Tag Archives: #gateballaustralia

Gateball on the move

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On our 2nd visit to Sunnyside Croquet Club to coach and demonstrate Gateball on the 12 July 2023, we were met by a very enthusiastic and welcoming group of players, who were as keen as mustard to get their hands on the first Loan Gateball Kit that I have available to lend to a club who have shown a keen and enthusiastic attitude toward accepting Gateball to their club.

Sunnyside Club and their members, 20 at our first visit, and 10 members, at our second visit, are just what I look for in a club to take on Gateball and expand our game. Along with Point Lookout who are also playing Gateball on a regular basis, Gateball is moving in the right direction in the Wide Bay Burnett Region in regional Queensland.

I have several other clubs to visit this year for Gateball demonstrations and hopefully, will have more Loan Gateball Kits to have on hand to allow these clubs to try Gateball without the initial expense of acquiring their own kits. I like the “try before you buy” way that we are spreading the Gateball message throughout Queensland.  Gateball is different just by the nature of the game, so having more loan kits available, we can expand our sport to the wider croquet community without the initial cost of equipment being a factor. Having Croquet clubs equipped and playing Gateball which is an all-inclusive sport, will not only attract new and possibly younger members and their families but also give existing members at clubs more choice, with Gateball also being offered.

Robert Roose 

Queensland Gateball Coordinator

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.

 

Moreton Bay Gateball Club event 11th -13th March 2023

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We had a wonderful weekend with all the players that joined us for our 1st ever Team and Doubles competitions. 

We had players travel from Canberra, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast and many from our local region to join us for our 3 day event. 

Congratulations to our Winners:

Teams Winner : Dolphins 

Teams Runners up : Eildon White (missing from photo are Grahame Bishop and Jules Churchward).

Doubles Winners : Kele Crew

Doubles Runners up : Em & M

There were many very close games that went down to the last second. 

It was lovely to see some new players. Welcome to the game David, John, Joanne and Mark. We look forward to see you at the next event. 

We thank you all for your support and we’ll see you all again in the future. 

Thank you 

Moreton Bay Gateball Club  

Submitted by Emma Mauceri