The Croquet Blogger

 

2007 NYCC Greenhorn Singles Tournament

August 12, 2007

New York Croquet Club

New York City, New York

 

New York Croquet Club’s First Annual Greenhorn Tournament was held at the Central Park courts on a very sunny and very long August Sunday.  As the working title “3^rd Flight Tournament” suggested, the idea was to give handicap naïve members an opportunity to play each other in competitive nature without fear of the more experienced players.  Inspired by Head Coach Ralph Charles, the idea was brought to fruition by Tournament Director Timothy Rapuano, who envisioned “Greenies” gaining enough knowledge and confidence to ascend into regular tournament play.

Twelve players competed in (3) 45-minute “coached” singles games followed by un-coached rounds of semifinals (60 minutes) and a final match (75 minutes).  In addition to the participants, 6 coaches were on hand to answer questions and give strategic suggestions to the players.  American Rules and double banking were used.   

While the tournament director scripted a tight schedule from 9am to 5pm, an hour break from all games was penciled in for lunch.  Fortunately this “free” hour came in handy when the schedule damn near flew off the tracks from the very beginning!  Most of the players arrived on time with the exception of a few plus one young lady who missed her first game altogether.  As Peter Timmins will admit after the finals, it was worth it to receive a speeding ticket in order to be on time for his late morning start.

In the A Block several players were challenged by the towering Dennis Hough who joined a couple of years ago but had not really played very much until this year.  Located very close to the courts Dennis is able to come out every day and be challenged by day-playing usuals Rebeca Bergofsky and Templeton Peck.  Although losing his last block match to Peter, Dennis became seeded first.  In an odd twist of fate, Dennis had his rematch against Peter in the semifinals, but alas could not catch up to the indefatigable Peter Timmins (who runs marathons when not playing croquet).

In B Block the surprise rival was non other than Martine Fournage, who certainly made a name for herself all through the tournament.  Martine made some particularly long roquets which showed her opponents the ferocity of her attacks.   While Martine had the best score in her block, new member David DeGiralamo nearly matched her differing by only 1 gross point.  Both Martine and David went on to play each other in the semi-finals, which turned out to be another close pairing.  At the end of the hour long match Martine found vistory at 6-5.

The final game between Peter Timmins and Martine Fournage saw Greenhorn play at its best.  Both contestants were entering their 5^th match of the day with approximately four hours of croquet already played.  As the game drew on well after 6pm (way off schedule!), spectators rooted on the players in between sipping wine and champagne for what was already a fun and celebrated occasion.  While most of the game was close, Peter picked up a few extra points near the end to finish 11-7.

After the match, educational prizes (books and DVD) were given to the players that made the playoffs, and the festivities were underway with wine, cheese and crackers.  As is customary after a tournament everyone got together for a nice round of golf croquet.  In addition, all Greenhorns will be receiving new handicaps issued by the USCA. 

 

Final Results:

1. Peter Timmins
2. Martine Fournage
3. Dennis Hough
4. David DeGiralamo
5. Isabel Jordan
6. Bettye Musham
7. Katherine Holcomb
8. Mark Holcomb
9. Brigid McDermott
10. Dan Allen
11. Shannon Godwin
12. Jennifer Perciballi

Thanks:

• To NYCC President Doug Moore and John C. Osborn
• Special thanks to all of the coaches who helped make the event a success.  The Greenies couldn’t get there without you!  Coaches were Ralph Charles, Sara Low, Rebeca Bergofsky, Blair Brickman, Preston Stuart and Joseph Morehouse.

 

- Timothy A. Rapuano (TD)

USCA 6-Wicket Croquet is a social game built on good sportsmanship and cocktail parties.  It’s a fun game, but it can also be a serious game.  All of this, including the cocktails, are found in the USCA sanctioned tournaments where we meet head to head for a drink and a match.  We all know the New York Croquet Club outparties just about all other USCA croquet clubs, but your Education Chairman wants you to be prepared with your sport as well.  And so I bring you the NYCC Academy where we focus on game theory, proper shotmaking and strategies from the very beginning to the very end.  In this 4 week program for the advanced beginner and intermediate, nothing is left untouched.

Look for 2 sessions of the NYCC Academy this season.  There will be a June session starting on th 4th and a July session starting on the 9th.  Each month will have 2 courses, (1) for the advanced beginner with handicaps from 11-14 and (2) the intermediate with handicaps from 8-10.

Each course will have its own dedicated instructor for the month (course meets 4 times) catering to a maximum of 4 students.  I know this sounds rather limited, but with 2 courses per month and 2 months of classes, there are really 16 open seats.  Also both classes will need to share a court alongside the Monday night opne-clinic.

Each course has a pre-determined agenda, developed by your educational chairman and the instructors.  The advanced beginner class aka “Sophomores” will focus on shotmaking, break play and opening/ending tactics.  Unlike the Sophomores, the intermediate class aka “Juniors” are assumed to be setting up and executing breaks.  Their class will focus largely on sustaining the break, intelligent breakdown and playing rover.

Class activites include review of previous topics (if applicable), topic introductions, practice and instructor-supervised scenario play.  Students who have reserved a seat in either class are expected to be present for each class.  Students that miss a class should consult their peers to make up what was missed.

Nearer to the start of the 2007 Season (May 1), I will solicit interest from potential students.  Your instructors for the Academy include Simon Male & Doug Moore with substitutions by Stuart Lawrence.  Open-Clinic will be run by Eugene Nathanson, James Olcott & others.  We are very excited to bring you the 2007 Academy to accelerate your learning towards more fun, more tournaments and more cocktail parties!