Alan Dix wins the Golf Croquet B-Level (DG<1700) Series National Final

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Eileen Magee (CqE V-P), Alan Dix (winner), Sally Helvey (r-u)

The Croquet England Golf Croquet B-Level (DG <1700) Series National Final 2026, hosted by Pendle and Craven CC on 19th-20th September 2026, was the culmination of a very well contested competition that stated back in April.
24 geographically wells spread tournaments made of this season's Series which yielded 20 different winners, led by Matthew Parsons (3 wins) and Simon Draper (2 wins), and sadly the former was unavailable to attend the National Final, along with three other single tournament winners.
This meant that there was no place for any of the 'points gatherers' in this season Final, with the ideal size, 16-player, field was populated solely by winners.
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Croquet England thanks Libby Dixon in her role of Tournament Manager and she takes up the story of the National Final (below).
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Chris Roberts
Golf Croquet B-Level (DG <1700) Series Director
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Pendle and Craven CC welcomed 16 competitors from across the country, with many visiting the club for the first time.
Access to the lawns was provided on Friday for those wishing to practise ahead of the tournament.
Despite early morning rain, the tournament got off to a great start at 9.30am following the Manager's introduction and briefing.
Players were divided into two blocks of eight, with the top four from each block progressing to the main knockout, and the remainder to contest the Plate event.
Seven rounds across the two blocks were completed on the first day, producing some extremely competitive and closely fought games.
As is often the case in tournaments, a few slow-play warnings had to be given and the Tournament Referee, Penny Clark (Ben Rhydding), did a marvellous job of keeping proceedings running smoothly and was frequently seen on the courts throughout the day.
Everyone welcomed a lunch of soup, sandwiches and dessert and by the resumption, the rain had stopped and sunshine had appeared, allowing both blocks to be completed.
Day 2 started at 9am in warm sunshine, although the wind created a distinct chill factor, resulting in players continually putting on and taking off extra layers!
The Quarter-Finals were played over a single 19-point game, followed by the Semi-Finals and Final, played as best-of-three 13-point matches.
In the Main Quarter-Finals, all but one of the matches went to 10-9, demonstrating the very high standard of play and just how closely matched the competitors were.
Top seed, Alan Dix (Bowdon), progressed with a 10-6 victory over Paul Rockall (Gainsborough).
In the Plate Quarter-Finals, local club member and Chairperson, Ian Longstaff, who had narrowly missed out on the cut for the main knockout, played particularly well, especially considering the considerable amount of time and effort he had put into preparing the lawns for the tournament.
In the Main Final, Dix played Sally Helvey (Bath) and came through as the winner in two straight games, 7-3 and 7-6. The second game was a thrilling contest that could have gone either way. Alan's achievement was particularly impressive given that he has only been playing Golf Croquet for two years.
In the Plate Final, Mike Pudney (Chichester) played Peter Adams (Guildford) in another close and exciting match, won eventually by the former 7-4, 4-7, 7-3.
Eileen McGee, Vice-President of Croquet England, was in attendance to present the trophy to the overall winner, Alan Dix.
A thoroughly enjoyable and competitive weekend was had by all, and Pendle and Craven were honoured to welcome players from across the country to the club.
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Libby Dixon
Tournament Manager