NSW MEN’S GC SINGLES 2023: tournament report Venue: Canberra, 31 March – 2 April 2023 Tournament Manager: Kate McLoughlin Tournament Referee: Adrienne Fazekas Number: 20 players Held in Canberra as part of their regular schedule of at least 2 Croquet NSW events a year. Canberra was able to organise and supply all referees and Tournament officials. There were 21 entries, with 1 late withdrawal (the event attracted 22 entries in 2022). We had one entrant from WA, who was visiting family in Sydney. The event was run in 3 blocks of 7,7,6 people; with the first 2 and the 2 best third places in the X knockout finals, the bottom 2 from each block in the Plate, and the middle 4,5 and last third fighting out the ‘Y’ event. Results As in the Women’s GC event we have a new champion: Mark Scruton who defeated Peter Freer in the best of three final: 7-5,3-7,7-4. Peter Landrebe was third and David Woods fourth. Malcolm Powys came fifth, Derek Bull won the ‘Y’, David Scott the ‘W’ and John Gartner the Plate. Play was of a high standard, with spectators from Canberra and Sydney enjoying the quality of the competition. Full results are on Croquet Scores at https://croquetscores.com/2023/gc/nsw-mens-open-singles-championship Management Overall the event went smoothly with fine mild conditions, and no rain eventuating. Players kept to schedule: with the Assistant Tournament Managers keeping the lawns full, and players making good time. Particular matters were: a. Matches were notionally untimed, but the refs started clocks for 50 minutes , with the option to apply 15 minutes to any bogged down game. Time limits were applied to 3 games, with only one 19 point game finishing before the winner reached 10. Quarter finals and Finals were untimed. There was one situation where a player did not understand the timing conditions, and tried to play a golden hoop conclusion before the 15 minutes was up. b. Three way play-offs were not needed to determine the third place in each block, but were used to decide the best 2 third places to go through to the Knock-out. David Hanbidge, Stephen Burns and Malcolm Powys fought out the 3 hoop play-offs, with David Hanbidge and Malcolm Powys going through. It was high pressure contest, which was exciting for the onlookers. c. The Y event and the Plate were played as 19 point games, as the withdrawal of 1 player and two other players electing not to play on gave us more time. There was some confusion about the correct order of hoops for 19 point games, and some uncertainty about the timing limitation of 60 minutes. d. Canberra Club members provided sandwich lunches for $7.50 and morning and afternoon teas were free. Club members and players helped to set up the lawns and put out the tent and chairs. The large tent, purchased with Club Hub funds proved useful for morning tea, and as potential shelter if rain had eventuated. e. The condition of the lawns was very good, although there was one wet spot on lawn 1, and some corner damage to be avoided. Overall the lawns played very well. f. Scoring was updated onto Croquet scores as quickly as possible, as well as onto the Tournaments spreadsheet. The latter has some great features, but was challenging to use when players did not continue in the Tournament and for the 3 hoop playoffs. If this spreadsheet is to be used by other Tournament Managers it would be useful to simplify and/or provide some initial training. The integration of the various spreadsheets with other tournament documents and with Croquet Scores would make life a lot easier for Tournament Managers. g. Handicaps: three players triggered to a different handicap and brought this to the attention of the Tournament Manager. Referees Thanks to Adrienne Fazekas, Tournament Referee, we had 4 referees from Canberra each day, who were supervising. There were some calls of crushes which surprised some players. Otherwise there were no major refereeing incidents, with players conducting themselves well. Financial Outcome Costs for the event were minimal. Catering costs were $147.86 and income received was $156.60, resulting in a slight profit of $8.94. The sandwich price of $7.50 was very reasonable, and no charge was made for cakes etc. All referees and workers received free sandwiches and morning and afternoon tea. Club members were very generous in donating baked goods, fruits, cheese and biscuits. Kerri-Ann Organ had ACA shirts for sale, but only 1 shirt was sold. Lawn hire income from Croquet NSW should be $750.00, which will all go the Canberra Club. Positive comments were received about the efficient organisation of the event, and the good standard of hospitality. The event finished before 4pm each day, with the Presentation being made about 3.30 pm on the Sunday with the final between 2 Canberra players both in the State GC squad. Canberra players Kevin McGlynn was 6th and Ralph Richardson 7th, with junior player Ethan Gumbrell acquitting himself well in this senior competitive field. Ethan was a triple medallist in the recent Australian U 21 championships held in Queensland in January. Kate McLoughlin Tournament Manager April 2023
