After the unfortunate cancellation of our November round due to a brief COVID-19 outbreak, we have at least struck it very lucky with the weather this season. For this round, we had mild temperatures to offset the mid-summer sun and a gentle breeze kept everyone comfortable –about as good as it gets in January. On the previous Sunday, we would have encountered temperatures over 40C and a massive smoke plume from the large bushfire raging within a few kilometres of the Stirling venue.
The competition itself was very tight. Only 4 teams won all three of their prelim games and only 5 won both of the afternoon games. Just one team managed to do both and that was the winning combination of Alexi Alexi, Craig Stewart & Maurice Belz, from Eastern Suburbs.
Last season, 2019/20, was notable as the first time in ten years that Alexi didn’t win at least one Interclub gold medal, but he’s more than made up for it this season. This makes it three wins in a row for Alexi and Maurice – a remarkable feat not seen since 2013. On that occasion, it was also a team featuring Alexi, playing with George Lainas and Arwed Turon. (Prior to that, the only others to achieve it were the awesome world-class trio of Suki, Ken and Raja, also from ESP, who many will remember.) The big question now, as we are only half-way through the season, is “how far can they take this?” History beckons.Continue reading→