NZ Open Championship - 2023

Welcome Notes by Tom Berryman – V8
Thank you for entering the 2023 NZ AC Open Championships. Below you will find details of the formats and timings for all events and other matters of relevance. If you have any queries please e-mail me at tom.berryman@xtra.co.nz, phone 04 2368877 or 022 4690309.
Doubles (Saturday 18 – Monday 20 February) – Venue Plimmerton Croquet Club, off Ulric St, Plimmerton.
Play starts at 8.30am each day, please be on deck by 8.00am on day one for Opening Remarks, etc, 8.15am thereafter.
We have 14 Teams. The play format will be five rounds of a pre-drawn incomplete block, a concept used in the UK. This method involves all pairs, pre-drawn so that for each pair the average grade of all of their opponents is as close as possible to the average grade of the entire field. Further details will be provided when the draw is circulated later this week. Time limits will be 3hrs plus Law 61. Placings will be determined by the number of wins and net points if tied. Post prelim play will comprise BO3 SFs and Final.
The BO3s will have 3.5/6.5/9 time limits per match (any time not used by an earlier game becomes available and adds to the later games). S-F losers may play-off for 3rd & 4th. The 10 teams that don’t make the KO, if they wish, may play in the Plate. This may be flexible swiss, or block play if numbers suit, for 3 or 4 rounds.
Singles (Tuesday 21 – Saturday 25 February) – Venues Paraparaumu and Waikanae Croquet Clubs. Mazengarb Reserve, Scaife Drive, Paraparaumu and 60 Park Avenue, Waikanae.
Play starts at 8.30am each day. Please be on deck at your correct venue by 8.00am on Tuesday, 21 Feb for Opening Remarks, etc, 8.15am thereafter.
We now have 24 players giving 4 blocks of 6.
On Tuesday there will be 3 rounds played. Blocks A and B at Waikanae, Blocks C and D at Paraparaumu. On Wednesday all blocks will swap venues and play the remaining two rounds. Time limits will be 3hrs 15min plus Law 61, if double-banked, or else 3 hours plus Law 61.
The top 4 from each block will qualify for the KO with ties on wins being broken by net points and, if necessary, who won the game between tied players.
The Player’s Choice draw for the 16 qualifiers will take place at Paraparaumu following the completion of block play on Wednesday and allowing for relevant players to arrive from Waikanae. I have confirmed with Chris Williams that he will process Tuesday’s results to provide up-dated player rankings to support the draw. The 8 non-qualifiers will gather at Waikanae for the Heenan Plate with play to start as soon as the draw is available. Time limits for the Plate will be 3 hours plus Law 61.
The KO and the Bronze Medal events will be played at Paraparaumu. The KO will start immediately after the Players’ Choice draw is completed. Time limits will be 4/7/10. The SFs and the final will be single-banked. S-F losers from the main KO may have a 3rd and 4th play-off. Other consolation games may be possible subject to court availability. Losers from the first round of the main KO may enter the Bronze Medal event.
The Bronze Medal will start on Thursday after completion of the first round of the KO. It will be 7 rounds of block play with time limits of 3hrs 15m plus Law 61.

The Draw
The draw for both singles and doubles block play will be entered on croquetscores.com later today. For the singles the rankings are as at 6 February. For the doubles the rankings were taken a few days earlier but any recent changes are considered insignificant to the draw.
A copy of the draws, their order of play and the venue for each match will be copied to players later this week.
Details regarding order of play and other relevant information, including this welcome e-mail will also be posted in the commentary section of the NZ Open page on croquetscores.com. Please check this section periodically for updates.
Double-banking and Clock-stopping
There will be a number of games double-banked. Clocks may be stopped for any of the reasons outlined in Law 61.4, including double-banking delays, where it is predicted that the delay may exceed 2 minutes.
Practice
Plimmerton courts will be available 1pm – 4pm on Friday afternoon 17 February for pre-tournament practice.
Waikanae and Paraparaumu courts will be available on Monday afternoon from 1pm to 4pm for those players who are not entered in the Doubles event.
All players are also entitled to 5 minutes practice prior to their first game of the day. During this time, hoops may be run, but only with strokes that would send the ball no further than 7 yards if the hoop was run cleanly. Players who have had byes in the first round of the day and are due to play someone who has played a game may have 15 minutes practice. Players who have a bye but have already played that day may have a 5 minute practice.
Catering
There will be a Clubhouse fee of $5 per playing day for all players. Please pay this to the Manager/nominated person at each venue. Morning and afternoon tea will be included in this.
Lunches may be ordered at all venues. The cost will depend upon what is ordered. The Clubs will fill your orders from local catering suppliers.
Officials
The Tournament Referee is Graeme Roberts. Graeme will be sourcing other referees who may be available. Graeme may also seek assistance from qualified players if necessary.
The Appeals Committee members will be: Graeme Roberts plus any two of the following as appropriate, Nelson Morrow, Stefan Horrer, Greg Bryant, Chris Shilling, Toby Garrison and John Christie.
Assistant Managers are: Tony LePetit – Plimmerton, Bob McKenzie – Paraparaumu, Yvonne Fraser - Waikanae
Kind Regards,
Tom Berryman
Manager
tom.berryman@xtra.co.nz phone 04 2368877 mob 022 4690309