Gordon Giles wins inaugural CAQ President's Medal

CAQ GC President's Medal Singles – Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th July 2022

Originally there were 37 players from 13 clubs entered for this event, but in these times of Covid a number of players had to pull out.

The remaining 31 players were allocated into 4 blocks of 8, with blocks A & B played at Eildon and blocks C & D played at Windsor on the Saturday. On the Sunday, the top 4 in each block competed in the Championship finals at Eildon for the Inaugural President's Medal, with the remainder competing in the Consolation Event at Windsor. Although rain had been forecast for the weekend, play was completed in beautiful sunshine, much to everyone's relief.

There were many close-fought games in the championship over the weekend. The finals of Championships X, Y, Z and W were best of 3 matches, 13-point games, timed at 1 hour each game. The Championship final between Gordon Giles (Wynnum) and Hisham Elkomy (Southport) was a "nail-biting" match with some exceptional play by both competitors. The spectators were kept on their toes in the first game as both players put on a marvellous performance of precision blocking, clearing and hoop running, with Gordon taking the game 7-5. The second game was a classic seesaw affair, with both players in front at different stages, and eventually Gordon won 7-5 to take the Medal.

Meanwhile at Windsor, 12 players competed in the Consolation blocks. The final of the Consolation, between John Turner (Southport) and Casey De-Vene (Merthyr), was a closely fought affair with John winning 7-6.

The CAQ President, Pat Habner, presented Gordon and Hisham with CAQ President's Gold and Silver Medals and Centenary badges.

Winner Gordon, in his acceptance speech, thanked Eildon CC for hosting the finals and the referees Liz Fleming, Sue Green and Deirdre Giles for their great work. Of course, thanks also to the hoop setters and kitchen helpers who provided delicious refreshments for players (and spectators) throughout the day.

The winners of each of the finals were:

- Championship W (13th – 16th Place) – Addison Matthews (r/u Rosemary Newsham) - Championship Y (9th – 16th Place) – Pop Petersen (r/u Ross Rillie) - Championship Z (5th – 8th Place) – Bob Martin (r/u Jenee Molyneux) - Championship X & President's Medal – Gordon Giles (r/u Hisham Elkomy)

Results will be on the croquetscores web site: https://croquetscores.com/2022/gc/qld-presidents-medal