On Friday 5th August, about 20 players from Hurstville, Strathfield, Hazelbrook and Lithgow were joined by National Coordinator Ros Crowe for a pilot of a “Think Like a Captain” Course.

John and Penny Park have put the course together for players who have mastered the basic individual skills of the game and are interested in playing well and making a greater contribution to their teams.

An opening discussion with all participants noted that when teams played well, all players showed they understood and followed the game and were anticipating their captain’s instructions. Everyone recognised that to play Gateball well, all players need individual, team and thinking skills.

During the first session an updated version of Keith McLeod’s responsibilities of players list was discussed. Practical activities then occupied the remaining time until morning tea. On calls from the presenters, balls were played to positions on the court and attack, bridge, pivot and helper balls were stroked and sparked into position. The post-beginner players were appreciating the need for captains to be concise and for players to understand calls without the need for lengthy explanations! Just before the break a refresher session on slides was undertaken and focussed on the thinking required by the player to position a ball successfully using a slide.

After a break, players were presented with a series of scenarios based on real life examples from games where problem solving needed to be applied by the player. Players were challenged to find alternative resolutions for the scenarios and play them out. The scenarios were different to the whole game scenarios often used to develop captains.

Strathfield is a CNSW Club Hub. Club Hubs are an interesting initiative of CNSW. It specifies a number of clubs as hubs who play all  four codes and whose role it is to support surrounding clubs through a range of activities for example, hosting this course. Thanks club hub coordinator Petula for your support of this course by Strathfield.

Once the pilot has been evaluated and a final version produced, the course can be shared with any level 2 coaches interested in presenting it. Contact info@gateball.com.au to obtain a copy!

In 2021, the Queensland Croquet’s Centenary Committee agreed that Gateball would be included in the CAQ Centenary Pennants to be held in 2022. The innovative format of the event required an entry of five players who played in a Team game and then split to play in a Doubles game and a Triples game. The winner in each region was the club team that won the most pennant rounds.
The Brisbane North Region was represented by Eildon; the Sunshine Coast Region was represented by Caloundra; the Gold Coast Tweed Region was represented by Southport and the Central Queensland Region was represented by Rockhampton.

The participants seen the photo are members of the 4 teams from the Regions in Queensland.

All the teams gathered at Eildon CC from 16-17th July. Competition over the two days was of the highest level with the fantastic weather and lawn conditions making all the matches great viewing. The players agreed that the pennants format was challenging and enjoyable and seem to agree that they would be keen to do it all again next year.

The Southport  Team from the Gold Coast Tweed Region were the winners and were presented with their medal by Pat Habner, CAQ President.

The GCT regional team, Southport, was undefeated by winning all three pennant rounds in which they played. The Central Queensland Regional team, Rockhampton, were the runners up. Eildon from the Brisbane South Region came third.

Representing Central QLD was the Rockhampton team that came second.

The Winning Medal

Information and photos supplied by Ros Crowe

Congratulations to the six new level 1 Coaches who undertook the Level 1 Gateball Coaching Course conducted by Jim and Barbara Northcott at Eildon Croquet Club on Sunday afternoon, 17th July. It was a very committed group of players who were well prepared and enthusiastic about the task of Coaching Gateball.

 Robyn Brown and Howard Williams were from the Caloundra MSC. From the  Eildon Croquet Club were Maddi Crowe, Christine Roose, Philip Rowlands and Denis Pitkin.

Thanks to the Eildon Club and their Management for the use of their facilities.

L-R Howard Williams, Philip Rowlands, Denis Pitkin, Robyn Brown,Maddi Crowe and Christine Roose.

At the Southport’s MSOB Gateball Competition it was announced by Bruce McAlister, Manager of the Suzuki Cup, that the winning team for 2021 was the Southport Red. This Trophy is for the most consistent team for the whole of the year and it honours the founder of Gateball – Mr Eiji Suzuki.

Southport Red did have a very good year because it won the State Championships along with several other Competitions. It also was placed 2nd in the Australian Gateball Team Championships in April of this year.

 Southport has won the Suzuki Cup for the 6th year. Not all of the regular team members were able to be there for the presentation. Ethan Chilton, Barrie and Margaret Barnard could not attend. But, it was a very happy time indeed for those participated in the MSOB since the team won that event as well.

Southport Red team- L-R Peter Sweet, Lee Wentworth (C.), Kathie Grant and Gaye Pitman