After a year of playing it safe at home, Hazelbrook Gateballers John and Penny Park travelled to Melbourne recently to participate in the Victorian State Gateball Championships, cancelled last year due to COVID-19.
Not only was it great to travel again, but it gave them the chance to defend their 2019 title as Victorian Doubles winners.
The championships, held at the Elsternwick Croquet Club, consisted of both teams and doubles events over two days, with plenty of hard fought games and friendly rivalry between interstate players. The team from Kew took out the teams event, providing an extra incentive to New South Wales players in the Doubles.
The competition got off to challenging start with the Hazelbrook pair's first game ending in a narrow win after a penalty shoot-out. John and Penny emerged as winners of Pool 1, meeting Victorian Pool 2 winners Clare and Philip in an exciting final, decided only on the last turn of the game. The New South Wales players won by 12 points to the Victorians 11, retaining their doubles title for another year.
Gateballers from around Australia are now looking forward to the New South Wales State Gateball Championships, to be held at Toronto at the end of May. For the very first time, players will represent the Hazelbrook Croquet Club in the teams event. Gateball is a new code for Hazelbrook, which also offers Association and Golf Croquet.
For further information, contact Hazelbrook Croquet President, Fay on 0415 410 508.
