Terrey Sparks won the Letchworth B-Level Advanced Tournament

[<<] [>>] by Ian Mantle at Letchworth Croquet Club
14 Jul 2011 (AC)

Terrey Sparks won the inaugural Letchworth B-Level Advanced Tournament.

Ten players took part, some from as far away as New Zealand.

The first round was played in two blocks of 5, all-play-all. As a semi-final, the winner of each block then played the runner-up in the other, and then the two winners competed in the Final with a consolation Egyptian for those who wanted to continue playing. All games were played with a time limit of 2 hours plus 6 Wharrad turns. That said, only 4 games out of 23 went to time.

The rain held off for both days.It was quite chilly on the Wednesday; Thursday though was bathed in sunshine. The lawns attracted a lot of favourable comments for their excellent condition, a tribute to the hard work that had gone in to their preparation.

Everyone took advantage of the very good ploughman's lunches provided in the Lawn Tennis and Social Club pavilion adjoining the courts, and several competitors then enjoyed a local Pub meal on Wednesday evening.

After a number of close fought games, Terrey Sparks beat Terry Mahoney in one Semi-final, and Derek Watts beat Mark Homan. In the Final, Terrey Sparks beat Derek Watts, and so received the silver cup, Derek having to be content with the runner-up's bottle of wine. Mark Homan beat Pauline Reid.