Thank you for entering the 2025/26 CNZ 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 email me at tom.berryman@xtra.co.nz, phone 04 236 8877 or 022 469 0309.

Doubles (Saturday 3-Monday 5 January) - Venue Waikanae Croquet Club, 60 Park Avenue, Waikanae.

Play starts at 8.30am on day one. Please be on deck by 8.00am for Opening Remarks. Play start for day two will be 8.15am and, if necessary, 8am for day three. The 2026 CNZ AC Open Doubles, with 14 teams, will be played, initially, as a 5 round pre-drawn incomplete block with time limits of 3 hours plus Law 61.

A pre-drawn incomplete block is a format where teams play opponents of a similar average Dgrade across a set number of rounds, with the full draw published in advance.

Block placings will be decided by number of wins, with ties broken by strength of opposition (calculated using the combined Dgrade wins of opponents).

The top four teams will progress to best-of-three semifinals with 1 v 4 and 3 v 2, and a best-of-three final. Cumulative time limits for the knockout matches will be 31/2, 61/2, and 9 hours plus Law 61. Any time used to complete a game under Law 61 will not count against the time limit for the next game. Two games of the semi-finals will be played on Sunday. Pegging down may be necessary.

The remaining ten teams may enter the Doubles Plate. The format will be a single game knockout (KO) competition. Seeding for this KO will be based on results from the incomplete block phase (with the option of minor adjustments to minimise repeat matchups where possible). Time limits 3 hours plus Law 61.

The 7th and 8th and the 9th and 10th placed teams will play the round of 16 on Sunday afternoon to determine positions 7 and 8 respectively in the quarterfinals.

The top six of the ten teams will receive a bye into the quarterfinals, which will begin on Monday. These teams may elect to play Z doubles games on Sunday afternoon subject to available courts.

All teams eliminated from the Doubles KOs may elect to play Z doubles games subject to available opponents and courts.

Singles (Tuesday 6 - Saturday 10 January) - Venues Waikanae and Paraparaumu Croquet Clubs, 60 Park Avenue, Waikanae and Mazengarb Reserve, Scaife Drive, Paraparaumu.

Play starts at 8.30am each day. Please be on deck at your correct venue by 8.00am on Tuesday, 6 January for Opening Remarks, etc. 8.15am thereafter.

We have 28 players entered giving 4 blocks of seven. Player feedback and the management committee have leaned in favour of having 3 full days available for the KO and additional feedback has requested multiple times that 3 hours should be the minimum time limit.

On Tuesday there will be 4 rounds played. No players will be required to start a turn after 8pm unless both players are in agreement. Any peg downs will be played at Waikanae at the conclusion of day 2. The round robin draw has been optimized to give the best chance of finishing seven 3-hour games in 2 days. On Tuesday, Blocks A and B will play at Waikanae, Blocks C and D at Paraparaumu.

On Wednesday all blocks will swap venues and play the remaining 3 rounds. Time limits for block play will be 3hrs 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 Players Choice draw for the 16 qualifiers will take place at Waikanae following the completion of block play on Wednesday and the tournament BBQ ($10 per person). This allows for relevant players to arrive from Paraparaumu, any remaining relevant pegged down games to be completed and to give Chris Williams the maximum time possible to update player rankings to support the draw.

The Open Singles KO, the Bowl KO (round of 16 losers) and the Shield KO (main KO QF losers) will be played at Waikanae. The main KO will start at 8.15am on Thursday morning with players being able to warm up from 8.05am. Time limits will be 3.5/6.5/9 plus Law 61. The SFs and the final of the main event will be single banked. If time allows these matches may be BO5 with time limits of 3.5/6.5/8.5/10.5/12.5.

SF losers from the main event are expected to have a 3rd and 4th play-off with a BO3 preferred, or single game no time limit as an alternative if this is both players preference. Other consolation Z games arising from the Bowl and Shield KOs may be possible subject to court availability.

The non-qualifiers will report to Paraparaumu for the Heenan Plate with play to commence on Thursday morning. The format will depend on player numbers, but assuming 12 players, will be two blocks of six. Time limits for the Plate will be 3 hours plus Law 61. The block winners will play the opposition block runners up in a single game semi-final with a minimum 3 hour time limit. The BO3 final will be played on Saturday at Waikanae with time limits of 3.5/6.5/9 plus Law 61.

The Draw

The draw for both singles and doubles block play has been entered on croquetscores.com. Player rankings are as at 15 December. Their order of play and the venue for each match will be copied to players later this week. This and other relevant information will be posted in the commentary section of the CNZ AC 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 and warm-ups.

Waikanae courts will be available 1pm - 4pm on Friday afternoon 2 January for pre-tournament practice. If players would like the opportunity to also practice on the Paraparaumu courts, please advise Bob McKenzie to request that arrangement. See contact details below.

Limited court space at Waikanae and Paraparaumu will be available on Monday 5 January from 1pm to 4pm for those players who are not entered in the Doubles event. Please arrange via the relevant Managers.

All players are also entitled to 5 minutes warm-up prior to their first game of the day and 10 minutes for KO games/matches. 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 warm-up. Players who have a bye but have already played that day may have a 5 minute warm-up.

Playing Conditions

If playing conditions deteriorate during the tournament, a court shall be considered unfit for play if any of the players involved in games on it is unable comfortably to hit a single ball the full length of the court from any position.

Catering

The usual Clubhouse fee of $5 per playing day was included in players' entry fees. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided to players and officials at no charge. Visitors and supporters will be requested to make a $2 contribution for refreshments.

Lunches may be ordered each morning at both venues. The cost will be $15. The Clubs will fill your orders from local catering suppliers.

In the event of play extending into the evening, pizza slices will be available for purchase by those needing sustenance.

On Wednesday after completion of block play a BBQ will be available comprising sausages and salad at a cost of $10 per person. Alcohol will not be available for sale, but players may bring their own, for consumption during the BBQ, if they wish.

Car Parking
There is ample car parking at both venues. However, for those who travel by motor home it is preferred that you park your vehicle overnight at KCDC approved sites. See http://kapiticoast.govt.nz/explore-kapiti/recreation/freedom-camping/.

Officials

The Tournament Referee is Graeme Roberts. Graeme will be sourcing other referees who may be available. He 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 and John Christie.

Assistant Managers are: Yvonne Fraser - Waikanae (yfraser98@gmail.com), Bob McKenzie - Paraparaumu (bamck@xtra.co.nz)

Manager: Tom Berryman - tom.berryman@xtra.co.nz phone 04 236 8877 or 022 469 0309