15 teams 48 players travelled from far and wide, WA, SA, ACT and NSW, to compete at Jamberoo in their annual Super 3s event.

This many teams called for some creative planning and so an incomplete round robin was put in place. This was a non-bibbed event which also gave teams the opportunity to have one substitution each. This benefited those who are inexperienced and also the more senior or less agile members of the gateball community.

Some very close and highly competitive games were played out. The winners were not decided until the last round.

1^st place went to Jamberoo MGs with Manuel Gutierrez, Glenda Gutierrez, Graham Shephard & Gerry Hassett. 10 wins and 81 net points.

2^nd place went to Lithgow Lightning with John Park, Penny Park & Murray Loane (who travelled from WA to compete). 10 wins and 59 net points.

Another well-presented refereeing talk was given by Manuel on common ball touch fouls, further increasing and refreshing our understanding of the complex rules.

Special mention must go to our SA Gateballers, Geoff Crook, Trish Fazackerley, Chris Crook, Peter Crook, Ben Tarling & Ann Hassall, who arrived in Jamberoo at midnight Friday and were on the lawns at 8am Saturday ready to play. Chris and Peter then did the honours of hitting through the ceremonial gate. Come Sunday at the conclusion of play they headed back to Sydney for a flight back to SA.

And what did the young players think about the comp?

The weekend was a great adventure with intriguing, unpredictable games.  We met awesome people and the cakes were delicious! (Chris, aged 10)

An interesting experience – what seems a simple game quickly turns into a game of chess.  I loved the feeling after a good shot.  Everyone was nice and were good sports.  It was a great environment, great place with great people. (Peter, aged 14)

Chris and Peter, making the first ever double pass through the ceremonial gate

A small but committed field competed in the Victorian Gateball Championships at the Victorian Croquet Centre over the weekend of 27-29 April.

Team Winners, Kew

As well as the Victorian teams, we had competitors from Canberra and, for the first time as a standalone team, the Woodville team from South Australia.  The absence of our Queensland friends was again felt – but with a new date for next year’s tournament of the last weekend in March (28-31) the clash with the Rockhampton event has, hopefully, been resolved.

At the opening of the event, Ruth Duffy, the Victorian Coordinator of Coaching, presented Philip Brown with his level 1 coaching certificate. Ruth, Philip and National coordinator of Gateball, John Park, have combined to ensuring that Philip is accredited to deliver the Level 1 Gateball coaching endorsement in Victoria.  Ruth also hit the ball through the ceremonial first hoop – scoring a gate-touch to boot.

A feature of the Victorian Championships is the number of younger players who enjoy the event.  It is always great to see Tim and son, Robert , participating in the pairs event.  Their distinguishing flat caps added distinction and class to a disparate array of team uniforms. Anthony Dask, now a first year Agriculture student at university still shows his trademark flamboyant enthusiasm for the game.  He still insists that he regularly watches Japanese gateball on TV every week prefers to referee in Japanese! Geoff and Trish Crook and their two sons from SA completed the younger competing cohort this tournament.  (Though Freya was called upon at the last minute to add frizz to the medal presentations – see the photos.)  Can any other state match this excellent participation rate for younger players?

This year, for the first time in 5 years, the Victorian Championships were won by a Victorian team.  Congratulations to Kew, for their first in in their home competition since 2012.  The runners-up were Essendon, who were also the only team to best Kew in the double round-robin.

In the pairs, the lure of the second presentation of the John Bradley Pairs Championship proved a strong motivator.  The final was contested between Philip Brown & Kerry Seipolt and their Victorian counterparts Gilon Smith & Anthony Dask.  A see-sawing final was eventually won by Philip & Kerry 13-11, thanks to a faint nick on the goal-pole at the 29^th minute.  John’s partner Elaine shared some memories of John and presented the pairs medals in his honour.

We hope to see you all at the next Victorian Championships in March 2019 – or the Nationals to be held from 29 November to 1 December 2019.  As the competitors this year can attest, we can promise you warm, delightful weather here in Melbourne… at some stage during the tournament!

Teams Runners Up, Essendon

Pairs Runners Up, Gilon and Anthony