New players making their mark on Barry croquet club in Gisborne

Gisborne Golf Croquet Tournament manager and placegetters are (from left): Tournament manager Ross Thomson, third placegetter Reef Parsons, winner Ross Dellaway and runner-up Maxine Kennington.

New players are making their presence felt on Barry Memorial Croquet Club’s courts in Gisborne.

Ross Dellaway, a Wairoa amputee who uses a trolley for assistance when he plays, and 12-year-old Ilminster Intermediate School student Reef Parsons showed great potential in their first open tourney.

The Barry Memorial club’s Gisborne Golf Croquet Tournament – sponsored by Beetham Lifestyle Village – was for players with a handicap of 6 or more.

Dellaway came through two tough games in the semifinals and final to win the tournament, while Parsons surprised a few players by beating opponents on lower handicaps and finishing third.

Dellaway is keen. Every weekend, he and wife Doreen travel from Wairoa to Gisborne for club days at Barry Memorial.

Visitors from Hawke’s Bay and Bay of Plenty took part in the golf croquet tournament, and players were split into two groups.

Tournament manager Ross Thomson said Block B was fiercely contested.

Maxine Kennington from Napier’s Marewa club, Barb Woods from Barry Memorial and Jim Britton from the Whakatāne club all had four wins.

Kennington and Woods each had 32 points for and 21 against, each finishing with net hoops of +11.

Block B standings had to be decided on the result of the game between Kennington and Woods, which Kennington had won 7-4. This meant Kennington would play her semifinal against the second-placed player in Block A, and Woods would play the top player.

Britton’s net hoops score was lower, at +9, so he played off for fourth to sixth placings against Block A players in a similar position.

In Block A, Barry Memorial’s Dellaway won all his games to finish top of the group.

His clubmate Parsons, on a 10 handicap, might have expected an uphill battle in Block A, especially against players with handicaps of 6 or 7.

But he played steady and calculated golf croquet to win three games against players on lower handicaps.

Will Humphreys, another from Barry Memorial, also won three games but finished with a lower differential than Parsons so was placed third in the group.

In the semifinals, Woods played Dellaway and Kennington played Parsons.

Woods and Dellaway played outstanding golf croquet, hitting each other’s ball away from up to 15 metres when it seemed to be in a winning position. The game attracted so much attention that some players delayed the start of their own games to watch it.

Two hours in, Dellaway got his last hoop to win 7-5. Woods had done well to stay in contention throughout.

In the other semifinal, Kennington’s experience made the difference, and she beat Parsons 7-2.

The final between Dellaway and Kennington was close, and both players played some skilful defensive stop shots.

Kennington’s greater experience in ball positioning and shot options came up against Dellaway’s dogged determination not to let the game slip. It went down to the wire before Dellaway won 7-6.

In the third/fourth playoff, Parsons showed experience beyond his years to beat Woods 7-6.

Tournament manager Thomson said players were keen for this tournament to become an annual event.

Dellaway continued his good form with victory in the Whakatāne Golf Croquet Summer Tournament the following weekend. Playing in Division 2 of the singles, he was the only player to win five games, and so comfortably won the division.

Barry Memorial players John Wilson and Rob Hayes were second in the Division 1 doubles.

The summer croquet season is under way at Barry Memorial Croquet Club, at 530 Aberdeen Rd. New players are welcome.

Golf croquet club days are Fridays and Sundays with a report time of 12.45pm. Twilight play is on Wednesdays with a report time of 4.30pm. Association croquet club days are on Saturdays from 1pm.