Close contests in golf croquet club champs

Champs: John Wilson (left) and Rob Hayes won the Barry Memorial Croquet Club’s golf croquet doubles championship. Hayes won the open singles championship and Wilson was runner-up. At the Whakatane Level Doubles Tournament, they won Block A. Pictures supplied

Rob Hayes retained his open singles championship when Barry Memorial Croquet Club members completed their golf croquet club championships.

And the man who went closest to knocking him off his perch was John Wilson — his partner in the doubles championship, which they took by winning all their games.

They competed against four other pairs, three of whom finished with two wins.

The pairs with two wins had to be separated by countback, which revealed that Per and Ina Elzen were runners-up.

Six players contested the open singles club championship. Reigning champion Hayes was shaken when second seed Wilson beat him 7-4 in the third round.

Wilson continued winning until the last round, when Ross Thomson beat him 7-6.

This meant that Wilson and Hayes each had only one loss, but Hayes won on countback and was declared club champion for 2022.

Six players contested the intermediate singles and many games were won by only one or two hoops.

At the end of the day George Ebbett and Maurice Allan each had four wins and one loss, but Allan was declared the winner on countback. He had a differential of plus nine to Ebbett’s plus four.

Fay Mitchell, who started playing the game only this year, played good-quality croquet all day against more experienced players and won two games. She was named MVP (most valuable player) of the day.

Per and Ina Elzen competed in the Pakuranga Married Couples and Long-term Partners Tournament. They lost their first game, won their next three but then lost the last 7-6. If they had won the last game they would have won the division. Instead they finished runners-up.

Gisborne players competed in the Whakatane Level Doubles Tournament. Wilson and Hayes, playing in Block A, finished even with three other pairs. They all had three wins. The Gisborne pair won the division through having the best differential.

Among the other pairs were Dave and Chris Newton, former Barry members now living in Matamata.

Christine McCullough from Gisborne paired with Heather Aitken from Matamata to play in Block B, which consisted of six pairs. They did well to finish runners-up.

In the singles at the same tournament, Hayes finished runner-up to Dave Newton in Block A, winning three of his five games.

In Block C, McCullough finished in third place with three wins and two losses.

• The club is now heading into the winter part of the playing season and encourages anyone interested in trying the game to come along to club day on Friday and Sunday afternoons from 12.45pm. Full tuition is given and all the equipment is supplied.