Category Archives: Events

Crazy Arms lend helping hand for Queensland State Championships

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Crazy Arms are delighted to sponsor the Queensland Gateball State Championships held at Pine Rivers Croquet Club on the 12th to 14th August 2023.  Founded by three Aussie Dads, Crazy Arms were originally designed to protect children from harmful UV, but soon caught on with the older population.  Golfers, Cyclists, Lawn Bowlers, Hikers, Fishers and Gardeners have adopted the fun UPF50+ Sun Sleeves, that come in a variety of colours and patterns. Made from up-cycled waste, like the ghost fishing nets that are reclaimed from the ocean, Crazy Arms are lightweight, cool to wear, and come in fully recycled packaging.

Co-Founder, Martin, was delighted to hear that Gateball players were also taking up the call, “Skin cancer affects 2 in 3 Australians by the age on 70 – A keen golfer, I’m one of them – so anything we could do to reduce the risk felt like a smart move.  Men, in particular, are more likely to get skin cancer, including melanomas. We’re delighted to be involved with the Gateball community, and offer prizes and discounts to everyone who attend.”

Crazy arms are sold on line at crazyarms.com, with sizes for all ages from 3 and up.

Southport Croquet Club’s MSOB Gateball Competition 2023

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From Saturday 24th to Monday 26th June Southport Croquet Club held its annual Mallet Sports on the Broadwater (MSOB) at the Gold Coast QLD.

The Gateball Teams Competition was held first. With 9 teams competing it was a good playing roster to organise- 3 courts used with 2 teams playing and one team refereeing. Everything went smoothly particularly since the weather was exceptionally mild and sunny.

The winning team was a combined team. The members of the team came from Rockhampton, Bribie Island in QLD, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle in NSW and one  player from Canberra. The presentations were made by a representative of the Sponsors- Michael Hare Eye Vision.

In second place was the Southport Red team which was one of 3 teams that Southport entered.

The third place went to the team from Moreton Bay.

The Gateball Doubles competition had 18 Doubles teams entered. Again, this created 2 Blocks of 9 pairs and was good to organise the games. The winning pair were from Moreton Bay- Emma Mauceri and Kaelan Sweatman. The presentations were made by the Club Patron, Dawn Crichlow.

In 2nd place were a Southport pair- Kathie Grant and Barbara Northcott.

In 3rd position was a Doubles pair from Eildon – Richard Bevan and Philip Rowland.

 

 

Gateball Captain Development Program 2023

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Unfortunately, at present, even the best Australian teams struggle against quality international opposition.  To help remedy this, the ACA decided to run a Captain’s course.  Over the weekend of May 20 and 21, twenty-four Gateball captains came to Woody Point, in the Moreton Bay region of Brisbane, to learn about the subtle art of Gateball captaincy. 

We want to thank both the ACA and Moreton Bay Regional Council for giving funding for the event.

The event was opened by Councillor Karl Winchester from Moreton Bay Regional Council, pictured below with all the participants and presenters.

The Course was led by a team of presenters: Philip Brown – Gateball  High Performance Manager, and Level 3 Gateball Coaches, Glen Whitehead, John Park, Geoff Crook and Barbara Northcott.

The aim of the course was as simple as it was complex: Better Captains Making Better Teams. 

We set out to share our knowledge to help every team get a little bit better.  But by “our” we don’t mean just the presenters.  The course attendees developed a great spirit of co-operation, too.  Everyone was sharing their knowledge freely and giving guidance where they could. 

The course lasted the full two days and covered multiple aspects of the role of Captain.

Of course there were a number of topics on Gateball strategy, including structuring your balls to make gate-touches more available, numerical play, the advantages of a cluster of balls.  But there was more than just Gateball tactics.

John led sessions on how to get the most out of the training your team does.  Barbara discussed the nuances of leadership and how to help your team become the best they can.  Geoff explained how the best team he had ever seen played with immaculate defensive Gateball techniques.  Glen helped us to understand the real probabilities of making certain types of shots.

We were also lucky enough to be able to film a game from multiple cameras, including a drone.  This footage will be made available soon, once the editing is complete.

The course was held at Eildon Croquet Club who were immaculate hosts.  The courts were well prepared and the catering excellent.  We bid hearty thanks for all the assistance we received from Eildon.

Most of the course consisted of a short discussion in the club room, followed by drills or scenarios out on the lawns.  The full presenters’ notes will be made available on the Gateball Australia website.  This means that individuals can read them, but we’re hoping that the captains who attended will take the knowledge back to share with their clubs and regions.  There’s lots of interesting scenarios designed to highlight features of Gateball strategy.

We hope everyone will go back to their clubs and start practicing – we want the Australian teams at the coming Australian Gateball Championships in Wodonga in September to show our International guests that the hospitality ends at the starting box!

Philip Brown – High Performance Manager – Gateball

Gateball Captain Development Program proudly supported by Moreton Bay Regional Council

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Gateball Australia is hosting a Gateball Captain Development Program to be held on the weekend of the 20th and 21st of May that will bring Gateball captains from around Australia to the Moreton Bay Region of Queensland. The program aimed at supporting Gateball captains to improve their competition strategy and tactics will be led by the Gateball High Performance Manager, Philip Brown and Level 3 Gateball Coaches, Barbara Northcott, John Park, Geoff Crook and Glen Whitehead. 

The development program has been given a huge boost of over $3,300 in funding from the Moreton Bay Regional Council through a Community Activities Grant and Local Councillor Karl Winchester will welcome participants to the region and open the event.

The funding provided by the grant will provide court and training equipment, printing of course materials and catering for the event. Funding was also received to film part of the development program so that videos can be produced to train future captains and players. 

Moreton Bay Region has several Gateball playing clubs (Pine Rivers, Eildon, Moreton Bay and Bribie Island) and Gateball Captains from the region will be attending the program. We can expect to see flow on benefits for local Gateball players and the wider community as we build our Gateball capability and offer more Gateball playing opportunities. Most clubs in the region currently run Gateball Come and Try sessions through the Moreton Bay Healthy and Active Program which encourages locals to try new activities.  

We are very grateful to Moreton Bay Regional Council for their support of Gateball and  the Gateball Captain Development Program.

 

Wodonga to host 2023 Australian Gateball Championships

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Gateball Australia has confirmed that the 2023 Australian Gateball Championships will be held in the regional Victorian city of Wodonga. Wodonga Croquet Club located at the Wodonga Tennis Centre will host the event.

Twin City Croquet Club in Albury, NSW was originally chosen to welcome the country’s Gateball players from the 7th to 10th September, but with several international teams expressing interest in attending the event, it was decided to move to the larger facilities at Wodonga. Part of the NSW Gateball Championships were held at Wodonga in September 2022 so it is a familiar venue for Gateball players.

Gateball Australia is grateful for the support of the Wodonga Tennis Centre and the willingness of the Wodonga Croquet Club to take on the hosting of this event. This year, the Australian Gateball Championships have been extended to a four day tournament, and will deliver both a Doubles and a Team event. 

The last Australian Gateball Championships, held at the Gold Coast in April 2021, were delayed by several months due to COVID restrictions but still attracted Australian teams from four states. This year, the opportunity to welcome back international teams after a break of several years, is an exciting prospect for local Gateball players.

The event is open to spectators to come and watch the best in the country compete. You can find out more about Gateball at the Gateball Australia website at https://gateball.com.au/ or by emailing info@gateball.com.au.