Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
VALENTINE’S Day weekend (Feb 13 and 14) has Gateballers from across the state converging on Lithgow for two days of serious fun.
What is Gateball?
It is a mallet sport recently introduced to the Lithgow Croquet Club which is is gaining in popularity in NSW.
Although relatively new in Australia, it is played by millions of people throughout Asia and South America.
It is a sport for all ages and has everything to recommend it: teamwork, skills, strategy and speed.
Each game lasts only 30 minutes and the pressure is on to play each shot within 10 seconds.
“It’s the Twenty20 Cricket of the Croquet world,” said John Park, the Australian Director of Gateball who is also a member of the Lithgow Croquet Club.
Park recently returned from a trip introducing the game to South Australia.
“It’s huge in Asia and growing in Australia,” he said.
If you would like to see it for yourself, come along to the Lithgow Croquet Club, corner of James and Young Street, today or tomorrow with games starting at 9am and going through to 3pm each day.
The Opening Ceremony of the tournament will be at 11.15am today.
Mayor Maree Statham will welcome players to the city and then hit a ball through a ceremonial gate (hoop).
Over 40 competitors will be in attendance from across NSW and the ACT.
Young and old players will be coming from such place as Wagga Wagga, Newcastle, Jamberoo, Taree as well as the Blue Mountains.
Seven teams will complete a round robin competition, followed by a seeded double elimination final.
Each team will compete in eight or more games over the weekend and the players will also be referees during their byes.
It will be a big weekend of Gateball.
Club president Cindy Houston can be contacted on 0409 594 978 or via the club’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/lithgowcroquetclub and is always happy to welcome people to the Lithgow Croquet Club, which offers a range of mallet sports for players young and old.
Fun facts
• This is the first regional tournament of any sort of croquet held at the Lithgow Croquet Club, which was established in 1955.
• The Blue Mountains Gateball competition is an annual tournament. It has been held at Blackheath for the last four years.
• Gateball uses larger hoops (called gates) and smaller balls than traditional croquet but that doesn’t make it any easier to hit the ball through the gate to score a point.
• Gateball was introduced to the players of the Lithgow Croquet Club in August 2015 by John Park and other enthusiastic local players in the Blue Mountains.
• Lithgow will be fielding their first Gateball team as well as hosting their first hosted tournament.
• The Lithgow Croquet Club is enjoying a revival, with the number of regular players increasing from 8 to 38 in the last 18 months.
About Gateball
Gateball is played on a rectangular court 20 to 25 metres long and 15 to 20 metres wide.
Courts are generally grass, but can also be clay, gravel or concrete.
Each court has three gates and a goal pole.
The game is played by two teams (red and white) of five players.
Each player has a numbered ball corresponding to their playing order.
The odd-numbered balls are red and the even numbered balls are white.
Teams score one point for each ball hit through a gate and two points for hitting the goal pole.
A game of gateball lasts for 30 minutes.
The winner is the team that has the most points at the end of the game.
For more information about Gateball, check out www.gateball.com.au.
For more information at the Lithgow Croquet Club or the Lithgow-Blue Mountains Gateball competition, contact Cindy Houston on 0409 594 978.