The SA State Gateball Tournament was held from Friday 2 December 2022 to Sunday 4 December 2022, and was a testament to the flexibility, pragmatism and all round good nature of the Gateball community.

This was the first time we have held a “real” teams competition after last year’s trial event with two teams and rotating captains. It was gratifying to see 6 teams enter the competition, with 3 local sides and 3 interstate teams from Victoria, NSW and ACT.

A big thank you to all of our interstate visitors for making the trip – you certainly enhanced the standard of the competition and the enjoyment of all competitors.

We started with doubles on Friday, teams on Saturday, and completion of doubles on Sunday. This unusual schedule arose from the availability of some players who could not play on Friday, and some team-only players who could only play on Saturday.

The President’s [doubles] Trophy was contested over two blocks of six pairs, with the local Brighton team having an excellent Friday to lead Block A with 4 wins from 4 games, and it was a similar story in Block B with Canberra Long Shots also winning all four of their games.

Saturday saw the arrival of the Victorian team and the hot weather. Kew [and co] played to their usual standard, despite being more of a composite team, and will be the first team to adorn the new Gateball Teams perpetual trophy. Canberra placed second with 3 wins, separated from Woodville, ably supported by Ros and Maddi Crowe from Queensland, in third place by net gates. [Can I say Well done Woodville? Just did I guess.]

Sunday again brought hot weather and a tough schedule for the pairings of Philip and Peter W; and Elaine and Cheryl, who had to play all of their games on Sunday morning.

A tense finale was in store with 3 teams in each block in contention for the finals as the last round started.  Philip and Peter beat Brighton 21-9 which unfortunately consigned Brighton to third place in Block A, but still a great performance from the Brighton pair in their first tournament.  Elaine and Cheryl won their final Block B game but also placed third in their block, which set up semi finals between Philip and Peter versus John and Penny and Canberra Long Shots versus the Hyde Park pair.  It was great to see a local doubles team make the finals and the Hyde Park pairing should be congratulated on their performance.  Unfortunately, Canberra were too strong, and the final was played between Canberra and Philip and Peter [also from Canberra].

Philip again will have his name etched onto the trophy after overseeing a 14-8 victory.

The weekend also provided an opportunity for a number of people to sit their Referee Theory exam.

Congratulations to Cheryl, Peter W and Ralph for passing the level 1 Referee Theory exam.

Barry Jennings and Maddi Crowe also passed the theory exam and were assessed for the practical component, and are to be congratulated on becoming our newest Level 1 referees.

Story submitted by Geoff Crook, SA State Gateball Coordinator