From Saturday 17th August through to Monday 19th August the QLD State Gateball Teams and Doubles Championships were held at Toombul Croquet Club. This was the first time for Toombul CC to host any Gateball Championship. It was a very successful competition because of the hospitality of the members of that club, the ability to have 4 courts available and marked out with white lines, plus the very mild, winter weather.

Nine teams arrived to play with some travelling great distances to compete – from Capricorn Coast in central Queensland to our southern visitors from Canberra and those from Toowoomba to the west of Brisbane. There were 16 pairs of Doubles Teams. The Opening Ceremony was conducted by the local MP, Leanne Linard, who is Patron of Toombul Croquet Club.

The team from Canberra had just one loss- to Southport White. So with 7 wins altogether, Canberra won the Lola Whyte Trophy by winning the QLD State Gateball Teams Championship! This was the 7th win by a team from Canberra since the Championships began in 2005. That is a fantastic achievement!  The presentation was made by Mrs Fiona McAlister who is the daughter of Lola Whyte for whom the Trophy is dedicated.

The team from Canberra, accompanied by two little supporters, accept the Lola Whyte Trophy.

In second place was Redcliffe Roses who scored 5 wins but had a better hoop net average than Sunny Coast which also scored 5 wins.

Second place went to Redcliffe Roses

The Gateball Doubles Championship required dividing the 16 teams into two blocks with 8 pairs in each. The winner of A Block was the Blue Macs Team. It was a very closely- fought Block with 3 teams each on 5 wins. But Philip Rowlands and Allan Beeson from McIlwraith Club had scored more gates than the the other two pairs. The winner of Block B was the husband and wife pair from Canberra- Kristina and Glen Whitehead.  The Grand Final was full of unexpected twists and turns. Scoring an ‘agari’  from a long distance enabled Philip and Allan to take the top spot at the 2019 QLD State Gateball Doubles Championship.

David Drake, the Treasurer of CAQ, attended the Presentation Ceremony as well as Bruce McAlister who donated the Trophy for the Winner of the QLD Gateball Doubles Championship.

Bruce McAlister, centre, presented the Trophy donated by him to Philip Rowlands and Allan Beeson from McIlwraith CC. 

David Drake, CAQ Treasurer, presented the Runner up medallions to Kristina and Glen Whitehead

At the recent State Gateball Teams Championship the QLD Director of Gateball Refereeing, Margaret Barnard, assessed three players for their practical application of refereeing. The three players passed the testing procedure over a day and a half. Margaret presented to the players their Level 2 Referee badges. Congratulations to Lyn Christiansen and Kath Hayes from Capricorn Coast CC and to Margaret Dickenson from Toowoomba CC.

L-R: Lyn Christiansen, Kath Hayes,Margaret Barnard and Margaret Dickenson

There were ten pairs of gateball players who enjoyed a lovely afternoon playing in the Gateball Doubles Tournament. With two Block of 5 pairs, it was quite a busy time with playing a game followed by umpiring a game etc. Block A was won by Gaye Pitman playing with Lee Wentworth- both from Southport. Second place went to the Caloundra player Pat Burton and Sandra Reynolds from Toowoomba. Block B winners were Julia Tai and Ethan Chilton from Southport. In second place was Barrie Barnard from Broadbeach who partnered Peter Sweet from Southport.

In a very exciting Final, the dynamic mother and son combination of Julia and Ethan won on a countback against Gaye and Lee. Third place went to Peter and Barrie. A long standing Club Sponsor, Lesley Shepherd, Manager /Owner of Select World Travel and Cruises, made the presentations.

Lesley Shepherd with the winning pair of Ethan Chilton and Julia Tai

Second place went to Gaye Pitman and Lee Wentworth.

Third placed was Barrie Barnard and Peter Sweet with Lesley Shepherd

On the 29th and 30th June there was a very happy atmosphere at Southport Croquet Club because 8 Gateball Teams and 10 Gateball Doubles Teams were playing in the annual Mallet Sports on the Broadwater. Dodging the showers on the Saturday, all of the games were finished on time and we all stayed dry.

All team members at Southport

One player, Geoff Crook, flew up from Adelaide to participate. Such dedication! He played with the Southport Red Team. The local club also fielded 2 more teams-Southport White and Southport Stripes- while providing 2 players to the Mx ‘N Match Team.  The other teams came from Broadbeach, Caloundra, Pine Rivers and Toowoomba. A very friendly atmosphere was experienced by everyone there and remarked upon by many of the participants. 

There were a few games that were won on a countback and most games were closely contested with no huge difference in scores. By the end of Sunday morning, the teams representing Pine Rivers, Southport Red and Southport Stripes had each won 5 games. With a big number of ‘Net Hoops’, the winning team was Southport Red. The presentation was made by Mr. Hare,  son of the Sponsor of Southport CC- Vision Michael Hare Eye Care and Optometrist.

Southport Red wins the MSOB Gateball Tournament

It was good news for the team from Pine Rivers Croquet Club whose team made its first appearance at the MSOB Gateball Tournament. We hope to see them return next year even more competitive after they gain experience playing together. 

Second Place went to Pine Rivers Croquet Club

Southport Stripes came third

In third place was the Southport Stripes team made up of mostly newer players to the game but who play other codes of croquet.