Dear all,
Thank you for entering the 2017 CNZ U-21 Championships. The event will he held at United – in North Hagley Park, off Riccarton Ave. There is free parking for around a dozen cars at the club, free parking limited to 3hours in the Botanical Gardens car parks and unlimited free street parking.
There will be a clubhouse fee of $2.50 per day for which morning and afternoon tea will be provided together with drinks during the day. Lunches will not be provided, so please either bring your own, or utilise the various outlets along Riccarton Road to buy them. You are also welcome to use the microwave and toasted sandwich maker that belong to the club.
The club will be open for practice from around 9.15am on Friday until 12.15pm when we have a Corporate booking of 100 people until just after 5pm. The lawns should be available for practice again between 5.15 and 7.30 Friday.
Greg Bryant will be leading a coaching session that will finish around 3pm on Saturday. I intend to start the doubles event at 3.30pm, so if you are not attending the coaching, but playing in the doubles, please arrive by 3.25 Saturday. For all other days, play will commence at 8.30am. Please be there for 8.25 if you want your 5 minute practice session before play. I do not intend to use time limits in any event.
Doubles Format
The doubles has 20 entries and will commence with 4 blocks. These can be found at https://croquetscores.com/2017/gc/cnz-u-21-nationals. The following 4 pairs have byes in the first round of block play and are not required until 4.00pm.
Coulter & Mohi, Fordyce & Smith, Hughes & Sharpe, Gatchell & Hodgett.
The top 2 pairs from each block will qualify for the knockout, the other pairs will be eligible to play in the Consolation. I intend to complete block play on Saturday, so most players are likely to be required until at least 8pm. The following pairs have byes in the final block round, so should be finished by 7.30pm.
Alombro & Hunter-Letham, Fox & Gibson, Furkert & Hewitt, Hall & Seque.
On Sunday, the players in the knockout will play a full knockout with best of 3 matches for places 1 to 8. The Consolation event will be two blocks followed by play-offs between the blocks for placings 9 to 20. This will give everyone a minimum of 6 games on Sunday and a maximum of 9.
We intend to hold a pizza evening at the club after play on Sunday – cost $5, parents/supporters welcome.
Singles Format
The singles starts at 8.30am on Monday. We currently have 38 entries for the singles and with only 24 players being able to play at any time, there will be a lot of play to get through. I have not done the draw since one of the top seeds is likely to withdraw in the next fortnight once they find out when an operation is planned. Once I have definite information relating to this, the draw will be available at https://croquetscores.com/2017/gc/cnz-u-21-nationals.
We will start with 8 blocks with the top 2 players from each block qualifying for the knockout. The “Player Choice” draw for the knockout will take place after the blocks are completed and then the last 16 will play their best of 3 matches to completion. Those not in the knockout may enter the Consolation event which will start as 4 blocks. I intend to play the first round of the Consolation event on Monday.
Tuesday will see the completion of a “full knockout” for places 1 to 16 all played best of 3. This is a lot of play to try and fit in, so please play at a good pace. The Consolation Blocks will be completed and then the four block winners will play semi-finals and the final. This means that knockout players can expect 6-9 games on Tuesday and Consolation players 3 to 6 games. I hope to be finished by 5pm, but this could easily over-run, particularly in the main event if multiple matches go to 3 games. If you have booked a flight prior to 7pm, please can you let me know so that I can adapt plans if things start going slower than expected.
Accommodation
If you require billeting with a club member, please let me know by 6th December.
Other
The club will have a limited supply of sunscreen – please make sure that you are protected from the sun. Todays temperature is 30 degrees. Likewise, please ensure that you are fully hydrated throughout the day. This welcome message with details relating to the event can be found on croquetscores.com in the Commentary section. If you have any queries regarding any issue, please contact me either at [email protected] or 033855957. I look forward to seeing you all in the near future.

Chris Clarke
Manager