Regional Championships 2026

- a preliminary report by Chef de Mission – Hugh McAlister

The qualifying round has been completed, and I furnish this preliminary report:

General: The first stage of the RC’s is now complete. The double round-robin tournament was held over the weekend May 1-3. It was well run, rigorous, on-line, exhausting, and as far as I know there were no particular organisational issues. Matt McManus, Chief Director, ran a tight ship. There were no organisational issues from a Waikato-Bays point of view. The Intermediate team had a valuable practice session one week before. The Women’s team had a substitute, Karen Harris, for one match.

Teams:
OPEN - Barry Jones and Jenny Millington; Liz and Blair Fisher
WOMEN – Jenna Gibbons and Christine Gibbons; Kate Terry and Judy Pawson; Karen Harris (sub.)
SENIOR – Hugh and Di McAlister; Yuzhong Chen and Garry Foidl
INTERMEDIATE – Judith Howard and Nick Saunders; Catherine Cameron and Helen Rinaldi

Results:
OPEN – 4th … 5 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws, 2 byes. A very competitive division, won by Auckland, Wellington and then Central Districts, all strong teams

WOMEN – 1st … 9 wins, 3 losses, 2 byes. Both pairs topped the datums, a good win. Otago came 2nd, Canterbury 3rd

SENIOR – 3rd … 9 wins, 3 losses, 2 byes. Otago came 1st ., Auckland 2nd … a close tussle between the top 3 teams

INTERMEDIATE – 5th … 8 wins, 4 losses, 2 byes. The losses were bigger than the wins. Notably the team won all 5 matches on the final day, and were very positive and constructive throughout, ably led by captain Judith

DOUGAL McLEAN TROPHY – currently Waikato – Bays stand 2nd (31 pts) behind Otago (35 pts). Auckland and Canterbury are on 29. The final standings could change in November with the Finals, but it is hard to see Otago being beaten

Highlights:
1. Well organised
2. Women coming 1st
3. Intermediates performed very well
4. Currently 2nd in the Dougal McLean (I don’t think Waikato-Bays has ever won this)

Comments:
1. This format may well be the favoured one going forward .. we shall see. It was well run, inexpensive for NZB, and there was a sense of anticipation and climax as the top teams in each division played each other in the final rounds. The Finals, of course, are now four months away. Best of luck for our Women’s team
2. I propose that the Regional RC Selection Sub-Committee meet via zoom fairly soon to discuss how we might vary and hopefully improve our approaches to team selection going forward

Hugh McAlister
May 4, 2026