The 24th NZ Veterans' Southern Championship (a national event) was held at the Elmwood Club from Wednesday 25th to Sunday 29th November 2009.

EVENTS

The Association Croquet Singles.

Day 1 (Wednesday) was fine and warm and the early morning dew on the grass evaporated as temperatures rose to the 25-29 C range. The lawns varied from 8 to 9.5 seconds during the day. Hoops were set firmly and many of the players experienced difficulty with them. Only two games were pegged out on the first day. Hospitality throughout was provided by the Elmwood Club.
Day 2 was fine and warm - although a little cooler. The two remaining rounds in each event were completed by 3.00pm	The waiting game

Championship Singles:

7 entries with two days to play resulted in this event being run as 5 rounds of flexible Swiss. Results:

Peter Couch (Elmwood) bt John Yarrall (United) 26 -1; Bill Stewart (Kaiapoi) 26 -1; & John Hearnshaw (United) 15-8.
John Hearnshaw bt Jan Stokes (Kaiapoi) 18-11; Peter Westaway (Canada) 16-7, & Bill Stewart 14-8..
Peter Westaway bt Doug Nottage (Nelson-Hinemoa) 20-9; & Bill Stewart 15-11.
Jan Stokes bt John Yarrall (United) 18-12, Peter Westaway 15-12 and Peter Couch 13-8
Doug Nottage bt Jan Stokes 23-16, & Bill Stewart 22-17
John Yarrall bt Doug Nottage 26-12 & Peter Westaway 26-12

	As a Swiss event, players with a bye counted this as a win. John had a bye in the last round and was given permission to leave the venue, but Peter's unexpected loss to Jan created a managerial nightmare. The final result left both Peter Couch and John Hearnshaw with 4 wins and one loss apiece. Peter was declared the winner on the basis of considerably better net points
A different kind of casting

AC Handicap Singles:

There were 5 entries for this event which is being played according to the Section Play (Net Points) method. Results :

Gavin Wainscott (Waireka) bt Frank Williams (Kaiapoi) 17-16; & Bill Worley (United) 18-14.
Rita Yardley (Barrington) bt Gavin Wainscott 19-15 & Gladys Norrie 18-15
Gladys Norrie (South Brighton) bt Frank WIlliams 12-9 & Gavin Wainscott 18-8
Bill Worley bt Gladys Norrie 14-12 & Rita Yardley
Frank Williams bt Rita Yardley 19-11 & Bill Worley 26-12.

This was the first time the manager had encountered a 5-player section with each of the players having two wins. Frank Williams was declared winner and Gladys Norrie Runner-up on the basis of their net points.

Frank Williams - handicap winner, and Peter Couch - championship winner

Handicap Doubles Events

Day 3 started out overcast and cool with the Easterly wind. By mid afternoon the Nor Wester warmed the temperatures, but the time play ended it was a stiff wind which made play difficult for the players. The third day’s events were the doubles in both forms of the game

Association Handicap Doubles

There were 4 pairs entered and the event was played as a single section (net points).
Results were:
Kevin Cusack (United) & Rodger Cullen (Elmwood) bt Margaret Lane & Joan Ryan (both St James Park) 21-12; Bruce Allan (Barrington) & Daph Parkins (Edgeware) 23-18; and Jan Stokes (Kaiapoi) & Rita Yardley (Barrington) 19-17.
Allan & Parkins bt Jan Stokes & Yardley 22-7; and Lane & Ryan 26-11.
Lane & Ryan bt Stokes & Yardley 17-16.
Unbeaten, Kevin Cusack and Rodger Cullen won the section and the Challenge Trays. Bruce Allan and Daph Parkins were runners-up.

Pondering....

Golf Handicap Doubles

There were six pairs entered and this event was played as a single section (net points) as well – 13 point games. Results were:
Peggy Norton (United) & Eileen Tully (Elmwood) bt Joyce Boote & Lorrane Sutherland (Cashmere) 7-2; Pauline & Brian Perwick (Fendalton) 7-6; Pat Dallas & Irene McGahey (Elmwood)7-6; and Janette Nash & Janice Phillips (Elmwood) 7-1.
Max Beyers & Avis Meikle (Hornby) 7-6, bt Norton & Tully 7-6; Nash & Phillips 7-4: and Boote & Sutherland 7-3.
Dallas & McGahey bt Nash & Phillips 7-3; P & B Perwick 7-3; and Beyers & Meikle 7-2.
P & B Perwick bt Boote & Sutherland 7-3; Nash & Phillips 7-6 and Beyers & Meikle 7-0.
Boote & Sutherland bt Nash & Phillips 7-5; and Dallas & McGahey 7-4.

With 4 wins out of 5, Peggy Norton and Eileen Tully won the Aldridge Silver Cups for 2009. Runners-up on points were Pat Dallas and Irene McGahey. Janette Nash and Janice Phillips, both new club members, performed creditably given that they were learning the tactics of the game as they went along.

Golf Croquet Singles

Saturday had the benefit of overnight rain and puddles on the lawns prevented the use of two of the lawns for much of the day. The morning remained wet and misting with further rain - not exactly brilliant conditions for play! Play started a little late with double banking on two of the lawns and games which took longer than usual to complete. Later in the afternoon, with the cessation of rain, we were able to bring a third lawn into play.

Golf Championship Singles

There were 4 players and the event was played as a sequence of three single sections (net points) – 19 point games. Results from each of the three cycles of the block were:
Cycle 1: Peter Couch (Elmwood) bt John Yarrall (United) 10-4; Max Beyers (Hornby) 10-4 and Tony O’Donnell (United) 10-5. O’Donnell bt Beyers 10-7 and Yarrall 10-8.
Cycle 2: Yarrall bt Couch 10-6, O’Donnell 10-7 and Beyers 10-4. Couch bt Beyers 10-4. O’Donnell bt Beyers 10-6.
(Regretably Peter Couch was forced to withdraw at this time, leaving three to battle it out.)
Cycle 3: Yarrall bt O'Donnell 10-7 and Beyers 10-2. O'Donnell bt Beyers 10-1

Final Standings: John Yarrall won the Cup with 5 wins and Tony O'Donnell was second with 4 wins.

Golf Handicap Singles – Complete results:

There were again 4 players and the event was played as a sequence of three single sections (net points) – 13 point games. Results from each of the three cycles of the block were: Cycle 1: Frank Williams (Kaiapoi) bt Pam Hurst (Fendalton) 7-5 and John Smith (Hornby) 7-2. Irene McGahey (Elmwood) bt Smith 7-3 and Williams 7-6. Hurst bt Smith 7-2, McGahey 7-4. Cycle 2: Williams bt Hurst 7-3; McGahey 7-5 and Smith 7-4. Hurst bt Smith 7-6 and McGahey 7-1. McGahey bt Smith 7-5. Cycle 3: Williams bt Hurst 7-4; McGahey 7-6 and Smith 7-3. Hurst bt Smith 7-4 and McGahey 7-5. McGahey bt Smith 7-1

Final standings. Frank Williams 8 wins, Pam Hurst 6 wins Irene McGahey 4 wins and John Smith 0 wins. Congratulations to Frank has won the handicap singles title in both forms of the game. His handicap has changed from a 6 to a 4 in the course of the tournament.

Just friends

Rodger Lane
Manager