Cairnlea, Victoria, 23-25 November
Fifteen gateball teams from Australia, China and Japan converged on Melbourne for the fourth Australian Gateball Championships. Japanese and Chinese teams hit the practice courts early, keen to adapt to the unique Australian conditions. Friday 23 November included a training session for Australian referees. The Australian referees had to work hard under the watchful eye of the Japanese teachers.
Teams were well fed at the opening ceremony, which included speeches by John Fransen, president of Croquet Australia, Valerie Brown, president of the Victorian Croquet Association, Keiichi Imagawa, Director General of the World Gateball Union, and Gilon Smith, National Director of Gateball. Japanese and Chinese visitors showed their appreciation to their Australian hosts by presenting a number of beautiful gifts. The opening ceremony was closed by a rousing song of friendship performed by one of the members of the Petro China Sports Association team.
The round robin matches underlined the strength of the international teams. Both Japan A and the Petro China Sports Association teams emerged undefeated at the top of their respective groups.
Several Australian teams recorded wins against Japanese opponents (including Kew, Canberra and Queensland) but no Australian team was able to overcome any of the Chinese teams.
The semi-finals saw Japan B and Petro China Sports Association move into the final with wins over Japan A and Shaxi Wuqi respectively.
The final was a tough battle in the early stages until Petro China Sports Association dominated the last 20 minutes by playing flawless Gateball. The large crowd enthusiastically applauded the precise stroking and sparking as Petro China Sports Association won the match by scoring the maximum 25 points, a ‘perfect game’.
At the presentation ceremony National Director of Gateball, Gilon Smith paid tribute to Victorian Director of Gateball and event organiser Elaine Coverdale, together with her team, for organising an outstanding event. Gilon also thanked the Australian Croquet Association and the World Gateball Union for their ongoing support of gateball in Australia. The championships were closed with the invitation to the youth of the world to assemble in Queensland in two years for the fifth Australian Gateball Championships.
Glen Whitehead
(photographer Kimberlee Trent)
