Monthly Archives: December 2009

Gateball arrives in Tamborine Mountain

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by Peter and Brenda Quaife

Gateball was launched at Tamborine Mountain, in the Gold Coast hinterland, on Saturday 19 September 2009.  The Tamborine Mountain Croquet Club held a “Come and See Day” to introduce Gateball to the local community.

Teams from Broadbeach, Southport and Ipswich shared their time and skills to demonstrate the game and explain the basics to local visitors.  Many of these visitors also participated in games mentored by experienced players.  We were also fortunate to have three experienced players from Rockhampton who now reside locally and hopefully will be able to play with the Tamborine group.  Bruce McAlister, the State Director for Gateball was also able to attend and offered support for the fledgling club.

As well as the visiting teams the local Member for the Scenic Rim Regional Council (SRRC), Councillor Derek Swanborough attended and participated in two games.  The Tamborine Mountain Croquet Club received a grant from the SRRC to purchase some Gateball equipment for which they thank the Council.

The weather was perfect, the assistance from all visiting players was fantastic, the camerardie that pervades this sport was evident and, all in all, a fantastic day was had by all.  Some of the local visitors have expressed an interest in participating in Gateball and others that we have spoken with, who could not attend the day, have also expressed interest.

Thank you to all who made this day an outstanding success.

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Book Review: Takako and the Great Typhoon

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Review by Keith McLeod

Takako and the Great Typhoon by Kelly Garcia and published by Hai-Sai Publishing, Fletcher, North Carolina (2009)

What a charming children’s book! Whenever my 4-year old granddaughter Tanah visits,
she always wants me to read ‘Takako’ to her. Because Tanah is a gateball player (well,
maybe a potential gateball player) and because we often hit balls around the gateball
court, the reference to gateball in the story is especially appealing to her. My
granddaughter can already count to 10 in Japanese, so extra gateball words such as
agari and tsuka should be no trouble to her.

The story is about a shisa, a lion dog and perhaps the Okinawa equivalent of a gargoyle
when placed on a roof, and this shisa’s adventure which occurs in a village in Okinawa.
It’s written in a flowing style with an easy to follow storyline. The story is accompanied
by superb illustrations (by Carmen Daniel) and the book has the look and feel of quality.
The book can be ordered from www.shisastory.com and within a short time, a package
will arrive in the mail. Beautifully presented in a plastic envelope with a colourful
ribbon, the book is an ideal gift for your children or grandchildren. All this for less than
AUD30!

Recommended.

A courtside chat with Australia's Liz Fleming

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By Bob Alman

Liz Fleming and her husband Bruce are among the most successful and enduring “mixed doubles” partners in the world. They were the only married couple both competing in the 2009 World Championships in South Florida, where this interview took place beside Court 11. Her global perspective, anchored in noteworthy achievements both on the court and in the croquet organization of Queensland, challenges traditional attitudes about the relationship of men and women to their sport, to each other on the playing field, and to the sporting organizations that try to govern all those interactions.

Read the full article in Croquet World Online.