part of the world, bring a mallet and a raincoat
with you!
Firstly, I wish to thank the people and clubs that
have helped to facilitate activities this season;
the clubs that accommodated the CNZ
Coaching Programme (760 participants), the
personnel that assisted with secondary schools
participation (160 participating students) and
coach’s workshops (approx. 20 participants),
and to the association committee’s that have
met with me to discuss our planning initiatives
(18 Associations so far). A very big thank you to
those that have offered me lodgings around the
country. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting
you all, your hospitality and our croquet
discussions.
Youth participation:
- Is going from strength to strength this season.
We now have croquet listed on a number of
Regional Sports Trust secondary schools annual
sports calendars and more associations are
hosting secondary schools GC competitions
(National competition qualifiers). Bay of Islands
College in Kawakawa has even set up a croquet
lawn at school! And I am expecting a number of
first time representations at the National Finals
event in Palmerston North next month.
There is still time to enter teams for the CNZ
National Secondary School Tournament. Up to
4 doubles teams can represent your association
if a regional playoff event has been held, or up
to 2 teams if a playoff is not required. CNZ may
also consider additional teams if space allows.
Entries close with Croquet NZ on the 16th
March. Additional information is available in
the CNZ Yearbook, page 307 or by contacting
NZ directly.
A 2nd youth development squad was initiated
this season and a 2 day coaching event was held
at the Rangatira CC in Dannevirke in December.
Our U21 squad then joined this group for a two
day GC competition which was very kindly
sponsored by RP Mallets. The event provided a
great build-up for our U21 World
Championship team of 20 players and
introduced our 1st year squad members to
national level singles competition. The
competition was an outstanding success and it
is now proposed as a permanent fixture on the
CNZ events calendar, providing opportunities
for all U21 participants in NZ.
2015 under 21 Squad
Josh Freeth (Canterbury) won the inaugural NZ
U21 GC Championship over Felix Webby
(Taranaki). You will no doubt read of their
World Championship success elsewhere in this
bulletin.
The outcomes of the WCF U21 GC World
Championships suggest that NZ GC youth
croquet is in good health and rapidly moving
into a very dominant position internationally.
This can be attributed to the outstanding work
that clubs and coaches are doing in the regions
to introduce more youth to croquet, to bring on
new participants in competition, and
contributions to skills development, supported
by CNZ’s increasing investment in youth
development programmes. Congratulations to
you all, and especially to the players for your
outstanding achievements. An initiative to
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