Couple's rivalry out in open
Marital discord is a fact of life for Chris and Jenny Clarke - and it's all out in the open.
The Christchurch couple, married just before Christchurch hosted the world championships five years ago, are rivals on the croquet greens.
Chris, the 1995 and 2008 world champion and world ranked No1, and Jenny, the 2012 world women's champion, are preparing for the centenary national open championships which start on local greens with doubles competition tomorrow.
However, they may not play one another in this tournament. The singles draw keeps them apart unless they both reach the semis, and although they won the 2007 New Zealand open doubles together, they are in different pairs this time.
The Clarkes are playing a demonstration game today to showcase the sport.
Headquarters for the tournament is the United club at Hagley Park, where the first New Zealand tournament was played in the 1912-13 season.
The Barrington, Cashmere, Fendalton, and St Martins clubs will also host matches in the nationals which runs through to a finals day on Sunday week.
It's drawn 76 singles players from eight countries, and 35 doubles teams. A feature of the tournament will be new high-tech hoops which will be used at United and Fendalton.
Normal hoops can distort and be a few millimetres wider at top and bottom. Designed by a Cashmere player and retired engineer, Ray Atkins, the new hoops stay perfectly even and challenge players more.
The Canterbury association has bought 10 sets which will be used for the first time at the nationals.
