GC English National Doubles

Sixteen pairs gathered at Cheltenham Croquet Club over the weekend of 25-26 July to compete for the GC English National Doubles Championship.

The field combined emerging talent with a wealth of experience. Newcomer Alex Aiton, playing in his first season of tournament croquet, lined up alongside several former champions from the event's 31-year history, including Sam Cuthbert, Stuart M. Smith, Steve Leonard, Louise Smith, Stephen Custance-Baker, Ivor and Richard Brand, together with defending champions Dom Aarvold and Tim Russell.

The block stages produced several surprises. Top seeds Levi Franks and Sam Cuthbert suffered defeats to James Field & David Tirtle-Watts and Douglas Shand & Bridget Goodman, while in Block B, Andy Loakes & Colin Britt prevented defending champions and second seeds Dom Aarvold & Tim Russell from recording a clean sweep of victories.

After two days of highly competitive and enjoyable croquet, the final saw Levi Franks and Sam Cuthbert produce an outstanding performance to defeat Dom Aarvold and Tim Russell and claim the 2026 GC English National Doubles title.

Congratulations to Levi and Sam on becoming worthy English National Doubles Champions.

A full report will be provided for the Gazette.