A unique feature of the 2015 Australian Gateball Championship was Australia’s first gateball photo competition. The Australian gateball community strongly supported the event with 85 entries received. The top thirty photos were displayed during the weekend with peoples votes deciding the winner.

The winning photo was Is that a proposal on Gateball Court by Glenda Gutierrez who won a $100 voucher from VideoPro. Small Boy and a Big Hoop finished second while Brass Monkey Weather in Blackheath placed third. A big thank you to Frances Wregg for organising the competition.

The finalists are published below (in no particular order) as well as some commendations that didn’t make the final 30. Click on the photos to view a larger version and you can discuss your favourite in the comments below.

Finalists

No 2 in the Middle

Mallet in the Sky

Technique Pays Off

Nailed it!

Start of the Day

Hmm let me think about this

Three Countries Six Fingers

All Seasons

The International Game of Friendship

A New Breed of Gateballers

Sparking

Nearly Done

Is that a proposal on the gateball court?

Playing under the Bridge at Nagoya

Is it a flamingo?

WGC Shanghai

Line me up please

Brass Monkey Weather in Blackheath

Colin exchanges his mallet for a shovel

Macau Asian Games 2012

Lee at the World Champs Japan 2014

A Perfect Day

As Straight as a Die

Come Rain Come Shine

Exhausting

Eye on the Ball

Where are the Red Ones

Small Boy and a Big Hoop

The Winning Shot

Yes!

Honourable Mentions

The Australian Gateball Championship were held from 4-6 September in sunny Wynnum, Brisbane. 17 teams were separated into two blocks before semi-finals and a final decided the champions.

Block A
Chongqing, China
Toowoomba, Qld
Canberra Sparkers, ACT
Southport, Qld
NSW Country
Broadbeach, Qld
Ipswich Snoopys, Qld
Eildon, Qld
Jiangsu Kunshan, China

Block B
Shandong Dongming, China
Southern Stars, Vic & SA
Taipans, Qld
Kiwis, NZ
Canberra Mavericks, ACT
GLAMBJETS, Qld
Blue Macs, Qld
NSW Coast

Tournament results were updated at the newly developed https://gateballscores.com/.

Friday and Opening Ceremony
Joan Pease MP opened the tournament by scoring the ceremonial gate.

International Team Profiles

Chongqing, China
Chongqing is a large city at the source of the Chongqing River. Gateball is very popular in this city and some players in this team coach school children. This year, they coached the team which became Chinese school champions.

Jiangsu Kunshan, China
The players from this team come from a prosperous area, where there are many world famous factories, such as Adidas and Nike. Gateball is very popular here and every town in the province has a specialist Gateball facility, whether for indoor or outdoor Gateball. International competitions are held here.

Shandong Dongming, China
The team from Shandong is known in China as a very strong team. The region they come from is a rural region, far from big cities, so the team has made a very long journey to come here. The team is made up of older players and is sponsored by their local government, who have a responsibility to encourage older people to remain healthy.

Kiwis, New Zealand
This team is made up of ‘enthusiastic amateurs’. What they lack in experience they make up for in good looks! They may well be the dark horse of the tournament, because they have the ‘never say die’ Kiwi attitude.

Australian and New Zealand Team Photos

Sunday Photos and Update

Semi-final 1 saw Chongqing (China) knocked out the final remaining Australian side, the Canberra Mavericks, in a tight match 12-9.

Semi-final 2 saw Shandong Donming (China) defat Jiangsu Kunshan (China) 11-8, after taking the lead on their final turn.

The final was played in front of a crowd of 100 with Chongqing defeating Shandong Donming 10-7.


Congratulations to all competitors and to the Wynnum Club for hosting a wonderful event.