The North and South Island Association Croquet Championships were held at Croquet South Taranaki and Croquet Nelson respectively from 9th to 13th December 2020.
Down south, it was the brother duo of Logan and Reece McCorkindale (South Canterbury) which proved too strong in the doubles. The pair won 4 of their 5 games and had an impressive net hoops count of +59 on route to the 2020/21 South Island AC Doubles Title.
It was a close competition with 3 pairs tied on 3 wins each after the 5 rounds. Graeme Simpson (South Canterbury) and Mike McClure (Nelson) were awarded second based on their superior net hoops, +16.
L McCorkindale carried his good form into the singles where he went undefeated during the round-robin, winning 5 from 5 and advancing to the KO stage as the top qualifier. Greg Bryant (West Coast), qualified second after winning 4 of 5 games.
In the semi-final, L McCorkindale continued his dominance beating Brian Wislang (Nelson), 26-3, 26TP-3. Bryant ensured he would move onto the final with a 26-4, 26-1 win over William Rush (Nelson).
The final saw L McCorkindale remain undefeated in the singles, winning in straight games 26-10, 26-12. L McCorkindale now holds the 2020/21 South Island Open Singles Titles for both AC and GC.
In the 0-3.5 Singles, Doug Nottage (Nelson) and Simpson qualified for the semi-finals having both won 6 out of 7 games in the block stage. Marion Prentice (Nelson) secured her place in the next round with 4 wins while Alan Winwood (Nelson) secured the final place with his superior net hoops after their was a three way tie for fourth.
It was the 3rd and 4th placed qualifiers who would secure victories in the semi-finals with Prentice beating Nottage 25-13 and Winwood beating Simpson 21-14 to set up an all Nelson final. Prentice went on to win the final 23-14 and win the South Island AC 0-3.5 Singles for 2020-21.
The North Island AC Doubles saw the pairing of Peter Filbee (South Taranaki) and Cole Wenmoth (Taranaki) go through the event undefeated. Winning all 5 of their games on track to winning the 2020/21 North Island AC Doubles Championship. Steve Clarke (BOP) and Cindy Clarke (BOP) came second, only dropping one game to Filbee and Wenmoth. Both Clarke’s would manage to go one better in their respective singles events.
In the Open, Felix Webby (Taranaki) topped Block A winning 5 from 5 while accumulating an impressive +113 net hoops. Wenmoth qualified second from Block A on net hoops after finishing tied with his doubles partner, Filbee, on 3 wins.
Block B saw S Clarke qualify top, going undefeated during block play. While last years winner, Tony Stephens (Hawkes Bay), qualified second winning 4 of the 5 block games.
The semi-finals went to seeding with both block winners advancing to the final. Webby beat Stephens 26TP-15, 26-15, while S Clarke beat Wenmoth 26-7, 26-15.
S Clarke then went on to secure the 2020/21 North Island AC Open Singles title winning the final 26-4, 26-20.
The 0-3.5 Singles saw some closely contested games during block play. C Clarke would go through the block play undefeated, winning all 5 of her games. While Terry Price (Manawatu-Wanganui) qualified second winning 4 out of 5.
C Clarke would continue her form into the semi-finals where she beat Bonnie Johnstone (South Taranaki) 26-11 before beating Price in the final 26-10 to be crowned the North Island AC 0-3.5 Singles champion.
It was an even competition in the NIAC 4+ Singles with each of the 6 participants winning at least 2 of their 5 games during block play. Nicholas Flood (Manawatu-Wanganui) won 4 of his 5 games to qualify top while Kevin Millard (Wairarapa) won 3 to qualify second.
It was again the top seed that went on to win the event with Flood winning his semi-final against Tsung-Te Cheng (Northland) 26-18 before beating Malcolm McDonald (South Taranaki) 26-21 to win the North Island AC 4+ Singles.
Full results for both events can be found using the links below:
2020-21 North Island Association Croquet Championships
2020-21 South Island Association Croquet Championships
