2022 Australian 1-Wall Championships
Published by - Robert Winter
Congratulations to the Victorian Handball Association in hosting a very successful 2022 Australian 1-Wall Wallball Championships.
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It all started with the Friday night twilight games and then backed up by a beautiful sun filled Saturday and Sunday of great competition. The Championships were played on schedule with great food and drinks provided and trophies with an image of the courts iconic ‘Tap’ branded on them. To all who were involved with the hosting of the Championships - A ‘Big Thank You’ for a great event.
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23 players entered the Championships and there has previously been ladies events in 3-Wall Handball Championships but for the first time in the 1-Wall Championships a Ladies Singles and a Mixed Doubles event were played which is a huge step for Handball in Australia going forward.
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It was great to see a number of past players ventured to the courts over the weekend to relive past handball glories and also to support the Championships and the current players involved. Of course, it would be great to see many more past players attending future National Championships and that could be either to play in the aged events or just be there as a support for Handball.
Tournament Results
Open Singles
The top four seeds moved through to the semi-final stage of the event and with both semi-final games played at a very high standard. The Doolin-Winter game went to a tie breaker with all three games having long hard tough rallies with great butting by both players. In the other semi, Dylan being the no 2 seed was pushed all the way by Ryan but in the end Dylan had too many guns firing which ended in Dylan winning in two.
The final was a great battle of two skilled players really hammering the ball at each other but the movement of the ball around the court by Chris was too much for Dylan to handle and Chris went onto win his first Open Singles 1-Wall Title.
Qualifying:
Jam DiSebastiano d L Morgan 21-3,21-9
G Daley d D Skurray 21-17,21-12
C Walker d E Scheruga Forfeit
Quarters:
B Winter d Jam DiSebastiano 21-8,21-3
C Doolin d JP Baggio 21-12, 21-0
D King d G Daley 21-7, 21-10
R Muldrew d C Walker 21-3, 21-9
Semies:
C Doolin d B Winter 21-17, 7-21, 11-7
D King d R Muldrew 21-15, 21-11
Final:
C Doolin d D King 21-11, 21-7
Open Doubles
Following up from their first up Open Doubles victory last year Jim & Brodie proved they are currently the top 1-Wall pair. The game was very competitive which is not reflected in the final games score. Both Chris and James came up with some great winning shots, however, Jim and Brodie absorbed those and came back with more shots to win the title.
Quarters:
C Doolin / Jam Di Sebastiano d A Plant /S King 21-1, 21-5
Semies:
B Winter / J Cormie d C Ferry / JP Baggio 21-5, 21-3
C Doolin / Jam DiSebastiano d R Muldrew / B Gill 21-10, 21-14
Final:
B Winter / J Cormie d C Doolin / Jam DiSebastiano 21-8, 21-12
A Singles
Starting with a field of eight players the A Singles event was always going to be heavily contested. Last year’s winner and runner up found themselves outed in the semies and subsequently two new contenders shaped up to play off in the final.
In the final it was a very even start by Ryan and James but then Ryan started to raise the pressure level, making no mistakes and placing the ball very well kicked away to take the title.
Quarters:
D Skurray d Jay DiSebastiano 21-2
G Daley d L Morgan 21-17
Jam DiSebastiano d C Walker 21-7
R Muldrew d A Plant 21-9
Semies:
Jam DiSebastiano d D Skurray 21-7
R Muldrew d G Daley 21-0
Final:
R Muldrew d Jam DiSebastiano 21-7
A Doubles
The No 1 Seeds Ben and Dylan pushed through and won a hard game in their semi-final and went on to make it two A championships wins in a row.
Semies:
B Gill / D Skurray d L Morgan / B Newport 21-14
Jay DiSebastiano / C Walker d G Daley / A Plant 21-19
Final:
B Gill / D Skurray d Jay DiSebastiano / C Walker 21-5
Super Master Singles (50+)
Both Reno Zaffino and Greg Hay made their National 1-Wall handball debuts playing against each other with Reno the victor. However, Reno’s victory celebrations were short lived when Cedar was just too good in the Final
Semi:
R Zaffino d G Hay 21-7
Final:
C Ferry d R Zaffino 21-5
Master Doubles (40+)
The Masters events Singles or Doubles always have had a bit of bite and action in them, be it either in 1,3 or 4-Wall. Even though Jim, Cedar and Michael passed the 40 age barrier a few years ago that did not deter them and together with Ben played a very high standard Doubles Final. In the end the consistent butting by both Jim and Cedar won the day.
Final:
J Cormie / C Ferry d B Gill / M Hamilton 21-13
Ladies Singles
The Inaugural Australia Ladies 1-Wall Singles Championship measured up to be a Vic v SA encounter.
Lydia Morgan (Ire/Vic) is a class act in 1,3 and especially 4-Wall and was always going to be the red-hot favourite for this event.
Nichole Spratt (SA) is a first year Handball enthusiast who has been playing for 4 months and has taken to game of Handball and is very keen to improve her ability.
Even though Lydia dominated having a very complete game but there is no doubt Nichole will remember it and learn from the game and will seek for a better performance next time they meet
Final: L Morgan d N Spratt 21-1
Mixed Doubles
As with the Ladies Singles, the Inaugural Mixed Doubles could develop into an annual grudge match between these first up pairings.
The experience of Lydia and Jay had them in control of the match, however, there was a number of rallies that Nichole and Dylan featured in but it was not enough to change the end result.
Final: Lydia Morgan / Jay DiSebastiano d Nichol Pratt / Dylan Skurray 21-6
Father / Son Doubles
Mason and Kobie were the stars on the court and outshone their partners in Gareth and Ash respectively.
Both the boys gave it their all and played some great shots.
The boys have had some close games in the past and this game was no exception with Mason (who seems to be the loud player) together with Gareth taking home the trophy.
Final: G Daley / M Plant d A & K Plant 21-18
