
MāruawaiCollege’s Max Philpott, 17, competed against regional finalists from throughout the country, many of whom were three times or more his age, and was a runner-up in the Croquet New Zealand Don Reyland Stars Tournament in Dunedin recently.
Max said he did not expect to place as well as he did.
"I thought it was great.
"I was hoping to get a win, really.
"You had all these other really good players and they’d all won their regionals.
"You’re playing the best of the best."
Representing Southland, the Gore Croquet Club player won 10 out of 13 games in his first national tournament.
He went down one hoop to Ricardo Pintor, of South Taranaki, the eventual winner on 11 wins.
As well as having a good aim to hit the ball through the hoops, a player needed to think about what strategy to use to beat an opponent, Max said.
"If you do your strategy right you can beat someone far more skilled than you."
The strategy depended on who he was playing, he said.
"You determine how you are going to position your ball based on what you’ve seen them play like.
"You’ve got to put your ball in the right place."
He was the youngest competitor by about 30 years, he said.
"It’s a pretty good sport because it’s all age groups.
"You don’t have to be young and fit to do well at it."
He had been playing golf croquet for three years.
"It’s a sport you can start at pretty much any age and you get to meet a bunch of people."
Croquet Southland president Carole Coveney said it was encouraging seeing Max do so well.
"He’s an up and coming young player.
"Against older people and more experienced people, its really great to see that.
"Young people seem to have a much better eye than us older ones."
Often Southland did not send a player to the tournament because it was usually held in the North Island but because the tournament was held in Dunedin they were able to, she said. .