams, comprising 40 participants, competed in the teams event on Saturday with gateballers from NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT in attendance. 11 pairs backed up for the Sunday pairs competition.

Perfect gateball weather, sunshine and warm temperatures, greeted the players on Saturday. The seven teams competed in a block draw that resulted in each team wining at least two matches and many close results. At the conclusion of the block draw, Canberra Two, Epping from NSW (with special guests from Rockhampton, QLD) and the Burden Park Bilbies from Victoria were tied with 4 wins. Canberra Two and Epping made the final due to their superior points differential. Canberra Two won the final series 2-nil and claimed their first NSW title.

Team Finalists: Runners up Epping (left) and the eventual winners Canberra Two (right) line up before their match.

On Sunday, gateballers were confronted with less favorable weather conditions, with storms and squally winds making playing conditions difficult. Sunday’s pairs event was also a very even competition with all pairs competing strongly. It was a testament to the closeness of competition that both finalists won their groups on points differential. The final was played between Alex Park and Kimberlee Trent from Canberra and Neil Maclachlan and Clare Hopkins from Kew, Victoria. The final was a very tight and tense affair with a gripping conclusion. Kimberlee required a pass through gate three and a peg on her final turn to win the match. After passing through gate three Kimberlee was able to ‘rush’ off a nearby ball and hit the peg to win the match 11-10.

Winning Pair: Alex Park and Kimberlee Trent with their trophy.

Elizabeth News, Director of Gateball NSW made the presentations to the first and second placed pairs and teams to wrap up a successful weekend of competition.

Thanks goes to Peter Tavender and those who assisted him in organizing the championships, including for the BBQ lunches. Thanks also to all participants especially those participating in their first gateball tournament.

Strong turn-outs at this years Victorian, Queensland and New South Wales Gateball Championships reaffirms the continued development in the skills and popularity of gateball in Australia. Two Australian teams, including many participants from the NSW championships, will be competing at this year’s World Gateball Championships on Jeju Island, South Korea from 20-22 October 2006.